Mark Madden's hot take: Hey fans, don't be stupid — cash in

Whenever a fan is in the presence of a big-time athlete, the fan should remember that the athlete doesn’t care about him or her. You won’t be friends. It’s an empty encounter, so don’t feel bad about wanting a selfie, autograph, whatever. (Be polite.)

This especially goes if you have something the athlete wants.

Elly De La Cruz, 21, is a big-time talent for the Cincinnati Reds who recently got summoned to the big leagues. His first home run nearly left Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, landing in the last row of the right-field stands. It was a 458-foot bomb.

That ball, right now, has an estimated value of $10,000.

That’s a lot more than what the Reds and De La Cruz traded to the high school kid that caught it: Alex French got a bunch of signed crap, a photo op and a meet and greet with De La Cruz for him and his friends. De La Cruz got the ball.

“I just want to do the right thing. I want him to have it,” French said.

What a mark.

De La Cruz will never talk to French again. French got a bunch of tchotchkes that he’ll stick in a closet and forget. De La Cruz got something he’ll long cherish.

The Reds should have at least given French and his friends season tickets for the rest of the season. That’s a soft comp. It wouldn’t cost the Reds anything.

But it was even cheaper to let French “do the right thing.”

There is no real connection between athletes and fan. Letting a rich guy have something valuable for free is the stupid thing, not “the right thing.” (De La Cruz is making $720,000.)

“The right thing” is to cash in.

Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball sold for $3 million. Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball went for $1.5 million. Barry Bonds’ 756th home run ball cost $752K. Those values were artificially inflated at the time of sale, not unlike McGwire and Bonds.

But, instead, French has an autographed bat. Not even the bat used to hit the home run. When French goes to college, he shouldn’t major in business.