Fan makes barehanded catch of home run

Aug 31, 2023

Manny Randhawa

We've all seen some pretty great fan catches at ballgames before. But what a fan did on the South Side of Chicago at Thursday night's contest between the A's and White Sox was impressive on a number of fronts.

When Oakland slugger Brent Rooker smashed a deep drive to left-center field in the sixth inning, the fans in the bleachers at Guaranteed Rate Field braced themselves for the incoming projectile. As the ball descended, one man -- sporting a Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn jersey -- was in prime position to take home a souvenir.

The problem was, he was holding food in his left hand and didn't have a glove. But therein lies the greatness of this play.

First, he made the catch barehanded, triumphantly snatching the ball -- which left Rooker's bat with an exit velocity of 103.8 mph per Statcast -- out of the air.

Second, he had to reach across his body with his right hand to make the play. Had the ball been a little farther to his right, the play would've been markedly easier.

And finally, from what we can see, there was no spillage of food. The seamlessly smooth movement to "Velcro" the baseball left undisturbed whatever cuisine was in that bowl.

Bravo, fan at the A's-White Sox game. Bravo.