Sports
Plaschke: How one man lost Shohei Ohtani's 40-40 home run ball and found L.A. love in return
His life was changing. A winning lottery ticket was approaching. Tony Voda was ready.
He was going to be rich. He was going to be famous. Magic was happening, and as the baseball fell from the night sky, Tony Voda was ready to live a miracle.
Shohei Ohtani was in the process of entering baseball’s 40-40 club with a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning last week at Chavez Ravine, one of the most dramatic blasts in the long history of Dodger Stadium, and this anonymous insurance analyst from Minneapolis was right in the middle of it.
“Right up until the last second against the beautiful black night sky, I can see the ball, it’s seared into my mind, this is happening, this is really happening,” Voda recalls. “The crowd is screaming but you’re not hearing it, your senses shut down, tunnel vision happens, and all you can think of is, don’t mess this up.”
Then the unthinkable occurred, an event that forever changed Tony Voda on his way to becoming a hero.
He messed it up.
Shohei Ohtani hits a walk-off grand slam for the Dodgers against the Rays to join the 40-40 club.
A gazillion video replays have chillingly shown it a gazillion times.
He messed it up.
“A life-changing event was in my hands,” he said, “and I literally dropped the ball.”
This, then, would seem to be not your usual home-run catching story of good luck and great fortune, but a tale of deep remorse and enduring regret.
Except for one twist as pronounced as Ohtani’s swing.
On a Friday night when Tony Voda figured he was cursed, he was actually blessed.
For the man who will forever be known for one of the biggest fan errors in Dodger Stadium history, it wasn’t about what he lost, it was about what he gained.
Tony Voda waves before a game between the Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 23.
(Courtesy of Tony Voda)
It looks so easy and natural on television. But in real life, catching a home-run ball is about as easy as catching a raindrop in a thunderstorm.
“The average fan has no idea,” says Matt Walker, one of a dozen members of “Dodgerhawks,” a group of season-ticket holders that gathers at Dodger Stadium in an attempt to catch homers.
It’s nearly impossible.
“Did you see it clearly off the bat because you’ve been following every pitch? Are you on your phone? Is it hooking? Drawing? Is the wind a factor?” Walker explained. “The crowd is elbow to elbow and you’re getting pushed and shoved usually. Is it going to clear the wall, are you at risk of interference, is the outfielder bearing down?”
Walker said the conditions for such a catch are frightful.
“Are you standing in spilled beer, water bottles, and loose peanut shells? Are the lights a factor? The sun?” he said. “Oh yeah, and it’s coming in at 100-plus miles-per-hour. And the whole thing takes maybe three seconds.”
Tony Voda, 40, knows these truths. He has been chasing home run balls in stadiums all over the country for 15 years and he’s caught exactly two.
“Home run balls are important to me because of that deep childhood tie to the game,” he said. “You see them going into the stands as a young kid and you not only want to be the guy who hit it, but the kid who has the souvenir.
“It’s one of the only pieces of sports that rarely makes it into the stands but is coveted by many because of how elusive it is.”
It’s so elusive, Voda paid several hundred dollars a couple of months ago for one of the Dodgers’ celebrated home-run seats lining the outfield walls. He picked a random game against the Tampa Rays as part of a longer baseball trip through California.
He had no idea Ohtani would be on the verge of becoming only the sixth player in baseball history to reach 40 home runs and 40 steals in a single season. He could never have dreamed that Ohtani would steal his 40th base in the fourth inning and then come to the plate with bases loaded into the ninth with a chance to make history.
“I would have been happy if any Dodger scrub hit it to me,” he said. “And then this happened.”
This, meaning Ohtani lofting a ball high toward the right-center field wall.
This, meaning that ball barely clearing the fence and falling directly toward Voda’s rainbow-colored glove.
This, meaning the ball bouncing off Voda’s glove and back to the field, where it is finally picked up by outfielder Jose Siri and thrown back into the stands far beyond Voda’s reach.
Grand slam. Grand boot.
