Sports
Dodgers fan pulled switcheroo after catching a 'hated Padre' homer. Why did he keep the ball?
As soon as he heard the crack of the bat, lifelong Dodgers fan Renan Zuniga knew exactly what to do.
The 45-year-old finance manager from Victorville sprung out of his usual seat in the left-field bleachers at Dodger Stadium, jumped as high and stretched as far as he could, and made a fantastic catch to pull down a home run ball San Diego Padres star Manny Machado hit off Dodgers pitcher James Paxton on Sunday evening.
Zuniga wasn’t done with the slick moves. Immediately after landing on his feet and securing the home run ball in the glove on his left hand, Zuniga slipped his right hand into the pocket of his Dodgers jacket, pulled out another ball and threw it onto the field.
It was an attempt to create the illusion that he was tossing back the home run ball hit by an opposing player — something he had no intention of doing with the first home run ball he ever caught on the fly during a baseball game after nearly two decades of trying.
“It was just reactionary,” Zuniga told The Times in a phone interview. “I didn’t even think about it, I just knew what to do because in my head I rehearsed it a million times.”
As it turns out, Zuniga might have been too well prepared for the moment. ESPN aired video of his “hidden ball trick” during its broadcast of the “Sunday Night Baseball” game in which the Padres earned a 6-3 win.
“I caught it and did it all so quickly that the camera still happened to have not panned away from me, you know?” Zuniga said. “And it also didn’t help that it was a nationally televised game too.”
ESPN’s Buster Olney caught up with Zuniga for an in-game interview in which the affable fan admitted he “got caught” while trying to avoid getting “booed mercilessly by the Dodgers faithful” for not throwing back a home run ball hit by a “hated Padre.”
Zuniga was speaking from experience.
He started attending Dodgers games at age 7 with his mother, Joyce, who died in 2021. He now attends 25 to 30 games a year, usually accompanied by either his 19-year-old daughter, Taylor; his 17-year-old nephew, Daniel Villela; his 8-year-old nephew, Mikey Gullart; or his aunt, Avis Latscha (his 24-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn, used to attend games with him as well, but she now lives in Omaha).
At Sunday’s game, Villela was with Zuniga.
“I’ve always been enthralled with wanting to catch or get a home run ball,” he told The Times. “I started having season tickets in 2006, and I believe it was Sept. 13, 2007, when I finally got my first home run ball. The Dodgers were playing the Padres, David Wells was pitching, and Morgan Ensberg of the Padres in the sixth inning hits a home run.”
Zuniga had a shot at catching the ball on the fly, but it bounced off his forearm and onto the ground. Still, he was able to grab the ball “a millisecond” before another fan.
“He says, ‘Please don’t throw it back. Give me the ball. I’m a Padres fan,’” Zuniga said. “I look at him and I said, ‘Are you kidding? I am not throwing this ball back. I’m keeping it.’ To me, it’s like, I finally got my first home run ball.”
But Zuniga wasn’t able to explain that to the multitude of Dodgers fans who started chanting, “Throw it back!” at him, as has become tradition at numerous ballparks.
“So normally what will happen is they’ll chant for 10, 15 seconds and if you don’t, you get booed and they move on,” Zuniga said. “On this day, they are not letting it go. … It was kind of like they put a damper on my childhood dream of getting a home run ball.”
Eventually, Zuniga had had enough. He discreetly grabbed another ball he had gotten during batting practice that day and switched it out with the home run ball.
“I stood up. I tossed the ball in the air a few times so people could see I had the ball, and I threw it onto the field,” he said. “And everybody cheered me and everybody got off my back. Since that day, I know to bring a ball with me in case it happens again.”
Since then, Zuniga has come away with two other home run balls that have landed in his vicinity at Dodger Stadium. When the MLB All-Star Game was held at Dodger Stadium in 2022, Zuniga was on hand for the home run derby and caught a ball blasted by former Dodger Albert Pujols, then with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the only home run ball, outside of batting practice, that Zuniga had caught on the fly.
San Diego Padres designated hitter Manny Machado hits a home run during the fourth inning against the Dodgers on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
Until Sunday. Now the home run balls hit by Pujols and Machado sit in a place of honor in his man cave — even though the recent addition was hit by someone Zuniga said is “in my top five of my least favorite players in all of Major League Baseball” — among his extensive collection of Dodgers memorabilia. That collection also includes 30 baseballs individually autographed by every member of the 2020 World Series champion team and “every bobblehead ever given out at Dodger Stadium.”
Zuniga joked with Olney that his wife, Keli, would be mad at him for bringing home yet another ball.
So, was she?
“This moment was kind of big,” he said, “so I think I got a free pass on this one.”
He also seems to have gotten a free pass from fans, rather than the anger or jeering he might have been expecting.
“My friends, my family, my co-workers, the softball players I play with — everyone has been giving me a lot of positive feedback,” Zuniga said. “It’s weird that me getting quote-unquote busted on camera has turned into a funny moment for everybody.
“People are reaching out, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you remember me, I used to work with you. I saw you on TV. That was great!’ I believe everybody in the world is just getting the biggest kick out of this.”
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An Olympic medalist and 13-time X Games winner suffered serious head injuries after a stunt went wrong.
Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris in 2024, said he suffered a fractured skull and eye socket.
