The Second Essential Scary Truth

October 1, 1961.

Young truck driver Sal Durante catches Roger Maris 61^st home run ball, the home run that broke Babe Ruth’s single season record.  Durante is immediately surrounded by security guards and taken to the Yankee clubhouse where he offers the ball to the Yankee slugger.  Maris refuses to accept the ball and tells Durante to sell it.  Sal Durante uses the money from the ball as a down payment on a new home.

Saturday July 9, 2011.

Christian Lopez, a 23 year old cell phone salesman with over $100,000 in student loan debt catches the a home run ball in Yankee Stadium that is also Derek Jeter’s 3,000^th hit.  Lopez is immediately surrounded by security guards and taken to the Yankee Clubhouse where he offers the ball to the Yankee shortstop.  Jeter accepts the ball and gives Lopez several gifts including “…four luxury suite tickets for each of the team’s remaining home games, including the postseason, as well as three bats, three balls and two jerseys all signed by Jeter.”  (FoxSports.com)

Now Christian Lopez, the Derek Jeter fan with over $100,000 in student loan debt who wanted to do the right thing by his hero, owes the IRS a large tax on his Yankee gifts.

(From FoxSports.Com)

The man who gave Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit ball back to the future Hall of Famer and received a treasure trove of gifts in return may be getting another unexpected gift — a five-figure tax bill.

The New York Times reported Monday that Christian Lopez, the fan that caught and returned Jeter’s home run ball on Saturday, could be facing a tax bill for all that he received in return for his good deed — potentially to the tune of about $14,000, according to one accountant.

The 23-year-old Lopez, who caught the ball while seated in the left-field stands, received from the Yankees four luxury suite tickets for each of the team’s remaining home games, including the postseason, as well as three bats, three balls and two jerseys all signed by Jeter. In addition, he received front-row seats for Sunday’s game, which the Times reported sell for up to $1,358.90 each.

When valuing all of the goods, Lopez – who told the Times that he owes more than $100,000 in student loans – could be in line for a heavy bill from the IRS. The Times cited Steven Bandini, a tax partner at the accounting firm Zapken & Loeb, who said that a modest valuation of $50,000 for all of the items would likely mean a roughly $14,000 tax liability.

What remains unclear, according to the report, is whether the items would be considered a gift, rendering them not taxable.

The Times reported that an IRS spokesperson would not speculate on Lopez’s tax liabilities, and it quoted Yankees spokesperson Alice McGillion as saying, “Yankee partners and partnership always comply with the tax laws,” while declining to state whether the team would give Lopez any money to assist with any tax liability.

In the middle of the worst recession/depression since the 1930’s, the New York Yankees have saddled a man with a six-figure debt with another five figures all because he did the right thing for one of their  ‘all time great’ players.  There is nothing quite like the feeling of being thrown under the bus by your childhood hero and your baseball team at the same time.  If I were more of a conspiracy theory minded man, I’d think this is the penalty the New York Yankees are placing upon a fan who is just a hard working middle class kid trying to make ends meet who dared to soil into their clean, corporate image, stadium and vaunted tradition.