A Chicago Cubs fan who was bottle-feeding a baby made a casual barehanded catch, almost stealing the ball out of the glove of the LA Dodgers’ first baseman Adrian Gonzalez on Tuesday night.
The Cubs had two out and none on base in the second inning at Wrigley Field when Jason Hammel fouled off a pitch from Zack Greinke. Gonzalez chased the popup and reached over a rolled-up tarpaulin while trying to make a play. But the fan, Keith Hartley, reached out and grabbed the ball with his right hand while carrying his baby, Isaac, in his left arm, while the child was suckling on a bottle.
Cubs fan makes ridiculous barehanded grab holding baby, called for interference: http://t.co/vACukOfaHa pic.twitter.com/X2YnicVIaX
— MLB (@MLB) June 24, 2015
“I was just trying to protect him,” said Hartley. “I see the ball coming up and it just kinda fell in my hand. It’s not quite the World Series so hopefully Adrian’s not too upset. He’s on my fantasy team.”
But Gonzalez said after the game: “It would have been more impressive if the baby would have caught it.”
The first-base umpire and crew chief Jerry Meals originally ruled the play a foul ball out of play, but the Dodgers manager Don Mattingly came out of the dugout and argued for fan interference. After a short delay, the call was reversed and Hammel was ruled out, ending the inning.
After the game but the Cubs manager Joe Maddon added: “That was outstanding. You worry about the baby, of course, but it looked like he had it under control. It looked like he did it before, almost. That was a great play.”
