Dallas Keuchel tosses heckler a baseball that says 'Thanks for paying my salary'

Look at what Brandon Phillips has started!

Houston Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel responded to a heckling fan in Oakland not with his mouth, but with a baseball. Keuchel tossed this to the heckler:

Well played, Dallas, well played.

Phillips, the Cincinnati Reds second baseman, gave a signed ball to a drunken heckler in Pittsburgh last month, telling him to "shut up." Keuchel's ball probably isn't as cool as Phillips' (there's no signature), but it's still a clever retort that's turned into a cool piece of memorabilia.

The trouble with these types of keepsakes, though, is when the owner shows it off, he has to admit that he was being a butthead toward a baseball player.

Kuechel, in case you're wondering, is making $508,000 this season, a smidge above the MLB minimum. That works out to $3,135 per game.

BLS H/N: Hardball Talk

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz