The Right Choice

   We witnessed history last Saturday when future hall of famer, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, became the 28th person in Major League Baseball to reach 3,000 hits, when he hit a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.
   Not only did he stop there, but he went 5-5 on the day and drove in the winning run as well to win the game.
  It was a heroic performance in a legendary career for the Yankee hero.
   12 time all-star, five time Golden Glover, one of the 13 players in franchise history to ever be named captain, and I almost forgot, five World Series Championships. I despise the Yankees, but Jeter deserves all the recognition he has achieved over the years because not only is he a likable guy, but just a hardworking player who does not give up. Any fan of baseball should respect what he has done, and should only praise the Yankee great.
   Now here is a scenario for you. You are at the game on Saturday in the outfield stands and Jeter is at the plate still with 2,999 hits. It would be just cool to see the 3,000th hit right? Well what if Jeter gets the ball on the sweet spot of the bat and the ball sails over the outfield wall into the stands? Pretty cool? Now just  imagine if the ball hits the hands of your dad and the balls fall directly in your possession. Okay, stop daydreaming of yourself being in this situation, because it already happened, to a 23 year old whose name will now forever be remembered.
   When security came to Christian Lopez and took him to a suite, he then faced a difficult situation. What does he do with the ball? Does he keep it his possession, keep and then sell it, or give it to Jeter for a price? Lopez could have used the money as he as $100,00 in students loans to pay, and not only could have had those paid off, but probably still could have had some spending money if he would have sold the ball on either eBay or back to Jeter.
   However, he did neither one; he used his brain and gave it back to the person who deserves it most; Jeter. For how much you ask? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
   Lopez made a choice that most of us certainly would not have done. He easily could have made a profit on the ball, but yet, he still did the right thing. Why request money on a ball that you got just out of pure luck? Lopez paid Jeter the biggest amount of respect by giving him the ball for nothing, and he got a lot in return for doing it. He got autographed Jeter gear, plus season tickets in a Yankee suite for the rest of the year including the playoffs. Yes, this is a lot items he received, but would not the money be more in value for himself?
   Apparently not because Lopez has shown VALUES are more important than any money value out there. Jeter deserves the ball, he earned it and he has worked so hard in his career to get to that milestone. How could someone not give Jeter the ball? I am so glad Lopez did what he did, simply because it was the right thing to do.
   As much as I love Mike Greenberg, who is half of the duo on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning, it killed me that he bashed Lopez for not keeping the ball and making a profit out of it. Greenberg is right when he said Jeter does have the jersey, cleats, and bat that he used to get the 3000th hit, but Jeter deserves the whole enchilada, and by receiving the ball, he got just that.
   Christian Lopez, by giving the ball back to its rightful owner, did something most people in this world do not do enough; the right thing. How could anyone bash him for that?