The Guy Who Caught Mark McGwire's 70th Home Run Ball Sold It for $3M Because McGwire Refused to Meet Him

What a W for this guy with a DNA strand tie. As cool as it would have been to give Mark McGwire his 70th home run ball, I'd say $3 million is a solid consolation prize.

First of all, what a ridiculous offer from the Cardinals. You're going to give me a signed bat, ball and jersey for a baseball worth millions of dollars? Those three items autographed by McGwire are probably worth, what, a combined $1,000? So you're getting a cool 0.03 percent return on investment there. I'm not even engaging in discussions for anything less than season tickets for life.

But then this guy says he'll do it if he can just meet McGwire and presumably give him the ball himself and McGwire says no? I'm going to question the authenticity of that story, because if McGwire could have gotten that ball for a handshake and a picture, I'm pretty sure he would have done it.

I'd like to think if I caught a ball of that magnitude from a Braves player that I'd be a good enough person to give it back for a reasonable package, but if I heard $3 million, I don't think there's any turning back at that point. That's not "quit your job" money, but it is "make your life a hell of a lot better" money.

Good for Phil Ozersky for whipping it out on the table and walking away with $3 million. That's how you negotiate.