“A harsh reminder how death-defying skating massive rails can be…” Huston wrote in an Instagram post which included a photo of himself in a hospital bed. “Taking it one day at a time. I hope yall had a better new years then me. We live to fight another day.”
Nyjah Huston of the United States competes in the men’s street prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at La Concorde 3. (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports)
The post also featured Huston being treated by first responders and friends, along with another photo showing a large black-and-blue mark on Huston’s eye.
Numerous skating legends showed their support for Huston, who is considered one of the best skateboarders in the United States today.
Nyjah Huston of Team USA reacts at the Skateboarding Men’s Street Prelims on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
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“Been watching @nyjah grow up into one of the best skaters to ever do it and it amazes me the amount of grit this kid has,” Shaun White shared on his Instagram story, via Pro Football Network. “You got this brother. Heal quick!”
Even Tony Hawk shared well-wishes on Huston’s Instagram post.
“Heavy. Stay strong; we know you’ll be back,” the skateboarding legend wrote.
“Man.. prayers for healing brother!” added Ryan Sheckler.
It is unknown whether Huston was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.
Nyjah Huston, of the United States, celebrates during the men’s skateboard street final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Huston has seven gold medals and five silvers in world championships. He has not competed since the 2024 Olympics, but the California native has his eyes set on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
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JuJu Watkins is returning to Sierra Canyon High on Friday, the place where she was a high school basketball All-American.
The school will hold a ceremony retiring her jersey at halftime of the boys’ basketball game between Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
She will be presented with a framed jersey.
Watkins is sitting out this season at USC while recovering from a knee injury.
Sierra Canyon girls’ basketball coach Alicia Komaki said, “She raised our standards, which was hard to do because we had won four state championships. She was an incredibly talented player.”
Watkins was also making a huge impact in the college game until her injury last season during the NCAA playoffs.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game
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The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, coming away with a narrow victory over Ole Miss, 31-27, in an all-time postseason contest.
The Hurricanes will now await the winner of the other semifinal between the Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks to see who they will play on Jan. 19. But Miami will do so on their home turf, with the National Championship Game being played at Hard Rock Stadium – the site of their home games.
The game began slowly for both teams, with only Miami getting on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a field goal on their 13-play opening drive. But the fireworks came out from there for the Rebels thanks to the speed of running back Kewan Lacy.
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Charmar Brown of the Miami (FL) Hurricanes celebrates a run in the first quarter of the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Steve Limentani/ISI Photos)
On just the second play of the second quarter, Lacy was off to the race, finding a seam and busting out a 73-yard touchdown run to go up 7-3 after the extra point.
But this game was back and forth for quite some time, including the ensuing Hurricanes drive as quarterback Carson Beck led the way on a 15-play touchdown series with a CharMar Brown rushing score from four yards out.
The game was deadlocked at 10 apiece when Beck decided to air it out to Keelan Marion, and it was worth the risk. Marion made the grab for a 52-yard touchdown to help Miami go up 17-13 at halftime.
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The third quarter was an odd one for both squads, as their opening drives resulted in a missed field goal apiece. Then, after Beck threw an interception, the Rebels were able to cut the lead to 17-16 in favor of the Hurricanes heading into the fourth quarter for the ages.
There was no absence of electric plays when it mattered most in the final 15 minutes, as Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got his team downfield enough to take a 19-17 lead with a field goal.
But the speed of Malachi Toney changed the scoreboard for Miami in the best way possible, as he took a screen 36 yards to the house, capping a four-play, 75-yard answer drive for the Hurricanes right after Ole Miss took the lead.
Trinidad Chambliss of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the second quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
With a 24-19 lead and five minutes left to play in the game, Chambliss and the Rebels’ offense had quite enough time to retake the lead. He did just that, finding trusty tight end Dae’Quan Wright for 24 yards to send the Rebels faithful ballistic.
Ole Miss wanted to go for two in hopes of making it a three-point lead, and Chambliss came through again, finding a wide open Caleb Odom for the key score.
It was up to Beck and the Miami offense to keep the game alive with at least tying the game at 27 apiece. On a crucial third-and-10 just inside field goal range, Beck was confident with his pass to Marion to get well within range. Another pass to Marion made it first-and-goal, and it was clear Miami wasn’t trying to force overtime. They wanted to win it all.
How fitting was it that Beck, scanning the field, found a seam to his left and just sprinted for the colored paint to score the game-winner with 18 seconds left.
But things got fascinating at the end, with Ole Miss going 40 yards in just a few seconds to set up a Hail Mary for the win. Chambliss had the space to loft a pass to the end zone, and though it hit off the hand of a teammate, it landed incomplete for the Miami victory.
Carson Beck of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
In the box score, Beck was 23-of-37 for 268 yards with his two passing touchdowns and an interception. Marion was a key player in the victory with seven catches for 114 yards, while Mark Fletcher Jr. set the tone in the ground game with 133 yards rushing on 22 carries. Toney also tallied 81 receiving yards for Miami.
For Ole Miss, Chambliss also went 23-of-37 for 277 yards with his touchdown to Wright, who finished with 64 yards on three grabs. De’Zhaun Stribling was five for 77 through the air, while Lacy rushed for 103 yards on 11 carries.
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