HolyCoast: The Billionaire Pitcher
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Billionaire Pitcher

How could a guy who has only appeared in seven big league games in nine seasons be a billionaire? By buying some land from an ailing relative:

Matt White, a journeyman pitcher trying to make the Los Angeles Dodgers, could become baseball's first billionaire player.

It has nothing to do with his arm. He owns a rock quarry in western Massachusetts.

White, who has appeared in seven big league games in nine professional seasons, paid $50,000 three years ago to buy 50 acres of land from an elderly aunt who needed the money to pay for a nursing home.

While clearing out a couple acres to build a home, he discovered stone ledges in the ground, prompting him to have the property surveyed.

A geologist estimated there were 24 million tons of the stone on his land. The stone is being sold for upward of $100 per ton, meaning there's well over $2 billion worth of material used for sidewalks, patios and the like.

Of course, that doesn't factor in the expenses involved in processing the stone and transporting it for sale.

"It sounds bogus even saying those numbers," White said. "I'm just a small town guy trying to get to the big leagues. It's beyond comprehension."


Some guys have all the luck.

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