Caleb Lloyd got to live the fan’s dream at a baseball game not once … but twice on Monday night. Lloyd, a Reds fan who plays soccer at Thomas More College, caught back-to-back home runs during the Reds-Braves series opener.
The first ball was a homer from pitcher Mike Leake in the fourth that made it a 2-1 lead for Cincinnati. Zack Cozart followed with a home run, making it back-to-back homers for the Reds, and back-to-back home run balls for Lloyd.
“The first one I actually barehanded, ” Lloyd said after the game. “It hit my hand and I didn’t expect to actually catch it. I caught it, and then it bounced off the palm of my hand and I reached out and grabbed it. It hurt really bad, so I’m like, ‘I’m not doing it again.’ But the second one bounced behind me and then it bounced into my lap. My buddy’s like, ‘You caught a second one!’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy.’”
Lloyd told reporters he wasn’t even planning to attend the game until his friend called and invited him that day. He gave the second home run ball to his friend and returned the first to Leake because it was the pitcher’s first career home run.
There’s actually more to the story: The Reds went back-to-back-to-back that inning, but Lloyd didn’t catch Drew Stubbs’ blast. Stubbs also homered in the first, so he went back-to-back in the game.
The only thing that ranks on a similar level for improbability was this Orioles fan catching three foul balls in the same game. As someone who’s never caught a home run or foul ball at a ballgame, I can say I’m truly envious.
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