ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Seven dollars.
That's what a Major League baseball is worth. That is unless you were Triston Casas, Jose Casas or Jordan Blatner Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
That one baseball - the one that started in the hand of Rays pitcher J.T. Chargois, flew off the bat of the Red Sox rookie, off the wrist of an aspiring physical education teacher and ultimately into the hands of an emotional father - wasn't worth seven dollars.
For all involved (with the exception of Chargois) that thing was priceless.
It was another example of the power of baseball ... the power of A baseball.
In the record books it will simply go down as a third-inning, two-run homer over the right field fence that traveled 371 feet at 96.7 mph. The true story behind the moment was so much more.
First, there was the obvious. It was Casas' first major league home run. That is the foundation the beginning, middle of end. There had been plenty of homers off the bat of the 22-year-old throughout his playing days, but this was the one he had chased with every swing.
"It felt pretty surreal," the first baseman said regarding his trip around the bases. "I honestly couldn’t believe it happened that way, that pitch in that park. I guess I had never really hit a home run at a 96 mph exit velo. I didn’t think it was going to go. It felt awesome just to get us back in the game."
The ball would land at the edge of Section 126 at the end of Row Z, which was where Blatner found himself meeting the moment.
The 23-year-old White Sox fan had enjoyed his first trip the Trop Sunday afternoon so much that he woke up Tuesday morning and decided another two-hour car ride from Orlando was worth catching another game. So he bought a ticket, donned the Rays gear bought two days before and hit the road.
A student who once had aspirations to become a sports agent, Blatner had never caught a baseball at a ballgame. But suddenly, with chicken fingers and cell phone in hand, he found himself in the right place at the right time.
"I'm eating my chicken tenders and my phone slid off my leg on to the row in front of me onto the ground. So I get up to get it and I walk to the stairs to walk over. As I'm at the stairs I hear the crack of the bat. Everybody starts screaming. I look up and the ball hit me right in the arm," he told the Bradfo Sho. "So the only reason I got this ball was because I dropped my phone."
Once Blatner secured the ball he rebuffed the urging from those around him to throw the ball back on the field (knowing that would mean an ejection). But he also had no idea that this was a momentous homer for Casas.
Once Blatner did discover it was a first home run, he was ready to willingly give up the souvenir to Casas. But ultimately gifts - specifically a signed ball and bat from Casas, along with autographs by Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers - were offered.
The kid from Chicago was going home with a few big league items he never imagined would come into his possession, and Casas had his baseball back. That was until the son saw his father.
"It was a really special moment," said Triston regarding the moment he was able to present Jose with the baseball. "Something we have been thinking about for a really long time. Growing up, I obviously wanted to be a major league baseball player. Hitting your first major league home run, I shared that moment with him, gave him a hug. He got pretty emotional after I gave it to him. Hopefully, this is the first of many."
There will be more. But none like this one.
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