Anthony Rizzo Nearly Catches Moises Ballesteros’ First Home Run With Cubs

While Rizzo was out in the bleachers, rookie catcher Moises Ballesteros was in the lineup for the Cubs. He was first promoted earlier this season and while he achieved several milestones so far, he hadn’t hit a home run as a Major Leaguer — until Saturday.

The left-hander hit an opposite field home run to the left-field bleachers. Incredibly, the ball ended up going right to Rizzo, who was unable to match the catch with his bare hands. All he could do was smile as the fan behind him was able to secure the baseball.

Later, he headed into the studio at Marquee Sports and talked about his career, his retirement, and about his failure to catch Ballestero’s home run. He was asked why he didn’t catch it.

“Because I’m retired,” he said with a chuckle. “Everyone’s ragging on me for [they show footage of him in left field] look at this — are you kidding me? I shouldn’t have dropped the beer. I didn’t even have a beer in my hand I had my phone. Everyone was ragging me for the first pitch, too. I’m like, ‘I’m retired.’ I don’t need to do this anymore.”

In his 14-year career he made three All-Star games, won four Gold Glove at first base, a Platinum Glove and a Silver Slugger. He also won the Roberto Clemente award and was part of Chicago’s 2016 World Series championship team, the first in more than a century for the franchise.

For his career he slashed .261/.361/.467 with 303 home runs and 965 RBI. In 10 years with the Cubs (2012-21), he slashed .272/.372/.489 with 242 home runs and 784 RBI.

He also played for the San Diego Padres in 2011, where he broke into to the Majors, and the New York Yankees (2021-24). The Cubs acquired him from the San Diego Padres in 2012 in a trade that netted San Diego pitcher Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na.