Fan Who Caught Justin Turner's Walk-Off Homer Also Caught Turner's Home Run In Last Year's NLCS
Justin Turner gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the NLCS Sunday when his three-run walk-off home run concluded Game 2 in Los Angeles.
It was the second time in two years that Turner hit a home run against the Cubs in an NLCS game at Dodger Stadium. And for Dodgers fan Keith Hupp, it was the second time in two years that he caught a home run ball hit by Turner in an NLCS game at Dodger Stadium.
According to J.P. Hoornstra of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Hupp was talking with Turner Sunday night to figure out how the third baseman could get the ball from his first career walk-off home run. Hupp eventually agreed to give Turner the ball, according to the Tribune, but the specifics of the deal between the two were not clear.
For Hupp though, it seems like this deal should have been a no-brainer to make. Although a Dodgers postseason walk-off home run ball is rare—the last one came 29 years ago to the date off the bat of Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series—Hupp has caught eight home run balls in his life and has acquired an additional 16 through various ways, according to the Tribune.
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Hupp will most likely get a solid return from the Dodgers considering he has already negotiated trading an important home run ball with the team before. According to the Tribune, Hupp bought the ball from Cody Bellinger's 35th homer of this season, and got the 36th, which broke the team record for most homers by a Dodgers rookie. In exchange for the two balls, Hupp got a game-worn Bellinger jersey.
If Hupp keeps ending up with Dodgers' home run balls, maybe the team will just get him tickets to all the games. If the guy is attracting home runs, might as well take advantage of it.
