J.D. Martinez exchanges bat for ball, and everyone goes home happy.
Edgar Cuevas and his friends arrived a little late to Minute Maid Park, so they were not yet settled in their seats when J.D. Martinez came to the plate in the bottom of the first.
Sometimes tardiness pays off. Cuevas watched through one of the oval openings along the walkway above left-center, saw Martinez take a mighty swing, heard the crack of the bat and knew immediately the ball might be headed his way.
“I went for it,” Cuevas said.
And he caught the ball. In an instant, he found himself besieged by friendly workers from guest services, whose job it is to make sure players who hit milestone home runs have a chance to get the ball back. They had no problem negotiating with Cuevas, who was more than happy to give up the ball in exchange for a signed bat from Martinez.
A meeting took place outside the Astros clubhouse following the game. Martinez offered a new bat, but Cuevas politely indicated he’d rather have one that was game-used. No problem, Martinez said, darting back to the clubhouse. Soon, he emerged with a different bat, signed it, posed for a dozen or so pictures and thanked Cuevas for his kindness.
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mlblogsfooter1
That’s nice stuff, Alyson. This is one of the reasons you are sooooooo popular in Houston.
The only thing missing from this article…is what made the ball special. I’ll guess first home run ball.
Was that the COOLEST game you’ve seen this year!!! WOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!
I love to see good baseball! These guys have given me the BIGGEST SMILE!!!
Jordan Lyles is one cool cat!! Becky:)
Just give the ball back kid or accept the bat he gives you. Sending him back to the clubhouse for a different bat. Really?
Yes really. Notice in the article that the fan “politely asked”. He didn’t command him or give him an ultimatum. The kid knew what kind of opportunity he had, and he got the most our of it.
Good for him. Bad for you for being so jealous.
What a nice guy. JD shows how it should be done. I saw Edgar snag that ball and thought “what a lucky kid” and he was. Love to see the fun and good spirit of Baseball here in Houston. Go Astros!