Controversial baseballer Alex Rodriguez got the home-run ball he smashed for his 3,000th career hit on Friday after the New York Yankees made a deal with the fan who caught it.
Zack Hample presented the ball to Rodriguez prior to the Yankees’ home game against Tampa Bay.
The Yankees are to donate US$150,000 to Pitch In For Baseball, a charity Hample has supported since 2009 that provides equipment and promotes youth baseball in underprivileged areas around the world.
Photo: AFP
Rodriguez also gave him a signed jersey and bat.
Rodriguez became just the 29th Major League Baseball player to reach 3,000 hits when he belted a homer against Detroit at Yankee Stadium on June 19.
Hample, a collector who says he has caught more than 30 home-run balls — and snagged about 8,000 overall, including foul balls, batting practice balls and out-of-play balls thrown to him by players or field attendants — initially said he did not plan to give the ball to Rodriguez.
On Friday he said he was sorry about “a couple of stupid things, negative things” he said about Rodriguez on Twitter.
“I have a PhD in saying dumb things over the years,” Rodriguez responded.
A-Rod is back this season after serving a 162-game suspension for doping violations linked to the Biogenesis steroid scandal.
Since returning, Rodriguez has been gradually winning back once-hostile fans, but response to his achievement of a spate of milestones has been mixed.
However, on Friday it was announced that the Yankees and Rodriguez had resolved a disagreement over financial bonuses due to him for historic statistical accomplishments.
Since May, Rodriguez and the team had been at odds over a US$6 million bonus payment that he believed he was owed for tying Willie Mays for fourth on the all-time home-run list.
The Yankees had argued the bonus was at their discretion, and they opted out because his drug-tainted past means the achievement is not marketable.
In a deal announced jointly by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, the Yankees have agreed to pay US$3.5 million to charity. A total of US$1 million is to be divided among the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of Tampa and Pitch In For Baseball, with the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation receiving US$2.5 million.
Not only will the Yankees save US$2.5 million from the original US$6 million bonus figure, they will save more than US$2 million in luxury tax they would have owed had the payment gone to Rodriguez himself.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is to consult Rodriguez in deciding exactly which initiatives the US$2.5 million payment to the Urban Youth Foundation will benefit.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for