KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri police officer went to patrol Kauffman Stadium, and ended up in the highlight reels. And it’s all thanks to one great play! He made an amazing catch, but he wasn’t alone.
A baseball from the Home Run Derby is a souvenir not many fans get to take home, but that’s not the case for two young baseball fans. Officer Matt Smith became an overnight sensation after making a catch Monday night. But as the ball was sailing toward him, he had only one thing on his mind.
“Don’t drop it or you’re going to get booed by 50,000+ people,” Smith said.
Smith didn’t drop the ball, and that’s to the joy of one seven-year-old boy, and the tears of his own three-year-old son.
“One of the first calls I got afterwards was from my wife,” Smith said. “She was at home watching the Home Run Derby and I guess my son saw me on t.v. He was excited because he thought I was going to bring home a ball to him.”
But Officer Smith gave the ball to a seven-year old-boy sitting nearby.
“He had been out there for hours wanting a ball and wasn’t able to get a ball,” Smith said. “You’ve got all these older guys, taller people around you grabbing the ball from him, so he enjoyed it and his family really appreciated it too.”
As for his own son, Officer Smith hopes to make amends tonight with a ball from the All Star Game itself. But he wasn’t the only one to snag a fly ball at the Home Run Derby. Judy Beck, who’s visiting Kansas City from North Carolina on her son’s wish trip with the Make A Wish Foundation, says, “It was incredibly awesome.”
For her family, the second time was the charm.
“My husband almost got a ball, but was bowled over by someone else and missed it,” Beck said. “So, his souvenir is a big scratch on his knee, while his wife came through. I was very surprised because lots of people around me had gloves and were much better at catching than I was and I just saw it roll through some legs.”
Beck snatched up the ball and gave it to her kids. Beck wasn’t on t.v. when she got her ball, so she will have to tell friends and family the story. As for Officer Smith, he says his phone blew up with text messages, phone calls facebook posts and tweets. Not your average day at the office.
