This Jays fan was wearing a George Springer jersey when he caught Springer’s game-clinching home run ball
Dress for the ball you want
By now we’ve all watched the clip—some of us a dozen times—of George Springer’s go-ahead three-run home run last night, which led to the Blue Jays winning game seven of the ALCS and advancing to the World Series.
Thrilling on its own, this marks the Jays’ first time in the World Series in 32 years, which is why we can’t focus today and are replaying this divine moment over and over on our phones. In it, Jays fan Michael Angeletti can be seen catching Springer’s home run ball in a state of sports-induced euphoria.
Related: A Toronto legend is retiring—and this could be his last day
They say success is preparation plus opportunity, and indeed, Angeletti went to that game with a vision, even wearing a Springer jersey. “I told everyone, in every group chat, I was gonna catch the big ball,” Angeletti told the Toronto Star. He’d purchased a seat in the front row of left field, knowing it’d be a good place to snatch a history-making memento, and brought a glove just in case.
“Magic ball, magic jersey,” he said.
Maybe the Jays should give this talismanic superfan his seat back for the whole World Series.
Related: Q&A with George Springer, the brand-new, very expensive and finally healthy Toronto Blue Jay
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
