The person who ended up with New York Yankee Dewayne Wise's infamous "caught" fly ball Tuesday night wasn't the guy who grabbed it or even the guy who tried to stuff the loose ball back into the leftfielder's glove— it was a seven-year old kid from New Jersey.
Little Ben Pikor ended up going home with the ball that umpire Mike DiMuro didn't look for and that Wise never sufficiently caught in his glove.
"I thought I was in a dream," the little Yankees fan told the New York Daily News. "But I think the umpire made a bad call."
Ben was sitting with his mom, Anne Marie, along the third-base line at Yankee Stadium when the Cleveland Indians' Jack Hannahan popped a ball in their direction. After Wise tumbled into the seats for the wayward ball, a mad scrum broke out and on fan, Vinnie Pellegrino, picked the ball from the floor and handed it to his pal Sal Azzariti— who tried to sneak it back into Wise's glove.
After the two adults tried to help the unsuspecting Wise with the great foul ball hoax, they slipped the incriminating evidence [the ball] to the kid.
DiMuro said the ball was caught, killing any chance of an Indians seventh-inning rally in a game the Yankees ended up winning, 6-4.
Ben's mom said, "It happend so quickly and the security guards were right there. Dewayne tumbled into the seats and everyone was looking around, 'Where's the ball? Where's the ball?,' Vinnie had picked up the ball and was holding it above his head. But the umpire comes over and yells, 'Out!.'"
It's a good thing for Yankees fans little Ben wasn't the ump.
"It was a fly ball in foul territory, coming toward us. My cousin [Emily] was trying to catch it," said Pikor, a Little Leaguer. "We didn't notice that Dewayne Wise was so close to us. He just dove right into the stands. It hit off the heel of his glove. He didn't even catch it."
Out of the mouth of babes... just don't tell that to Yankees fans.
VIDEO OF CATCH
Little Ben Pikor ended up going home with the ball that umpire Mike DiMuro didn't look for and that Wise never sufficiently caught in his glove.
"I thought I was in a dream," the little Yankees fan told the New York Daily News. "But I think the umpire made a bad call."
Ben was sitting with his mom, Anne Marie, along the third-base line at Yankee Stadium when the Cleveland Indians' Jack Hannahan popped a ball in their direction. After Wise tumbled into the seats for the wayward ball, a mad scrum broke out and on fan, Vinnie Pellegrino, picked the ball from the floor and handed it to his pal Sal Azzariti— who tried to sneak it back into Wise's glove.
After the two adults tried to help the unsuspecting Wise with the great foul ball hoax, they slipped the incriminating evidence [the ball] to the kid.
DiMuro said the ball was caught, killing any chance of an Indians seventh-inning rally in a game the Yankees ended up winning, 6-4.
Ben's mom said, "It happend so quickly and the security guards were right there. Dewayne tumbled into the seats and everyone was looking around, 'Where's the ball? Where's the ball?,' Vinnie had picked up the ball and was holding it above his head. But the umpire comes over and yells, 'Out!.'"
It's a good thing for Yankees fans little Ben wasn't the ump.
"It was a fly ball in foul territory, coming toward us. My cousin [Emily] was trying to catch it," said Pikor, a Little Leaguer. "We didn't notice that Dewayne Wise was so close to us. He just dove right into the stands. It hit off the heel of his glove. He didn't even catch it."
Out of the mouth of babes... just don't tell that to Yankees fans.
VIDEO OF CATCH
Original Story:
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June 27, 2012
