Alex Rodriguez will get the baseball from his 3,000th hit after all
— -- NEW YORK -- It took two weeks, rounds of negotiations and a directive from the Yankees' owner's box, but Alex Rodriguez will have possession of the ball from his 3,000th hit.
The Yankees will hold a special news conference Friday afternoon in which Zack Hample, the fan and persistent foul-ball catcher, will present Rodriguez with the ball at Yankee Stadium. It was two weeks ago that A-Rod sent his 3,000th hit into the right-field seats, where it bounced around before landing at Hample's feet.
The Yankees, in a news release, said they will donate $150,000 to Pitch In For Baseball, a charity Hample supports that helps underserved communities afford to play the game. Hample will also receive some memorabilia, tickets and other perks from the Yankees.
Hample claims to have "snagged" 8,000 baseballs -- foul balls, home run balls from batting practice and those tossed to him by players -- in his life and has written a book offering advice on his craft. He declined to make a deal with the Yankees on the night of A-Rod's feat. Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner, directed team president Randy Levine to try to work out an agreement. The two sides have held multiple talks since Hample retrieved the ball.
The Yankees and Rodriguez have seen a thaw this season to a previously icy relationship, a result of Rodriguez's involvement in the Biogenesis case, his performance-enhancing drug suspension and subsequent failed appeal.
The sides are now trying to find a way to bridge the disagreement over Rodriguez's $6 million "milestone" marketing bonus. The Yankees assert they do not owe A-Rod the money because it was their right to trigger the agreement when Rodriguez tied Willie Mays at 660 homers. With A-Rod's history, the Yankees felt the feat was not marketable. A-Rod, with the backing of the players' association, could take the case to arbitration in the offseason.
Sources say the sides have discussed the possibility of settling the issue with a charitable donation, but nothing has been agreed upon yet.
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