TORONTO — What’s the cost of a milestone home run ball? In this case, one signed bat from the rookie who hit the blast, and one official cap.
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After Pittsburgh Pirates rookie outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez hit his first career home run in Sunday’s 4-1 win at Toronto , his teammates in the bullpen went to work to get the ball back for him.
Valdez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and had gone 0 for 7 with five strikeouts before his two-run blast off Chase Lee in the sixth inning. The 345-foot drive landed in a standing-room section beyond the right field wall, where a fence separates fans from the visitor’s bullpen.
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The ball ended up in the hands of a young fan, who was soon in negotiations with Pirates reliever Justin Lawrence . As talks progressed, the Pirates righty used hand signals to request a signed bat from the dugout.
Valdez signed a bat and reliever Dennis Santana brought it out to the bullpen, then leaned around the fence to make the exchange.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
