The image was plastered throughout social media. It was too good not to show.
The fan at Fenway Park holding up a baseball just hit by Alex Verdugo into the bleachers -- already standing out because of his tie-dyed "Tip Jar Society" t-shirt and "99" face mask. But what truly separated the portrait was that sign that seemed so small, yet so utterly perfect.
"Verdu Go Red Sox" it read.
But the uniqueness that spawned the television highlights and tidal wave of social media posts was just part of the picture. The story of the man who was in all those shots, and the path he took to get that moment, was the real eyebrow-raiser.
"That's typical Greg Martens stuff," said Grant Wilson, who accompanied his 58-year-old life-long friend to Monday's Red Sox win over the White Sox. "That stuff happens every day with this character."
Yes, the ball was caught by a man named Greg Martens. We now know his name.
Let's start with the first time Martens was highlighted as a fan at Fenway Park by the television cameras. That would have been Oct. 21, 1975, also known as Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.
A 12-year-old Martens had scored tickets for the game Carlton Fisk would ultimately punctuate with his historic home runs thanks to some family connections. His grandfather (not the one who was drafted by the New York Yankees) worked for Fidelity and had two clients: Boston Garden and Wilmington Ford. Fortunately, the owner of the car company, Ben Ristuccia, was kind enough to pass on his World Series tickets.
The kid who grew up getting passes to Shea Stadium from Tom Seaver (who used a Martens' family member as his financial advisor) before moving to Maine had scored the best ticket in town for his new hometown team, the Red Sox.
But, as he was reminded Monday, going to the game is one thing, getting on TV is another. This is where the first sign that Martens knew how to separate himself emerged.
Because Game 6 was rained out, Martens was forced to stay at his grandmother's house in Weston while waiting for the World Series showdown. So while there he decided to rip up one of her bed sheets and draw "Camden, Maine" on it. That, along with those behind-home-plate seats, ended up being his ticket to appearing on network television.
The next thing Martens knew the Maine newspapers were trying to track him down.
"That was my first brush with Red Sox fame," Martens told WEEI.com Tuesday. "It was pretty wild."
That's where it all began.
Martens' marketing skills flourished, truly taking off during a five-year run in which his Grateful Dead t-shirts allowed for the Maine resident to see more than 700 of the band's shows. The apparel wasn't just for the fans. The band also routinely requested the shirts, ultimately leading Martens to be hired by the group.
Unfortunately, the job procurement came right at the same time of Jerry Garcia's passing. "As soon as I get a job with my favorite band ... It was all meant to be," Martens said. True enough. A reminder he was offered Monday.
Martens trekked down from Maine early Monday morning, ready for another visit to Fenway Park. But he wasn't empty-handed. The entrepreneur had found niche over the past 20 years making bumper stickers -- clearing more than $100,000 thanks to a $3 bumper sticker reading "Never elect a Son of a Bush" back in 2000.
For the occasion, the stickers would read, "Had plenty of 2020? Back to fun in 2021!" Martens handed them out to toll booth collectors. Fans on the street. Anybody and everybody around him once inside the park.
But there was one of the stickers which Martens singled out: The one he turned around and wrote the well-publicized, "Verdu Go Red Sox" slogan on.
"It's 'Go' and 'Red Sox,' so I just pushed them together. It's the whole marketing idea, which I'm told I'm good at," Martens said.
"I flipped it over and wrote the Verdu Go sticker. It was just a little (expletive) sticker. Not one person has a sign. They don't want anything like that. So, I'm like, 'What am I doing?' All of a sudden I'm holding a home run ball, I throw the sticker up and the rest is history."
But even before the ball landed in Martens' hands - ricocheting off a fan a few rows in front - there were a few other remarkable elements that were part of the lead-up.
For starters, there was the photo Martens took holding up his handmade sign in front of Verdugo's wall mural a few moments before the home run.
"I went and sourced out Alex's photo," he said. "I had this lady take a photo of me, with this sticker of me and Alex. Two innings later I catch his home run ball. It's just incredible. It's great to tell the story because nobody would have believed it."
And then there was the bet.
"I was talking with one of my best friends before the game and he said I would never get on TV," Martens said. "He said, 'You should wear a sign saying I'm from Lewiston, Maine. Hi TC.' I told him, 'Bro, that's been done, first of all. No. 2, I'm not from Lewiston.' And No. 3 I bet him $100. After I caught the ball I told him, 'Bro, pay up.'"
There was the baseball. There was the publicity. There was the $100. And, finally, there was the recognition from the other guy who made it all happen.
"Verdugo came out and pointed me in center field," Martens said with a chuckle. "He knew what was up."
A moment that was a lifetime in the making. That was what was up.
