Watch: Fan Makes the Greatest Catch You'll See in the Stands on Home Run Ball

By Dave Kovaleski June 11, 2019 at 10:14am

There have been some fantastic catches by fans over the years, but one hauled in Monday by a man in the bleachers at SunTrust Park in Atlanta is right up there with the best of them.

To make it even sweeter, the catch happened on a grand slam home run by the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. in the bottom of the second inning.

It gave Atlanta a 4-1 lead on the way to a 13-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The fan stole some of Acuna’s thunder as he jumped up, reached over his head and caught the blast with his bare hand.

This might be the best fan catch we’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/YYXGUy4Oxz

— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 11, 2019

Add it to the pantheon of the great fan catches, along with the beer cup catch …

Anthony Rizzo hits 1st HR of the season, splashes beer and a fan makes a great catch too. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/DXRV6XsXyC

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) April 13, 2017

And the baby-in-the-other-arm catch …

How about this catch, though?!

While holding a baby, this fan gets the one-handed/backhand grab on a home run ball. ? pic.twitter.com/WWXQ3YMxvY

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) July 24, 2018

And the “Don’t hang up, I got this” catch.

Casual.

Link: https://t.co/xtCqnYKUZF pic.twitter.com/wGokKTi3SX

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) August 16, 2018

Was this the best fan catch you've seen?

Acuna’s grand slam came off reliever Alex McRae, who was forced into action after Pirates starter Joe Musgrove was ejected in the first inning following a bench-clearing melee.

Musgrove threw inside on the Braves’ Josh Donaldson in the bottom of the first and the pitch grazed Donaldson’s uniform.

It was too close for comfort for Donaldson, who started jawing at Musgrove. The two had some choice words for one another and had to be separated as both benches cleared.

Donaldson, Musgrove and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle were ejected.

The Braves got two home runs from Ozzie Albies, as well as one each by Nick Markakis, Freddie Freeman and Acuna.

It was Atlanta’s fourth straight win. The Braves moved into a tie for first with the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East at 37-29. The Pirates fell to 30-35.

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Tags:

Atlanta Braves, MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Viral

Dave Kovaleski

Contributor, Sports

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Dave is a lifelong sports fan who has been writing for The Wildcard since 2017. He has been a writer for more than 20 years for a variety of publications.

Dave has been writing about sports for The Wildcard since 2017. He's been a reporter and editor for over 20 years, covering everything from sports to financial news. In addition to writing for The Wildcard, Dave has covered mutual funds for Pensions and Investments, meetings and conventions, money market funds, personal finance, associations, and he currently covers financial regulations and the energy sector for Macallan Communications. He has won awards for both news and sports reporting.

Location

Massachusetts

Languages Spoken

English

Topics of Expertise

Sports