Christian Lopez, What Were You Thinking?!

The world is applauding  long-time New York Yankees fan Christian Lopez for giving back Derek Jeter's home run ball he caught Saturday, the ball that marked his milestone 3,000th hit. The act, which surprised even the Yankees brass, was selfless, courageous and extraordinary. It was also probably the stupidest thing he has ever done.

In the third inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Jeter became the 28th player in major league history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau by crushing the rawhide sphere into the left field bleachers. Lopez immediately offered to give the ball back to Jeter and the Yankees without any conditions. He also told Yankee officials it would "Be cool to get a jersey or something," and maybe some bats and balls. In return, the richest team in baseball gave Lopez the use of a suite for the rest of the season (through any potential World Series games) as well as some Yankee apparel and, you guessed it, some bats and balls.

Huh? Maybe Lopez didn't do any critical thinking in the heat of the moment, but experts say the ball could be worth upwards of a half-million dollars on the open market.

Here's the kicker: Lopez admits to being $200,000 in debt from unpaid school loans. My guess is marketing wasn't his major at St. Lawrence University, the liberal arts college in Canton, NY. he attended.

Don't get me wrong. In a climate of greed and a me-first mentality from our youth, what Lopez did was noble indeed. But to a 23-year old cell phone salesman, being on the backside of a $200,000 debt is like gambling your life away on a hockey game and owing a bookie for laying down a 50 times parlay. the feeling of owing a bank the equivalent of new Ferrari for an education must be etched somewhere in his cerebrum.

The home run ball that Jeter hit was Lopez's out. Before he let his team pride and emotions take over, something should have clicked in that said, "Hey, you might be able to parlay this small five-ounce sphere into a small fortune." Translation: "Pay off student loans, you moron."

I hope Lopez sells a lot of phones.