ballcatchers.com
A home run is perfect.
A home run is a gift.
A home run is history.
And sometimes history picks you.
A home run is a gift.
A home run is history.
And sometimes history picks you.
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660th career home run, tying Willie Mays' career total
Who Caught the Ball?
Mike Shuster
25, financial adviser Warwick, RI
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What's the Story?
Red Sox fan Mike Shuster got to Fenway Park 10 minutes late and bought the last single-seat ticket remaining above the Green Monster: Section 2, Row 3, Seat 4. He was in the bathroom when he heard Rodriguez's name called as a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth."I ran back here and right as I got back to my seat, the home run was coming right at me," Shuster said. With the green light on 3-0, Rodriguez turned on a 94 mph fastball and lined it into the Monster Seats in left for number 660, which ironically was also his first as a pinch-hitter. According to Statcast, A-Rod's 660th left the bat at 117 mph and traveled a distance of 419 feet, with a launch angle of 19 degrees. It sailed to the third row of Fenway's Monster Seats, where Shuster ended up with the baseball. His initial reaction was like that of many in the ballpark, or at least those supporting the Red Sox. Two thumbs down, he motioned to the world as its collective eyes looked upon him. Fan Michael Polacco was sitting just to Shuster's left and briefly got his hand on the ball. "I wanted to throw that ball back," Polacco said. "There was a 1,000-percent chance that's what I would have done. We hate the Yankees around here and we can't stand him." The baseball would remain in Shuster's possession for the rest of the game. At one point, Shuster was spotted near the Yankees dugout, so perhaps some form of negotiations were underway. Or perhaps he was taunting the Yankees and A-Rod. "I know he got paid $6 million just to hit the home run, maybe," said Shuster. "If he wanted to take a picture with the ball, he'd be more than welcome, but I'm not giving it to him." Shuster was well aware of the marketing bonus that was in Rodriguez's contract, the clause the Yankees intend to fight, according to sources, who say the mark is tarnished by A-Rod's admission of performance-enhancing drug use. He said he wasn't interested in trading the ball for any Yankees memorabilia or the David Ortiz-signed bats the Red Sox offered. "I wasn't going to give it away," said Shuster. "I think I can hold my own. I'm in sales. I'm gonna go home and sleep on it and see what I can come up with." A source said the Red Sox "offered him the world." Shuster said he has no intention of ever presenting it to A-Rod. When Rodriguez learned Shuster wouldn't surrender the milestone ball, he said, "We'll see what happens. I haven't been good at negotiations." Shuster said he would sleep on it before making a final decision about the ball's fate. "It's a questionable ball," Shuster said. "Throwing it back definitely makes a statement, but that's done all the time for a lot of things. I think something different should be done with this ball with greater significance. I'm not sure what that is yet. I thought about blowing the ball up and making a video of it." |
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500th career home run
Who Caught the Ball?
Tom Sherrill
29, Air Force serviceman Pomona, California
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What's the Story?
Pujols made history with a drive over the left-center-field fence. The ball flew through the hands of one fan, ricocheted off a step in the aisle, and bounced off Sherrill's belly and into his hands.Sherrill said he would be giving the ball back. He knew Pujols would value the ball more, so he planned to hand it over after the game. "I'll take whatever they want to give me, but I'm not going to be picky. I just want to make sure that Albert gets the ball. I'm just happy to be a part of it," Sherrill told Angels broadcasters Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza on Fox Sports West. Sherrill gave the ball to Pujols in exchange for autographed memorabilia. |
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2011 World Series, Game 6:
won the game and evened the World Series at 3-3
Who Caught the Ball?
David Huyette
39, radiologist Maryville, Illinois
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What's the Story?
