While George Springer’s three-run home run will forever live in the memories of Toronto Blue Jays fans, throwing back Julio Rodriguez’s third-inning solo shot nearly cost one fan his chance to see it live.
Ned Bowland was sitting in left centre field when Rodriguez’s home run to put the Mariners up 2-1 headed his way.
“Tracking the entire way, I didn’t move an inch and I catch it barehanded, left-handed. Kind of like rolls up my forearm into my waist,” Bowland explained to TSN. “Peer pressure is a real thing, like everybody around me just start screaming to throw it back and I kind of blacked out. Everything happened so quickly and next thing you know, I just obviously tossed it on the field. I couldn’t tell you where it landed and then I sat back down. Everyone is giving me high fives like I’m a celebrity.
“About five minutes later a fan comes up and says ‘hey man they’re gonna boot you out’ and I tell him there’s no way, I’m not leaving. He says ‘do you wanna switch seats’ and I tell him I’m not leaving. So he leaves and five minutes after that another fan comes up and says he heard security talking about kicking me out and says I should get moving. Once again, I said I’m not going anywhere. Next thing you know, security comes down and says ‘hey sir, you’ve gotta come up (to the top of the section) and talk to us.’ I say no and after a back and forth, I’m told ‘we can do this the hard way or the easy way.’ So I go up and then am walked outside by police.”
While throwing back opposing home runs can be commonplace in some parks, Bowland was told the Rogers Centre has a zero tolerance policy for tossing any items onto the field.
After being escorted out of the stadium, Bowland headed to a nearby bar to watch the game, where he says received free drinks after fellow fans recognized him from the broadcast. Desperate not to miss witnessing the team’s biggest game in 30 years, Bowland purchased another ticket and took his place in 500s, well out of home run range.
In the seventh inning, down 3-1, Springer delivered the signature moment of Toronto’s postseason to date with a three-run homer – also to left centre, just one section over from where Bowland had been sitting.
“I shook my pregnant girlfriend into oblivion,” he reflects on the moment, with a different regret than his new view. “Probably not a good idea, now that I look back on it”
The Blue Jays held on to their 4-3 lead and advanced to their first World Series since 1993, where the Los Angeles Dodgers await.
Bowland says he has hard no hard feelings towards the Jays for Monday’s events and is happy to have Game 7 comeback story of his own. While he has no plans to attend to the World Series games, he’s still hoping tickets will fall into his left hand.