New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge called one of the Toronto Blue Jays pitchers “a first class act” for his instrumental role in returning Judge’s historic home run ball to the Yankees Wednesday night.
During Wednesday’s third game of a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Center, Judge set the MLB American League (AL) record for most home runs in a single season.
Judge, thrown by reliever Tim Mayza, hit his 61st home run of the season into the Blue Jays’ bullpen in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game. With Aaron Hicks at first base, Judge hit the record-breaking homer with a 3-2 count to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.
Before the winning ball hit the bullpen, the winning ball clipped the glove of a Toronto Blue Jays fan sitting in the front row, a Toronto restaurateur named Frankie Lasagna.
Lasagna had brought the glove with him for precisely that reason – he had hoped he would have a chance to take home a piece of baseball history, or at least make use of it.
“I would have stuck with it as long as I could negotiate,” he told the Canadian press. “Maybe get the judge to try and get into the restaurant.”
But ultimately, Lasagna went empty-handed as he couldn’t quite reach the ball and dropped it into the Jays’ bullpen.
“Disbelief comes over you and only shock and amazement,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, I almost made it.'”
From there, Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschmann caught the ball after it bounced off a wall, a team spokesman confirmed. He and closer Jordan Romano made sure it returned to the Yankees, they said.
“Romano was one of several people involved in our bullpen. He made sure our group held on to it until the Yankees’ Zack Britton came to get it,” the announcer said.
In a post-game interview, Judge Romano called a “class act” for handing the ball back to Britton.
“He’s one of the best in the game. That definitely means a lot. I have to try to find him and thank him,” he added.
In video shared on MLB.com, Judge can be seen taking photos with the historic ball alongside his mother, who was watching all three Toronto games in anticipation of the big moment. He says the ball has now been “locked up” by the Yankees’ equipment manager.
Overall, Judge called the moment “an incredible honor” in a post-game interview and said he was relieved.
With files from The Canadian Press.