Here’s a bit of news about Alex Rodriguez, which regards Rodriguez getting his home run ball back and what will happen to his milestone bonus.
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Hample has been known to be a ball-hawking presence in the stands, claiming to have caught 8,000 baseballs during his attendance at games; this includes batting practice as well.
Since returning this season, Rodriguez has been gradually winning back once-hostile fans, but response to his achievement of a spate of milestones has been mixed. Since then he has had several discussions with members of the Yankees organization as the two sides tried to come to an agreement in exchange for the ball.
The Yankees settled with 37-year-old ballhawk Zack Hample, who snagged Rodriguez’s 3,000th career hit in the right-field stands on June 19, donating $150,000 to Pitch In For Baseball. Hample is expected to give the ball to A-Rod at a press conference before the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays game at Yankee Stadium this evening.
UPDATE: The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez have resolved the marketing bonus dispute. They decided not to do so, citing Rodriguez’s diminished marketability following his suspension for the 2014 season for performance enhancing drug use, and they contended that this made the payments moot. An additional $2.5 million will go to the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation.
“Hample will also receive some memorabilia, tickets and other perks from the Yankees”, according to ESPN.
Looks like there’s some closure on the whole saga of Alex Rodriguez’s home-run ball that represented his 3,000th career hit being held for hostage. Rodriguez in turn sued Major League Baseball, the players’ union and the Yankees’ team physician.
Of course, the MLBPA soon intervened on Rodriguez’s behalf, and Friday, the league and players’ association reached a détente on the issue of the bonuses. I’m sure that the less things that he has to worry about and the more that he can just worry about what he loves to do, I think it’s a huge benefit for him.
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In addition to saving $2.5 million – the difference between the $6 million originally called for and the charitable payments the team agreed to make- the Yankees will save $3 million in luxury tax, since Rodriguez will not be receiving the money personally. The entire sum would be donated to charity and divided among causes selected by Rodriguez and Yankees principal owner Hal Steinbrenner.
