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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500th career home run
Who Caught the Ball?
Will Stewart
28, accountant Austin, Texas |
What's the Story?
In the days leading up to the record homer, Thome said he wanted the ball back and planned to drive with his father to deliver it to the Baseball Hall of Fame.Stewart didn't know until he got to the game that he had a chance to see baseball history. "I got to meet him.." Thome said. "He came in the following year to the Cubs and Sox series," Thome said. "He was a great guy from Dallas, a guy who flew in, was on a business trip. Really didn't even know anything about what the significance of the game was and he caught the ball. The guy was great. The guy was absolutely wonderful." Stewart chose to return the ball to Thome. In return, the White Sox offered Stewart two season tickets for the 2008 season and an autographed ball and bat. Stewart chose to donate the two season tickets to the charity of Thome's choice. They were eventually auctioned off during the Joyce Thome Benefit for the Children's Hospital of Illinois, an event named in honor of Thome's late mother. The team said they will fly Stewart out from Texas with a group of his friends to sit in Thome's box during one of the White Sox-Cubs games next season. Thome and his father visited Cooperstown to deliver his 500th home run ball to the Hall of Fame. "That wasn't a ball that I should keep, that was something the Hall should have," Thome said. "It would just be sitting on my mantle at home. Now it's something for everyone to see." The great father-son trip to Cooperstown "was really special for us," Thome said. "At the hotel [the Otesaga] there, my dad and I sat out on the terrace and they had lunch for us. They told us all the stories about the Hall of Famers. We toured the museum. I think it was the greatest days of my dad's life. And other than the birth of my children, it was the greatest day of my life." |
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762nd career home run, setting career record
Who Caught the Ball?
Jameson Sutton
24, unemployed Boulder, Colorado
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What's the Story?
Sutton retrieved the ball in a three-man scuffle. He was never approached by an MLB official, whisked away by stadium security, or interviewed on TV. Instead, he returned to his seat, watched most of the game, and disappeared before the final out.Sutton placed the ball in a safe deposit box and tracked Bonds' stats for the remainder of the season. He knew that another home run would greatly reduce the value of his ball, but says he never rooted against Bonds. "I thought it would be cool if he could keep adding to his record, but he never did, and that's when I was like, 'Damn.'" Months after making the catch, Sutton came forward and announced that, due to a serious illness in the family, he would auction off the ball. Game footage, as well as a successful polygraph test corroborated Sutton's claim that he had the real ball. Sutton was hoping for $1 million, but it went for $376,612 with SCP Auctions. "I am happy with my decision to sell the 762 ball and wish the new owner the best," Sutton said. "I'm especially proud to help my family pay some of the medical costs due to my father's illness and thank SCP Auctions for all their help." |
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756th career home run, breaking Hank Aaron's career record
Who Caught the Ball?
Matt Murphy
22, college student Elmhurst, New York
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What's the Story?
Murphy and a friend were on their way to Australia. On a one-day San Francisco stopover, they purchased game tickets on a whim at the last minute.Clad in a Mets jersey and cap, Murphy moved in the bleachers to where he thought the ball would land. When Bonds connected, "there was complete chaos," said officer Ana Morales. She said the ball "hit something, bounced up and then as it was going down toward the ground, he [Murphy] leaned over and got it." There was a massive pile of fans scrambling to get to the ball, and Murphy was on the bottom, Morales said. "It took a weird bounce and I just dove on it." He added, "I just curled under a bleacher and immediately there was a 30-person dogpile." Officers began peeling people off the top. When they got to Murphy, he was bent over and bloodied, with the ball in his hand. She told him, "Put the ball in your pocket and we will protect you." Morales and Martin led Murphy to a secure area in the ballpark and Giants officials who authenticated the baseball. "I won the lottery," Murphy told The Daily News in a story posted on its Web site Wednesday. "I'm scraped up but nothing serious." "I don't want the ball," Bonds said flatly after the milestone, adding that he hoped Murphy didn't get hurt during the ruckus. "I've never believed a home run ball belonged to the player. If he caught it, it's his." "I'm going to be smart about what I do with it," he said. Murphy said he would split any profits with the friend who went with him to the game. Murphy ultimately decided to sell the ball because he couldn't afford to pay the taxes required to keep it. It went to auction with SCP Auctions and sold for $752,467.20. The winning bidder was fashion designer Mark Ecko, who asked the public to vote on what he should do with the ball on vote756.com. "The public chose to send the ball to the Hall of Fame with an asterisk, as a constant reminder of this unforgettable moment in sports history and popular culture." Ecko continued, "You might say it's defacing. Others might say that it's validating the way most people feel about the ball." The home run ball was indeed marked with an asterisk and then donated it. Baseball Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey said accepting the ball did not mean the Hall endorses the viewpoint that Barry Bonds used drugs. In any case, the Hall has promised Ecko that the asterisk would not be obscured. Bonds sounded off on Ecko. "He's stupid. He's an idiot. ... He spent $750,000 on the ball and that's what he's doing with it? What he's doing is stupid." |
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Who Caught the Ball?
