Blue Jays Helped Young Fan Redeem Himself With Improbable Pair Of Home Runs

Just a few at bats after a young Toronto fan dropped a home run, the unthinkable happened.
A young Toronto Blue Jays fan celebrates catching a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home run.
A young Toronto Blue Jays fan celebrates catching a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home run. / via Sportsnet
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For most baseball fans, a dropped home run ball represents a potential once-in-a-lifetime missed opportunity. One young Toronto Blue Jays fan only had to wait five at bats for his chance at redemption.

Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement belted a three-run home run to open scoring in the bottom of the second inning of Thursday night's game against the Athletics. The ball, hit to left center, deflected off the young glove-wearing fan, and was eventually retrieved by another fan sitting one row in front of him. The young fan was clearly devastated by his failure to catch the ball.

Five batters later, Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stepped up to the plate with a runner on second, and he hit a blast to the exact same spot in the outfield. This time, the young Toronto partisan was ready, hauling in the homer from his team's top slugger.

Pure elation.

The way the entire section of fans went nuts after his catch tells you all you need to know. What an amazing moment for someone destined to be a Blue Jays diehard for life after what happened on Thursday.

Toronto would hit another two home runs to blow out the A's 12–0, a cherry on top for a fan who will never forget this game.


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Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.