Yankee slugger Aaron Judge with me, JD, on the right, Michael Kessler on his left, Richie Vento and Michael Chasanov.
My friends and I had left our seats in the left field bleachers when it looked like the Pittsburgh Pirates would beat the Yankees. They were up 8-4 and it was the bottom of the ninth. But we hung back when Aaron Judge came up to bat. He had 59 homes runs and could tie Babe Ruth at 60. Maybe we were in for a big moment.
Some impulse got me and I ran down the stairs to the middle section of the bleachers. My friends Michael Kessler, Richie Vento and Michael Chasanov followed. We are all baseball players and love the game. We play for The City College of New York baseball team, the Beavers. We stood and watched intently as Judge stood at the plate.
The count went to 3-1 and Pirates’ reliever Will Crowe threw a fastball down the middle of the plate. CRACK! Judge got ahold of it and the ball headed toward left field. It landed on a concrete slab in the visitors’ bullpen and ricocheted into the bleachers. Every person in the section threw themselves into a dogpile fighting for the ball. Michael Kessler was the middle of the pile and snagged the ball away from all the clutching hands. I was down there too and noticed that he had it. I was excited but thought we might be in danger. I pulled him out of the pile and told him to run. We headed up the stairs and left Vento and Chasanov in the crowd.
We spotted a security guard and we both started to talk at the same time: “We have the ball! We have the ball!” Security and fans swarmed us. The fans held phones high trying to get shots of us with the ball. They screamed questions at us just like they might at Judge himself. Within minutes the Yankees’ chief security officer pushed through the crowd and led us to the tunnel under the stadium. The head player security chief for the Yankees authenticated the baseball and the negotiations began. The security man said, “Aaron would like to have the ball for his own personal reasons.”
Mike Kessler didn’t hesitate. “I want to give it back to him,” he said. The man smiled and said, “Thank you. I know Aaron will appreciate that.” He told us that we’d meet him, the man of the moment, and led us to the clubhouse. As soon as I knew Mike Kessler was safe, I ran to find my other friends and bring them down to meet Aaron Judge. But we had to wait, because the game wasn’t over. Minutes passed, and then Giancarlo Stanton hit a walk-off grand slam that ended the game with a 9-8 Yankee win. We cheered. It was one of the best games of the year and we had played a part in it.
Judge met us in the clubhouse. Kessler handed him the ball, and he said, “So you’re the man who caught it?” Kessler nodded and Judge said, “I appreciate this, let’s take some pictures.” We talked while the cameras clicked and for a few minutes we told Judge about our hopes for this year’s playoffs and how much he means to New York.
The Yankees rewarded Kessler with a signed bat and baseball. My other friends and I got signed baseballs and we all got tickets for the rest of the season. We felt lucky to have been in the pile, lucky for Kessler to grab the ball, and lucky for us to meet Aaron Judge.
As baseball players, we understood the value of the ball and its meaning to the hitter who had tied Babe Ruth’s 60 homers 95 years later. “It was his accomplishment, not ours, it belongs with him,” Kessler said.
That night, the next day and even the rest of the week was crazy. News outlets interviewed us and the story of Kessler giving the valuable ball back became big news. Many applauded Kessler for his classy move. But for him, and us there was no question about where the ball belonged. We’ll remember the night and how everything seemed to happen in an instant. We also have a great story to tell for a long time.