“Every fan’s worst nightmare,” said Walker.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a walk-off grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays for his 40th home run of the season on Aug. 23.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Gone was a chance to meet Ohtani and return the ball, which Voda said he would have done. Gone was a six-figure payday if Ohtani didn’t want to exchange anything for the ball. Gone was the greatest moment of Voda’s baseball life.
He knew all this, and he knew it immediately. Watch the replay and notice that the moment the ball bounces off Voda’s glove, he puts his hands on his head with an expression of deep pain.
“Pure shock, disbelief,” Voda said. “My heart sank.”
As he stood there stewing in his agony, fully expecting jeers and catcalls from the surrounding pavilion crowd, the strangest thing happened.
His phone buzzed. It was Walker, who had met Voda before the game with other Dodgerhawks. He had already watched the replay and wanted to console Voda immediately.
“What just happened? What did I do?” Voda moaned into the phone.
“You did your best,” Walker told him. “You did all you could.”
Sure enough, the replay shows a fan on Voda’s left bumping the pinky of his glove just a few inches before the ball landed, enough to prevent the ball from burrowing deep into the glove’s pocket.
“I guess it’s the ‘Minnesota Nice’ in me, I should have boxed the guy out, but I just didn’t want to interfere with another fan,” said Voda.
Also noticeable was Voda’s refusal to move to the edge of the fence, from where he might have had a cleaner shot at the ball.
“I didn’t want to get called for fan interference and see the home run taken away, are you kidding me?” said Voda. “I was being very careful.”
Too careful? Maybe. But maybe not.
The good sportsmanship with which Voda handled himself was noticed not only by Walker, but by several fans who surrounded Voda while he was accepting that initial phone call.
“You could hear people all around Tony while I was talking to him, and everybody was already consoling him,” said Walker. “It was as if, when he put his hands over his head, we all put our hands over our heads.”
The outpouring of support continued throughout the ensuing drone show, fans from all sections surrounding him and patting his back and sharing his regret, with one fan even accompanying Voda to his car afterward to commiserate on his bad luck. Then there were the words of encouragement from one stranger he’ll never forget.
“A guy came up to me and just said, ‘Next time, poppa,’” Voda recalled. “Like he was actually giving me a pep talk.”
Dodger Stadium can be a cantankerous place, particularly when a ball is hit into the stands. If a fan catches an opposing player’s home run, the verbal pressure to throw the ball back can be deafening.
But on this night, Dodger Stadium was a sympathetic, understanding place that filled Tony Voda with a warmth that no catch could match.
By the time he returned to his hotel he had received several dozen texts and many online words of support. There was no trolling. There were no insults. There was only a sense of kinship among Dodger fans who, it turns out, not only are historically forgiving of the players, but are also forgiving of each other.
“To catch the ball would have been potentially life-changing, but, so, too, were the lessons I took away from missing it,” said Voda. “I know it sounds cheesy and silly, but while I may have lost a ball, I gained more love from Dodger fans than I knew I had, more love than I thought I deserved.”
Voda is back in Minneapolis now, but he is hoping to return to Dodger Stadium again one day, hang out with the Dodgerhawks, buy another home run seat, stick out that rainbow glove on a long fly ball, pray again for a miracle while knowing full well that he has already lived one.
“I love L.A.,” he said.
Moments before Ohtani’s swing, a security guard standing next to Voda wondered out loud if this game was headed for a movie script ending.
In all ways, it was, as Ohtani wasn’t the only one who went deep.
So, too, did humanity.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Earlier this month, Michigan defeated UConn in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game.
Shortly after the Wolverines captured the program’s first title since 1989, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. announced he would enter the NBA Draft.
Despite declaring for the NBA Draft, Johnson has maintained his NCAA eligibility throughout the process. However, he has until May 27 to withdraw if he plans to return for his junior season.
Johnson played for Illinois during the 2024-25 season before transferring to Michigan last offseason.
Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. walks on the court against UConn at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis April 6, 2026. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated)
After joining Michigan, Johnson quickly emerged as a key contributor, averaging the second-most points on the team. He also led the Wolverines in rebounding, averaging 7.3 per game.
Michigan head coach Dusty May eventually dubbed Johnson “The Enforcer” and “Junkyard Dog,” a nod to his tenacity on the defensive end. Johnson was named to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team.
