Fan who returned Jeter ball may owe IRS

By ELLIOTT HARRIS eharris@suntimes.com July 12, 2011 7:38PM

Yankees fan Christian Lopez (left) may have pay up $14000 for gifts he received after giving back Derek Jeter's milestone

Yankees fan Christian Lopez (left) may have to pay up to $14,000 for the gifts he received after giving back Derek Jeter's milestone ball. | Bill Kostroun~AP

Updated: July 13, 2011 2:14AM

Remember that New York Yankees fan who caught Derek Jeter’s 3,000th career hit — which happened to be a home run — and received some goodies in exchange for the ball?

There might be a catch to that catch.

Christian Lopez didn’t auction the ball off. He simply returned it to Jeter. In appreciation, Lopez received three bats, three balls and a jer sey, all autographed by Jeter. Lopez also received four box se ats at Yankee Stadium’s president’s box for the rest of the season .

Lopez, who owes $150,000 in student loans, also may owe $14,000 to the IRS for the gifts the Yankees provided.

‘‘I’m just waiting for the IRS phone call,’’ Lopez, 23, told ABCNews.com on Tuesday. ‘‘I’m not going to let something like the IRS stand in my way from

enjoying myself. For right now, I’m going to enjoy everything I can. ‘‘I don’t have any regrets. The tickets were a great gesture by the Yankees. I’m positive they didn’t think about the repercussions of it.’’

Show / Hide Comments

© 2011 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.

Special Home Delivery Offer

Advertise Here