Huyette and his friend Jeremy Reiland had already played the scenario through their minds several times. The pair were sitting in a pair of outfield bleacher tickets they had purchased on StubHub and knew that each batter in the St. Louis Cardinals' wild 10-9 win over Texas Rangers in Game 6 of the World Series could be the one to make history. Every time someone came up to bat, Busch Stadium's large batter's eye to the right of their seats provided a constant reminder that a valuable piece of Cardinals' lore could land just a few feet away."Every time there was a chance there could be a walkoff home run, Jeremy reminded me that there was a grassy knoll right next to us," said Huyette. "We're out there and I just assumed the position to get ready each time. At one point Albert (Pujols) had the chance to win the game and we thought that was going to be the time that it happened. But it didn't, he was intentionally walked. "Then Freese came up in the 11th and I heard the crack of the bat and everybody cheered and it was kind of in slow motion. I jumped over the fence and (the ball) kind of landed right there. I just tumbled around it, expecting to getting pummeled and beaten to death." Huyette scurried onto the grass, retrieved the ball, and stuffed it down his pants before celebrating. Mike Reis, an off-duty St. Louis police officer working ballpark security, later approached the pair and said that Freese or the Hall of Fame might be interested in the baseball. Reis said that Huyette was free to make his own decision, but the fan immediately agreed and was taken to a spot outside the Cardinals clubhouse where he offered the ball to Freese. A quick negotiation ensued and Huyette agreed to trade the ball for a signed bat from Freese as well as a ball signed by the entire Cardinals team. "Maybe if I had been wanting for money, it'd be different," Huyette said. "But I make a good living. I wasn't going to hold the country hostage for the ball." |
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Who Caught the Ball?
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What's the Story?
Thome sent a towering fly to left field. It landed just beyond the fence and was recovered by stadium officials.
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Who Caught the Ball?
Christian Lopez
23, cell phone salesman Highland Mills, New York
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What's the Story?
Lopez got his $65 tickets a few days before the game as a birthday present from his girlfriend, Tara Johnson. Lopez was sitting with Johnson, his father, Raul, and two family friends in the first row of Section 236 in left field, hoping to see history. According to Johnson, Lopez actually thought he might be part of it."My boyfriend said, 'If the ball comes over here, I'm going to get it,'" Johnson said. "So when it was hit, I said, 'Christian, I think it's really coming here.'" The ball hit Raul's palm and bounced into the hands of his son, Christian. "My dad missed it, because he has awful hands," Lopez said. "The next thing I know, I just saw the ball roll in front of me and I jumped on it. It was instinct." His father draped himself across his son's back while others in the section tried to pry away the prized possession. "When I saw the ball went to him, I covered him," Raul said. "I knew it would be crazy, because I saw the Barry Bonds thing. You know it's going to be crazy because it's history." Yankees officials hustled him to the Steinbrenner family luxury box. "Security was right there in a second," Lopez said. "They were dragging me up the stairs, and I'm a large man to drag up stairs. They were saying, 'Come with us.' The whole reason for me to come to the game was for history. And to actually be part of it now, it's crazy. It was surreal." Lopez did not want anything for the ball. The Yankees gave him season tickets for the rest of the 2011 regular season and playoffs. According to The New York Times, the total value of the seats could exceed $120,000. The IRS could consider that to be taxable income, for which Lopez would owe as much as $14,000 in taxes. |
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600th career home run
Who Caught the Ball?
Frankie Babilonia
23, New York Yankees security guard
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What's the Story?
According to the web site SeatGeek, working in conjunction with Hit Tracker, the most likely spot for Rodriguez to deposit his 600th career home run was into the seats, five rows above the left edge of the left-field scoreboard.Babilonia, in his second season as an employee of the New York Yankees, was filling in for a colleague who was on break when Rodriguez's milestone blast sailed over the center field wall. The ball landed in protective netting above Monument Park in Yankee Stadium, preventing a public scrum for the souvenir. Babilonia said he stumbled several times while scrambling to retrieve the ball and then turned it over to Yankee officials, per team policy. "I'm very blessed that Frankie was so generous," Rodriguez, 35, said in a post-game interview before posing for pictures with Babilonia. "I was lucky to hit it to center field to have one of our guys get it." Babilonia called the moment a "lifetime experience" and said he never considered trying to pocket the ball. "It's something I'll never forget, but I like doing my job," Babilonia told reporters outside the main interview room at Yankee Stadium. "I was pretty lucky." Babilonia said he plans to frame the bat he received from Rodriguez and hang it on his wall at home. |
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4th player in history to hit a grand slam in his 1st major league at-bat (this one on the first pitch)
Who Caught the Ball?
Manny Delcarmen
28, Boston Red Sox player
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What's the Story?
Sitting in the Red Sox bullpen just beyond the right-center field wall, Delcarmen leaped into the air to catch the ball. He returned it to Nava.
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Who Caught the Ball?
Chris Matcovich
22, college student Suffern, New York
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What's the Story?
