Let’s be honest here – no one goes to a Dodger game not hoping to catch a home run ball. I mean, it’s as much a part of the game as a Dodger Dog and a seventh-inning chocolate malt, right?

Who can forget the excitement of lifelong Dodger fan Keith Hupp when he caught Justin Turner‘s game-winning home run ball that helped send the Dodgers to the 2017 World Series.

Sadly, and as every baseball fan on the planet knows all too well, there haven’t been – and won’t be – any home runs balls caught by fans during the COVID-19-fanless season; at least not by real fans.

Instead of real fans in the stands at ballparks across our great country, teams are utilizing cardboard cutouts of fans attached to stadium seats (along with piped-in crowd noise).

Some franchises, such as the Dodgers, are selling the cardboard cutouts as charity fundraisers, while others are at no cost and randomly placed throughout the ballpark; usually in areas that receive considerable background television coverage. The idea, of course, is to give viewers at least some sense of normalcy during these very unnormal times.

As Dodger fans may recall, one such cardboard cutout received national media attention when a home run ball off the bat of Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit it in the head on July 25, causing it to buckle over. This particular cardboard cutout belonged to Dodger fan and season ticket holder Austin Donely. As noted, the cutout – and Donley – received considerable national attention on sports programs across the country.

Why, you ask?

Because Donely posted this on Twitter:

Lo and behold, Smith, who occasionally interacts with fans on social media, responded to Donley’s tweet and hooked him up with an autographed bat. (How cool it that!).

But the story doesn’t end here.

Under the category of “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened,” during Friday night’s game between the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers overcame a 6-5 deficit (caused by an eighth-inning grand slam home run off the bat of Rockies centerfielder Kevin Pillar) with eighth-inning home runs of their own by Dodgers centerfielder AJ Pollock (a game-winning two-run shot), a solo blast by left fielder Joc Pederson, and a subsequent two-run shot by right fielder Mookie Betts in the eventual 10-6 Dodgers win. Betts’ 389-footer hit a cardboard cutout in the head, causing it to buckle over.

Yep, you guessed it. It was Austin Donley’s same cardboard cutout.

What are the chances?

As of this writing, there has been no word as to whether or not Betts will hook Donley up with some schwag; HOWEVER, it is blatantly obvious that Donley needs to buy a lottery ticket.

…or buy me one.

Play Ball!

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