RANKING THE TOP 20 PLAYERS IN THE MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TRANSFER PORTAL
But Johnson’s offensive prowess didn’t take a back seat to his defensive strengths. His shooting from beyond the 3-point line showed improvement as the season progressed.
Morez Johnson Jr. of the Michigan Wolverines cuts down the net after defeating the UConn Huskies 69-63 in the 2026 NCAA national championship game in Indianapolis April 6, 2026. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Many early NBA projections gave Johnson a first-round grade. It’s unclear how much name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation he would command if he returns to Michigan or transfers elsewhere.
Johnson has been active on social media, interacting with teammates as they consider returning to Michigan for another championship push.
Morez Johnson Jr. of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates after scoring in the second half against the UConn Huskies during the 2026 NCAA national championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis April 6, 2026. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Michigan added a key piece this week, with Jalen Reed transferring from LSU, On3 reported. Reed was limited during the 2025-26 season by an Achilles injury.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Quarterback Ty Simpson arrived in Los Angeles on Friday — and the Rams’ first-round draft pick sounded as if he couldn’t wait to start learning from coach Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford.
“The best head coach in the league, the best quarterback in the league, the best … franchise in the league — it’s a perfect situation,” Simpson said during a news conference at the Rams’ draft headquarters in Inglewood.
How the situation plays out — short and long term — remains to be seen.
Stafford, 38, will enter his 18th NFL season as the reigning NFL most valuable player.
With free agent Jimmy Garoppolo mulling retirement, McVay said Thursday night that Simpson would compete with Stetson Bennett to be Stafford’s backup.
The Rams used the 13th pick to select Simpson, 23, who started 15 games for Alabama.
McVay said that he had informed Stafford that the Rams would select Simpson.
“He was great,” McVay said of Stafford’s reaction. “He’s a stud. He’s always first class in every sense of the word.”
But McVay and general manager Les Snead were not their typically ebullient selves when discussing Simpson during their Thursday night news conference. Some observers perceived that as a break in what is regarded as one of the NFL’s best coach-general manager partnerships.
On Friday, Snead said in an interview with ESPN radio that he and McVay work “in lockstep.”
So their muted reactions Thursday might have been out of sensitivity, warranted or not, to not upset Stafford after drafting his heir apparent in the first round. McVay took pains to remind that the Rams are Stafford’s team, seemingly to not offend the Rams’ most important player.
After last year’s draft-day trade with the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams went into the offseason with two first-round picks — their own at No. 29 and the one acquired from the Falcons at 13.
Ty Simpson poses for a photo with his family during a news conference in Inglewood on Friday.
(Caroline Brehman / Associated Press)
In March, the Rams used the 29th pick in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, so perhaps the 13th pick was regarded as a luxury.
They spent it on a player who was at Alabama for four seasons, but started only one.
Snead acknowledged that as Simpson pondered whether to remain at Alabama or make himself available for the draft, Snead spoke with Simpson’s father, Jason, who like Snead played college football in the Southeastern Conference and is now the coach at Tennessee Martin. Snead said it was in the role similar to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, which evaluates prospects and lets them know in what round, if any, that they might be selected. Snead reportedly told Jason Simpson his son was first-round caliber.
“You try to get across it’s not about where you get drafted,” Snead said Thursday night. “It’s more about where you go and what situation you go and what you do with that opportunity after.”
A few months later, the Rams drafted Simpson, who was upbeat as he met with reporters, while his parents and his brother and sister sat nearby.
-
Share via
The Rams drafted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft in Pittsburgh.
Simpson, who passed for 28 touchdowns, with five interceptions last season, was in Southern California last January when Alabama lost to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide did a walkthrough at SoFi Stadium.
Now he will begin his NFL career there.
“I’m, I guess, like a redneck in Southern California,” he joked. “So we’ll see how that goes. But I’m super excited to be here. This is a great place, with great people and I can’t wait to get started.”
Simpson said that Rams safety Quentin Lake had texted him. He also received a social media message from Stafford’s wife, Kelly, inviting him and his family to reach out if they need anything.
