Aaron Judge’s 61st home run has the baseball world spinning, with storylines flooding in from the historic feat. But one fan’s name, a spectator who almost caught Judge’s homer Wednesday night, may be the best story of all.
Enter Toronto fan Frankie Lasagna.
At least that is the name he gave to The Canadian Press while being interviewed about being feet away from snagging a ball estimated to be worth $250,000 or more, according to The New York Times. The 37-year-old restaurant owner bought front row seats to increase his chances of being the one to come away with the ball. He told The Press he usually doesn’t bring gloves to games.
Enter Judge, who in the seventh inning of Toronto’s home contest, hit his 61st homer of the season, tying Roger Maris’s American League record. The ball sailed deep into left field, closer and closer to Lasagna who was prepared to keep the ball had he caught it.
The ball, of course, had other plans. It bounced off the wall and fell into the Blue Jays’ bullpen before any lucky fan could get a glove on it.
“It’s like you’re in the game, you’re fielding and getting ready for the pitch,” he said, per The Press. “When he hit the ball, it was like ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’
“I think I hit my buddy in his neck (as I stretched out). I almost got it.”
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Lasagna, in his baby blue Vladimir Guerrero Jr. jersey, can be seen putting his hands on his head, baffled by his proximity to catching the piece of history. He and other fans agonized as the ball was recovered in Toronto’s bullpen by pitching coach Matt Buschmann. He told The Press he would have held onto the ball as long as he could’ve had he snagged it, and possibly would’ve tried to get Judge to come to his restaurant in exchange for the ball.
“Two more feet and I would have had it,” he said, per The Press. “I needed a fishing net and I would have got it.”
Lasagna will have another chance to capture history—if he wants to travel to New York. The Yankees play the Orioles in a three-game series where Judge will try to hit homer No. 62, cementing his name in New York and AL history.
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