Fan plans to give baseball to Albert Pujols; do not want money

A day later, with time for reflection, Hydes said that he had changed his mind. He plans to give the ball to Pujols or the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

"I have slept on it," Hydes told the Detroit News on the phone Friday night. "All I wanted was to sleep on it, I slept on it and I woke up and I think (Pujols) is a class number.

"It's not my player, it's not my guy, I do not deserve the ball.

"I've reconsidered, one hundred percent, I'll give it to Pujols or the Hall of Fame."

And before you ask, no, this is not a money grab.

"I do not want money," said Hydes.

Hydes, who attended Thursday's match with two friends he met in the Peace Corps, caught the third round of Pujols. He did not immediately know the meaning of the home race until the announcer of the Tigers AP announced that Pujols had become the third official member of the 2,000-player club. the MLB and that the stadium security immediately began to overwhelm him.

The Tigers security personnel wanted the ball for Pujols and made an offer after the other. The negotiations began with a ball signed by Pujols and ended with a ball, a jersey, a meeting and memories of the Tigres star, Miguel Cabrera.

Hydes refused all this, in large part, he said, because he felt that the Tigers were urging him to turn the ball over. A "difficult sale," said Hydes.

Colombians have challenged this Thursday and Friday Friday in a statement by Vice President of Communications, Ron Colangelo, absent from the exchanges between the staff of Hydes and the Tigers on Thursday.

"We spoke to members of Comerica Park's operations and security staff who were in contact with the guest, and we have no doubt that our staff behaved professionally when it was there. spoke with the guest, "Colangelo said Friday. "After generous offers of autographed memorabilia of both Angels and Tigers, including a meeting with Albert Pujols, our team informed the guest that it was necessary to make a decision because the Angels would leave the stadium soon after the end of the match.

"The guest decided to keep the ball and our staff left."

Initially, Hydes thought he could give the ball to his brother, a fan of the Cardinals of Saint-Louis (the first team of Pujols) or the child of Ely who would soon be born.

He never decided. he just knew that he was going to keep the ball – the first ball he'd ever caught in a major league match – because, he thought, the Tigers staff were doing everything they could to convince him to abandon the balloon.

Hydes added that the Tigers' staff had repeatedly told him that he could not authenticate the ball – the bullets in the stands could not be officially authenticated because of chain-of-custody issues – and that, as a result , the ball was worthless on the free market. Hydes felt insulted in thinking that everything was a question of money.

Hydes, however, was impressed after the match – a 13-0 Angels win against the Tigers – when Pujols was very friendly in saying that Hydes had the right to keep baseball.

And this seemed to influence the decision of Hydes, and he tries to contact Pujols to find a way to get the ball.

Meanwhile, this whole event brought to Hydes impressive notoriety and also some loot. In his article published Thursday in the Detroit News, he commented on his love for the hot dogs of Hebrew National magazine. Hebrew National was so grateful that he sent her a dog pool for the summer, as well as other items, including a company jersey.

"I had adrenaline," Hydes said Friday, after reviewing all of the trials that led to dozens of interviews – both local and national – and the participation in the event. at least one Angels supporter to offer him $ 25,000. "I caught a baseball and I went out."