Phillies Fan Recalls Catching Home-Run Ball While Holding Baby
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A Phillies fan made a remarkable catch during Monday night's game against the Dodgers.
It was the bottom of the ninth inning when Phillie Maikel Franco hit his second homer of the game, when Dan Alvarez made the barehanded catch of the home-run ball with his two-month old baby Mason in his other arm.
"The excitement, I'm still trying to soak it all in," Alvarez said.
"I was trying to get him to sleep and it was you know the ninth inning. It was late and I just remember hearing the crack of a bat and I was like, 'That's going to be a home run.' And I remember hearing them say, 'It's coming our way.' And I look up and it was like in slow motion but it happened so fast. I remember seeing her crouching down like it's coming right at her, so I remembered that I had the baby. I turned to my side to shield him, and then also stopped the ball from her. And it ended up turning into a really good catch."
Morgan Bortle, Mason's mother, said, "I was so excited. I was tearing up. He was tearing up. It was so exciting."
Unfortunately, the Phillies lost to the Dodgers, 7-6.
The baby, however, has no idea what happened that night.
"Once he understands, he's gonna be like, 'That was us.' It's gonna be really cool," Alvarez said.
But this isn't the first time a father at a Phillies game has snagged a ball while holding a child. Last June, a dad in the stands grabbed a ball during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
And back in 2015, another dad caught a foul ball during a game against the Mets, with his baby strapped to his chest.
