TORONTO (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
After Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> rookie outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez hit his first career home run in Sunday’s 4-1 win at Toronto<\/a>, his teammates in the bullpen went to work to get the ball back for him.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The ball ended up in the hands of a young fan, who was soon in negotiations with Pirates reliever Justin Lawrence<\/a>. As talks progressed, the Pirates righty used hand signals to request a signed bat from the dugout.<\/p>\n Valdez signed a bat and reliever Dennis Santana<\/a> brought it out to the bullpen, then leaned around the fence to make the exchange.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n