Matcovitch recounts, "I stood by the railing near section 132 in left field when Gary Sheffield stepped to the plate. ... It was such a blast that at first I lost the ball due to the stands above, but then as it descended I was shocked as it came towards me. It first hit off a guy's hand in the last row of seats and then floated gently into my hands.""I was thinking, 'Just don't drop it,'" Matcovich said. "That's basically what went through my mind. If I dropped it, I would have been so disappointed in myself for the rest of my life." "We walked around the stadium and found security to tell them that I had the ball in my pocket. From there my friends and I were escorted to the security office, where Major League Baseball officials authenticated the ball." Mets teammates braced Sheffield for what might be a costly purchase. "Couple guys on the team kept saying, 'It's going to cost you about $100,000 to get that ball back. I was like, 'I don't think my wife's going to let me.'" Matcovich wanted to simply return the ball to Sheffield. "I wanted nothing but to just give it back to Gary," Matcovich said. "It was his ball. It's not mine." "That was special of him to do that," Sheffield said. "He didn't have to do that. But I'm appreciative that he did." Sheffield went a step further and signed jerseys for Matcovich and his friends, with plans to also give the group some signed bats. Matcovich was invited back to throw out the first pitch and watch batting practice from the field. |
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2008 NLCS, Game 4:
Who Caught the Ball?
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What's the Story?
After 20 years without winning a postseason series, the Dodgers were finally back. They had it all: the history, the glitz, the historic ballpark, Mannywood. The stage was set for one of American sports' iconic franchises to retake its place in the cultural firmament.Ah, but they didn't have a 40-year-old man who referred to himself as the Wonder Hamster, and that was their downfall. |
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Who Caught the Ball?
Joe Scherer
51, hospital worker |
What's the Story?
Scherer, a season ticket holder, wore a giveaway Sergio Mitre jersey. He "had a hunch" Griffey would pull one to right field."As soon as the ball was hit, I got a good read on it and had to move only about five empty seats to my left. I reached up with my left arm and made a clean catch in my glove. The ball went directly from Griffey's bat to my glove. I am the only fan who touched the ball, and I never lost possession of it." Scherer's catch can be clearly seen in the video footage. Scherer had another ball with him from batting practice and pointed to it underneath one of the seats, sparking a scrum between people duped into believing that was the real No. 600. With the real ball in hand, he quietly passed out of the mob scene. Scherer refused to identify himself and refused to speak to the media. He was escorted to the ground floor of Dolphin Stadium and put the ball in one of the executive offices. Reds media relations director Rob Butcher and Reds clubhouse manager Rick Stowe told the fan that Griffey would like the ball. Scherer replied, "Before you go any further, because of my circumstances, I'm keeping it. I have plans for it." "Different people do different things," Griffey said. "I'd like it. I can't control it. The guy has it. I'll worry about it later." Marlins president David Samson gave him his personal phone number and told him to sleep on his decision. Speaking on Scherer's behalf, Samson said his name was Joe, was in his mid-40s, and had been a season-ticket holder since 1993. Samson said he had met him at a few of the Marlins' events. "He's a Marlins fan, he recognizes the importance of the ball, and he recognizes the importance that it would have to Ken, who he called a class act and a first-rate player," Samson said. "He's going to call me [on Tuesday]. We're going to talk about the ball and what the best course of action is for it." Justin Kimball, a 25-year-old from Miami, told reporters he was the one who caught the home run ball but had it ripped from his hands. "It corroborates it on video evidence that I caught the ball, and I have a bunch of people here saying I caught the ball," said Kimball, pointing to scratches on his leg and arm. "I reached, I caught it, I brought it back and the guy just ripped it out of my hands." But video evidence showed a man in a Florida jersey catching the ball, and Samson said it was clear that man was Scherer. Eventually, Major League baseball authenticated the home run ball for Scherer. In June 2008, Scherer announced he would auction the ball, stating that he needs the money. Griffey suggested that he think about it very carefully. "It's his choice. I'd like to have it, but it is what it is," said Griffey. When Griffey's agent, Brian Goldberg, was asked about Scherer, he said, "He's got to separate fantasy from reality. ... I don't think the dollar value is going to be anything close to what Joe thinks. This ball didn't break any records and it's not unique." Through the Marlins' front office, Griffey passed along an offer to Scherer for the return of the ball. It included 10 Griffey memorabilia items, including some game-used articles, items that came from other players, and an all-expense paid trip for four people to New York for the All-Star break, including tickets the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. But Scherer declined. Scherer used Mastro Auctions to sell the ball for $42,000 in August 2008. |