The Hillsboro Hops, a Single-A farm team for the Arizona Diamondbacks, backed out of negotiations with a 15-year-old and his father after the teen's demands for the first home run ball hit in a new stadium grew too rich for the organization.
It is not uncommon for a team to try get a ball back from a fan after a notable home run, Oregonlive.com reports. These baseballs can be valuable. (Barry Bonds’ record-breaking home run ball, for example, fetched $752,467.20.)
But this was no record-setting baseball and will likely never demand any large sum of money. So after Hops player Jordan Parr parked it over the fence, the organization hoped to make a deal, Oregonlive.com reported.
The teen was given the industry-standard offer of an autographed team baseball in exchange for the home run ball.
The team's offer was declined, the report said. The team upped the offer to include a bat and hat. Still no dice. The team wanted this baseball. It was the first home run in Hillboro Ballpark history. The teen was offered free season tickets, but he refused the offer.
The teen, instead, ask for everything offered plus season tickets for his entire family, the report said. The organization turned down the offer.
"Too rich for us," K.L. Wombacher, the executive vice president and general manager, told the paper.
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