Walter "Sonny" Kowalczyk
29, labor relations student Trenton, New Jersey |
What's the Story?
The ball landed in the hands of Kowalczyk, a lifelong Yankee fan who had emptied his bank account to buy season tickets.After the 6'4" Kowalczyk caught the ball, he used his roughly 250-pound frame to protect his prize from a scrum of crazed fans Saturday. Kowalczyk was in fetal position by the time police pulled other fans scrambling for the ball off him. He was retrieved by stadium security guards who took him to a suite to watch the rest of the game and then drove him home. Rodriguez said that he would, of course, like it back. "I'm kind of just going to let it sit for a few days," Rodriguez said. "It's his ball. Let him enjoy it and then go from there." He and the Yankees attempted to purchase the ball from Kowalczyk, but a deal was apparently never consummated. In February 2010, SCP Auctions sold the ball for $103,579. |
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755th career home run, tying Hank Aaron's career record
Who Caught the Ball?
Adam Hughes
33, plumber La Jolla, California
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What's the Story?
Immediately after catching the ball, security brought Hughes to a location where MLB officials could authenticate and tag the ball."I'm really happy for Bonds," said Hughes. "He made a lifetime achievement and I feel very fortunate that I caught this ball. Never in a million years did I expect it." After weighing his options for a week, Hughes decided to sell the ball. It was sold by SCP Auctions for $186,750. Hughes said he expected to share the money with a cousin who attended the game with him last weekend. He will pay off some debts, donate to charity, and "sock away" whatever is left. |
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Who Caught the Ball?
Todd Eisenlohr
24, graphic designer Pennock, Minnesota |
What's the Story?
The Twins fan, who sported a Jason Bartlett jersey, was at the game with his parents to celebrate the birthday of his mom, Kathy. He was sitting in row five of section 101 when the ball came to him.Eisenlohr's father Lyle said, "They started hitting on Silva and I saw Frank Thomas was about to come up, and I told my wife, 'The way Silva is pitching, Frank Thomas has a chance at hitting a home run.' The next thing I know, the very next pitch, here it comes." The ball was easily in reach when it cleared the left field wall. "I just kind of leaned over. If I didn't catch it, it probably would've hit my dad in the head," he said. Eisenlohr was aware of the significance of the home run when he caught it. "After I caught it, everyone was giving me high-fives." All he really wanted was to shake Thomas' hand. Selling the ball never crossed his mind. "I don't really care about that," he said. "It's only money." Eisenlohr gave the ball back to Thomas fifteen minutes after catching it. In return, the grateful player gave him an autographed jersey, bat, and ball. While Eisenlohr might try to sell the jersey because "it's a Blue Jays jersey," he plans to keep the bat and ball. Thomas said he appreciated Eisenlohr's willingness to give up the ball without asking a king's ransom. "That was very classy of him, he was very gracious. He's a nice guy," Thomas said of Eisenlohr. The ball will stay with Thomas unless a certain institution focused on baseball history comes calling. "I'm going to keep it unless the Hall of Fame wants it," Thomas said. "If they want it, I will probably give it to them." |
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600th career home run
Who Caught the Ball?
?
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What's the Story?
The ball landed in the right-center field bullpen.
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2006 ALCS, Game 4:
won the AL pennant for the Detroit Tigers
Who Caught the Ball?
Jonathan Fenlon
23, college student Waterford, Michigan |
What's the Story?
The Ordonez ball flew into the left field seats. A spectator deflected the ball, which then bounced off the forehead of Tim Smith, 43, knocking off his Tigers cap. The ball then rolled under the seats, where Jonathan Fenlon dove for it and made a successful grab."I'm in shock," Fenlon told The Detroit News. "It still hasn't sunk in." Fenlon said he would like to keep the souvenir but didn't rule out giving it to Ordonez. He hadn't considered whether he would ask for compensation to surrender the ball. "I don't want to sell it to anyone else," he told The Oakland Press of Pontiac. "Obviously Maggs, I think, would like to have it back." Ordonez wanted the ball so that he could turn it over the Baseball Hall of Fame. "They already got my bat," Ordonez said Wednesday before the Tigers practiced at Comerica Park. Tiger. "If he will give it to me, I would like to give them the ball." Fenlon was one of three three runners who died of an apparent heart attack in Detroit's Free Press Marathon in 2009. |
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734th career home run, breaking Hank Aaron's NL record
Who Caught the Ball?
?
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What's the Story?
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733rd career home run, tying Hank Aaron's NL record
Who Caught the Ball?
?
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What's the Story?
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