"That's just crazy," Cincinnati Reds fan Caleb Lloyd said Monday night after he ended up snagging two home runs balls — from consecutive batters — during the Reds' 4-1 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
MLB.com has video of the highly unlikely events. It was the fourth inning, and the first ball to come toward Lloyd, sitting just above the wall in left-center field, was hit by the Reds' Mike Leake. It was the pitcher's first-ever home run.
Lloyd, a 20-year-old college student, caught the ball barehanded. "It hurt really bad," he said with a smile after the game.
The next batter up, Reds shortstop Zack Cozart, launched another ball Lloyd's way. That one landed behind Lloyd and then bounced into his lap.
And that, as Lloyd said later, was just crazy.
Lloyd, who says he'd never caught a ball before at a game, gave the first ball to Leake. He wanted the pitcher to have it since it was Leake's first homer. Lloyd gave the second ball to the friend he went to the game with, since the buddy's uncle had gotten them the tickets.
Now, he says, he's hoping for a call from one of the late night comedy shows. Dave? Jay? Conan? Anbody interested?
Update at 3 p.m. ET. His Best Time Ever:
Lloyd told NPR's Robert Siegel this afternoon that when the second ball headed his way, he couldn't believe what was happening. "Am I actually going to catch two home run balls?" he wondered. Grabbing that one, Lloyd said, made it "the best time I've ever had in my entire life."
Tonight, by the way, he's headed back to the ballpark. The Reds have said he'll be their honorary captain for the evening, Lloyd told Robert.
Much more from their conversation will be on today's All Things Considered. Click here to find an NPR station that broadcasts or streams the show. Later, we'll add the as-broadcast version of the conversation to the top of this post.
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