Fan who caught Justin Turner's walk-off homer gave it back
There have been more than a few thrilling baseball games this postseason, but Sunday night’s contest between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs might be the best yet. The two teams were facing off in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, and they took a 1-1 tie to the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs and two men on, Justin Turner became an instant legend when he yanked a three-run walk-off home run to give the Dodgers a 4-1 win.
Turner hit his homer to straight away center field, where it cleared the fence with room to spare. But the ball never touched the ground. It was caught by a man with a black baseball glove, wearing a Chase Utley Dodgers jersey. He ran 10-12 feet from his seat, stuck his glove out over the railing, and caught one of the most important baseballs in Dodgers postseason history.
The fan’s name is Keith Hupp, and the retired police officer (and lifelong Dodgers fan) was at the game with his son when the fateful moment happened. Hupp spoke to J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register and revealed the details of that amazing catch. The most important thing? He didn’t catch it with his correct hand.
“I’m a lefty,” Hupp said. “I’ve dislocated my right shoulder so many times, I had to resort to my son’s glove on my left hand. So the last five or six home run balls I’ve caught, I’ve caught with my left hand.”
So he was using his son’s glove on his non-preferred hand, and — wait a minute, did he say “the last five or six home run balls I’ve caught?”
He did indeed. Hupp has been a season ticket holder for 10 years, and with those seats on the edge of the seats in center field, he’s caught more than a few homers. In fact, he’s caught eight home runs “on the fly,” and has twice as many as that in his collection. He’d even caught a Turner home run before, and in the playoffs no less. Last October, he caught Turner’s home run against Jake Arrieta.
Hupp likes collecting home run balls so much (he’s got 24 in his collection) that he actually arranged a trade with the fan who caught Cody Bellinger’s record-tying 35th home run back in September. He gave that fan a game-used Bellinger jersey in exchange.
This time, though, Hupp will be the one giving up the home run ball. After he caught it, Hupp gave it to a security guard immediately and was escorted underneath the stadium to actually meet Turner and work out a trade. That home run ball was important to Turner (and to the Dodgers), and he wanted it back.
In a postgame interview with Baseball Tonight, Turner revealed that Hupp didn’t know what he wanted in exchange for the ball. The two traded information and Hupp will get back to Turner in a few days once he figures it out. But even though the terms of the trade aren’t set yet, Hupp left the ball with Turner.
That takes a lot of trust, but something tells me that Turner’s good for it.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
