Friday night was Troy Buenteo’s first time at Dodger Stadium.
He, his son and his father-in-law – the latter two also new to Dodger Stadium – made the trip to Chavez Ravine from Bakersfield to see the Dodgers take on the Tampa Bay Rays, and the trio “got turned around a couple times” upon arriving to the stadium grounds.
They eventually got to their seats and found that the journey was worth it.
“When we got up there, it was amazing,” Buenteo told KTLA on Saturday afternoon. “The climate and the atmosphere were nice and we had a really good time.”
He said that the whole stadium was buzzing at the thought of Shohei Ohtani becoming the fastest player in MLB history to reach the 40/40 club – which means 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. In fact, it almost seemed like the record was meant to be broken that night.
“It was electric…you could feel it kind of running through the air,” he recalled. “It felt as though it was inevitable, almost, to have [Ohtani break the record].”
According to Buenteo, he, his son and father-in-law saw the ball Ohtani crushed coming towards them in the stands. He believes that someone in front of them missed the chance to catch the ball on the first try, which led to Rays outfielder Jose Siri tossing it back.
The crowd, already celebrating wildly due to the walk off grand slam, got even more chaotic once the ball was thrown back.
“Everyone was in a frenzy, and it just got magnified when the ball got thrown back to where we were,” Buenteo said. “It was just pure mayhem, madness and pandemonium for about four to five seconds.”
Buenteo actually caught the ball Siri threw back but lost it in the “mosh pit” that wouldn’t even let him close his glove, he said.
He thought it was gone forever until he felt it in between his foot and his son’s foot. Quickly thinking, Buenteo pinned the ball between his foot and the concrete underneath his seat before yelling to his father-in-law, who was on the ground looking for the ball, that he indeed had it.
Before they left, the trio were stopped by security personnel who asked them to wait so the ball could be validated as the one that was hit by Ohtani to win the game and break the record.
However, that security guard never came back, and when they went to ask other security team members what to do, they were given little information and told that the Dodgers weren’t “interested” in the ball.
There are no distinct markings or scuffs on the ball, Buenteo noted, adding that it “honestly looks like a normal baseball.”
But he knows that this is no ordinary ball.
“[To see] the 40th home run and 40th stolen base in the same night at Dodger Stadium and [Ohtani] being the fastest and first Dodger to do it…it’s very special to me,” he said. “I’ve been a baseball fan for a long time, and I know the significance of those milestones, but I’ve never even come close to a foul ball or a ball from one of the players when they’re practicing.”
“I had never even touched a ball [at a game] but I always dreamed of it,” he added. “And to have the pinnacle of all baseballs land in my lap, it’s a hard thing to believe.”
Buenteo says his next step is to get the ball authenticated, but he doesn’t know what he will do with the ball in the long run.
It took Shohei Ohtani 126 games to reach the 40/40 mark, 21 fewer than the previous record.
Jonathan Williams contributed to this report.