He’s still waiting on the Braves to reach out.
The Atlanta Braves won their first World Series title in 26 years on Tuesday with their 7-0 Game 6 victory over the Houston Astros. It was a game that swung on one of the more impressive home runs we’ll see in any World Series.
With two runners on in the third inning, Jorge Soler smashed a 3-2 breaking ball to left field that cleared the train tracks at Minute Maid Park and literally left the stadium. Statcast measured the home run at 446 feet, but it almost certainly went farther than that. The Braves never looked back after that en route to the World Series clincher.
It begged the question, though: What happened to that baseball?
Well, The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Young and ESPN’s Jesse Rogers were able to find out. And the story behind it was pretty great.
According to Young, Astros fan Manuel Ramos was watching the game at nearby apartment when they saw the ball hit a green awning outside the stadium. That was when he knew he had to try to get a hold of some World Series history.
Rogers detailed how Ramos and his sister-in-law, Shawnda, were able to retrieve the baseball as it settled in a blocked-off area:
“I was talking to security, like, ‘Please, just escort me over there,” Shawnda said.
That conversation turned out to be the moment Manuel needed. As the security guards spoke with her, he jumped at his opportunity. Literally. “I guess I distracted them,” Shawnda said. “I didn’t even do it on purpose. I didn’t even know he came down [with me].”
Manuel jumped the fence, grabbed the ball, half hid it in his shirt and ran back up to their viewing party. It was then, they said, that security began looking for it — but to no avail.
Ramos joked that he planned to burn the baseball if the Braves won, but he opted instead to hold onto the ball as a souvenir. He’d also be willing to listen to offers if the Braves or Soler reached out. Though Ramos said he hadn’t heard from the Braves yet, you have to think that the call is going to come eventually.
It’s a literal piece of Atlanta Braves history.
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