TORONTO – Michael Angeletti says he knew he would catch George Springer’s home run ball before it actually happened.
The Toronto native was sitting within the front row out in left field at Rogers Centre — wearing a Springer jersey — during Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The sport was a do-or-die matchup between the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, who were tied at three games apiece and each only one win away from clinching a historic World Series berth.
The rating was 3-1, with the Blue Jays down within the seventh inning, when Springer stepped as much as the plate.
“I used to be actually texting my cousin — telling him I used to be front row, about to catch the house run ball — to depart me alone,” Angeletti said.
“And I dropped the phone, caught the ball, and here we’re.”
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Mere seconds before the swing, Angeletti said he had just told the person sitting next to him that seventh innings are historically big for the Jays.
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“All of the magic happened within the seventh inning with Bautista and the Rangers way back when,” Angeletti recalled saying, referring to the 2015 American League Division Series game that saw Jose Bautista’s iconic bat flip.
Angeletti said he’d hoped to experience a few of that seventh-inning magic, and with one swing of Springer’s bat, he and greater than 44,000 other fans in Rogers Centre erupted into roaring cheers.
The three-run home run led the Jays to a 4-3 victory over the Mariners, clinching the Toronto’s first World Series berth since 1993. The Jays will now face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the autumn classic, with Game 1 set for Friday night.
Angeletti said he’s travelled to 72 countries and five continents, but the sensation of being in the gang during that moment was unmatched. Because the owner of tour company Niagara Toronto Tours, he said he knows what it takes to make an experience memorable.
“Stay unpredictable,” he said, and you may just find yourself with a chunk of baseball history.
“I used to be bored with being on the couch and scrolling and just passively watching,” Angeletti said. “I needed to feel something real, and that’s why I spent this money tonight.”
“I felt probably the most real I’ve ever felt in my life.”
After catching the long-lasting home run ball, Angeletti kept it in a black baseball glove he’d delivered to the park, hoping to have it authenticated on the suggestion of fellow fans. Post-game, he was momentarily escorted right down to the sector by staff, he said, but later had to depart to get home.
He’s open to doing “what’s best for the ball” if it means trading it back to the Blue Jays as a chunk of historic memorabilia, he said, but for now he’s content with savouring the moment.
“I feel blessed to be a component of Canadian sports history,” Angeletti said. “I’m a Toronto sports fanatic. I like all our teams, especially the Blue Jays.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press