Derek Jeter hit his 3,000th hit today in fashion as he made it count by hitting a home run. By doing so, he joined Wade Boggs as the only other player to have a home run be his 3,000th hit. With Jeter’s 3,000th hit being a home run, it meant that one lucky fan could potentially grab a piece of Yankee history and hold it ransom for alot of money.

Fortunately,23-year-old cellphone salesman and good-guy, Christian Lopez attended today’s game with his dad and girlfriend and caught Jeter’s 3000th hit. “I was taking a picture, and next thing you know I look in the air,” Lopez said. “My dad dove and missed it, because he has awful hands. I saw it roll in front of me, so I jumped on it. It was just instinct. I thought ‘Wow! This is it! This is my chance!” Lopez and the piece of history, were quickly taken away by security to the negotiating table. But to the surprise of many, Lopez wanted nothing in return for the ball.

The most amazing thing was that Lopez wanted nothing in return for the piece of history. “He deserved this,” said Lopez on an interview with ESPNNewYork.com. ”He worked so hard for this. He’s been in the league for so long. I’m not really the kind to take something away from him. He earned it.”

Although Lopez insisted he wanted nothing in return for the ball, the Yankees provided him with four seats in a Yankee Stadium suite for the rest of the season which includes the playoffs and World Series.

Christian Lopez may not have received millions for the ball, but his name will forever be connected with one of the greatest moments in Yankees’ history.

Image taken by Eric Beato and used under the Creative Commons License agreement.