"You'll Get Nothing!"

"You'll get nothing...and you'll like it." That's basically what the Marlins said to Greg Eisinger, a law student, who caught the first home run ball hit at the new Marlins Ballpark in Miami. The historic homer came off the bat of Astros outfielder J.D. Martinez. The Marlins offered Eisinger an autographed Hanley Ramirez bat in exchange for the ball. A tepid initial offering that was denied. Eisinger countered with a request for season tickets. That was rebuffed. A stalemate ensued. Eisinger was determined to cash in and apparently his asking price was too much for the Marlins. They told him, "keep it. We don't want it." So now Eisinger is stuck with an unathenticated baseball and nothing to show for it. MLB won't authenticate a ball that goes into the crowd. Initially Eisinger was pointed out by security. But with an unauthenticated ball, who knows if Eisinger would pull a fast one and give a purchaser a major league baseball but not the actual ball in question. Maybe Martinez would want his 9th career home run ball. Perhaps Eisinger can get $20 for it.