A barehanded catch on a 108.5 mph foul! Is this the greatest fan grab ever?
It¡¯s possible that the top fan catch of the year happened on Monday night at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
In the top of the third inning, Cleveland¡¯s Josh Naylor yanked a foul ball 415 feet with an exit velocity of 108.5 mph that hooked well foul of the right-field foul pole and into the upper deck. An Orioles fan from Pasadena, Md., named Tim Byer, was parked by himself in the corner of the upper deck and barehanded a ball ticketed for Eutaw Street beyond the right-field wall.
As if the catch wasn¡¯t impressive enough, the fan was also holding a phone and a drink in his left hand as he snagged the ball with his right. Deservedly so, the fan held both of his arms up and tipped his cap to the Orioles faithful, who applauded his efforts for one of the most impressive fan catches you¡¯ll ever see.
The only person who wasn't so surprised by the catch was, well, Tim, who was a high school baseball outfielder 25 years ago and won a state championship in 1997 at Chesapeake High School.
"Does it come with a contract?" he joked during an interview on the MASN broadcast with Rob Long, even namedropping broadcaster Rex Barney, who was famed for saying "give that fan a contract!" after great catches in the stands.
Long was also notably impressed that Tim made the catch with his right hand despite being a right-hand thrower.
"But when you're good, you're good," Tim said without skipping a beat.
Good indeed, and now Orioles fans everywhere will know the legend of Tim from Pasadena and his incredible catch, his first foul ball in 30 years of attending games. In fact, the only Orioles fans who missed it live were ... Tim's wife and daughter, who were enjoying the bouncy house.
But all's well that ends well, because Tim's daughter made it back to her seat in time to make it onto the broadcast, sitting in her dad's arms with the now famous foul ball he snagged.