It’s not every day that a baseball fan catches a home run ball. It’s also not every day that the ball that was caught was a Shohei Ohtani rocket that solidified his place in baseball lore forever.
Yet for David Flores, a boxing coach from Santa Fe Springs, that’s exactly what happened.
The home run was the final nail in the coffin for the Milwaukee Brewers, as Ohtani’s three dingers cemented a clean 4-0 sweep by the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. It also capped off one of the greatest performances in MLB postseason history, as Ohtani, in addition to knocking three out of the park, struck out 10 batters.
Video shows the home run ball Flores caught — Ohtani’s third of the night — flying over the field, bouncing once in the stands and landing in his lap as others seated around him at Game 4 cheered with delight.
“It was a great hit by Shohei Ohtani…and a great catch,” Flores told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw. “This is a great run by the Dodgers and I’m just very fortunate to be in the situation I am in today.”
Catching the ball was an “unexpected” surprise, Flores admitted.
“I can’t believe it happened to me, but it happened to me,” he said. “And I’m thankful for it.”
As for his plans for the ball, Flores indicated he was leaning towards selling it, and he will likely get a nice payday from it.
Ohtani’s historic 50/50 club ball – caught in October 2024 after the Japanese superstar became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season – ended up selling for $4.3 million at an auction, breaking the previous record of $3.6 million, which is what it cost comic book creator and avid baseball card collector Todd McFarlane to buy Mark McGwire’s record-breaking 70th home run ball.
The $4.3 million that the 50/50 ball fetched was the most for any sports ball in history, according to ESPN.
While the value of this ball isn’t exactly known just yet, Flores says that, if he does decide to sell it, the money would go straight to his family.
“It [would] be for me and my family,” he said. “I have a son that I am looking after and that I care for, and I hope this ball could help out me and my child.”
He ended the interview with one final message.
“Go Dodgers, and thank the Lord,” he proclaimed.
Flores added that, as of Monday morning, no one – the Dodgers, the MLB or even Ohtani himself – had reached out to him regarding the ball. He did note, however, that there will be some “stiff competition” for the piece of baseball history, one that likely won’t be pried from his hands very easily.
The post Man who caught Ohtani’s 3rd home run of NLCS Game 4: ‘I can’t believe it happened to me’ appeared first on KTLA.