“Can’t wait to talk to Matthew,” said Simpson, who characterized the veteran as “an assassin” on the field. “I’m super excited because I just want to pick his brain about everything.”
Simpson met with McVay on Friday.
“He’s got the juice, man,” Simpson said, “like that dude … he’s a fireball.”
Simpson said he benefited from the years he spent at Alabama before he got his opportunity to play last season.
“The years that I sat were … probably more important,” he said, “because I had to learn how to practice. I had to learn how to study when I wasn’t playing because I didn’t know when that time was going to come.
“And so whenever that time did come — it was this year — I made the most of it.”
Now he is ready for the next phase of his career.
He said his faith was his foundation, and that he aspires to be “not only be the best football player I can be,” but also a better teammate and person.
“I want people to come into the locker room and smile, knowing that ‘Hey, Ty’s here,’” he said. “I want to lead, influence people and I think at the quarterback position that’s what you need to do.”
His immediate goal is modest.
“My plan is just to get better each and every day,” he said, “so, eventually, I have a long career like Matthew.”
Sports
Olympic legend Kaillie Humphries signs with activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics amid political rise
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The most accomplished Olympic women’s bobsledder in history is now an official brand ambassador in the movement to “save women’s sports”.
Olympic bobsled legend Kaillie Humphries has signed with the activist sportswear company XX-XY Athletics, becoming the latest medal-winning Olympian to represent the brand.
“Being able to partner with a brand that believes in the same things I do, that’s willing to stand up and actively work on protecting the women’s space and women’s sports is huge,” Humphries told Fox News Digital.
Humphries first spoke out about her support for protecting women’s sports from biological male trans athletes in a Fox News Interview that went viral after the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February.
Humphries had just returned after winning bronze in women’s bobsled, marking her sixth career Olympic medal. She later revealed that she received backlash for coming out as a Republican with other conservative stances in that interview, but didn’t back down.
Humphries went on to be honored at a White House Women’s History Month event by President Donald Trump in March, and gave her Order of Ikkos medal to Trump, citing his actions to protect women’s sports.
“Being able to come back to the USA after the Olympics and then be able to make connections and meet some people, I was able to, when I went to the White House, I was able to meet people that were connected obviously in working with XX-XY and that’s how the conversation started,” Humphries said.
Humphries, who is originally from Canada and competed in her first three Olympics for Canada, moved to the U.S. in 2016 and then competed for Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
FEMALE ATHLETES ANXIOUSLY AWAIT SUPREME COURT DECISION TO TAKE UP TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION IN WOMEN’S SPORTS
Kaillie Humphries, U.S. Olympic bronze medalist bobsled athlete, presents the Order of Ikkos to President Donald Trump during a Women’s History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
Just months after that, America was rocked by the news that male transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was winning championships for UPenn’s women’s swim team.
Humphries, who was following the story in the news, found it startling.
Now, as a California resident and the mother of a newborn son, she is energized to help combat the wave of trans athletes in girls’ sports in the state, as California has become the nation’s biggest hotbed for the issue.
XX-XY Athletics co-founder and former U.S. gymnast Jennifer previously told Fox News Digital one of her biggest goals for the brand was to land high-profile superstar women’s athletes as brand ambassadors, especially Olympic medalists.
Now, with Humphries, the brand has a three-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time Olympic podium finisher across her stints for Canada and the U.S.
Humphries joins Olympic silver medalist gymnast MyKayla Skinner and gold medal swimmer Nancy Hogshead on XX-XY Athletics’ growing roster of Olympians.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
USA’s Kaillie Humphries holds a USA flag after winning bronze in the bobsleigh women’s monobob heat 4 at Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Feb. 16, 2026. (Marco Bertorello/AFP)
“Kaillie is the GOAT of her sport. She is the only Olympian to win gold for two different countries. She is an elite athlete and a courageous, fierce woman who has fought for female athletes to have equal opportunities in sport.” Sey told Fox News Digital.
“The women’s monobob event exists because of Kaillie’s leadership, and she has gold-medal proof that women have the skill, strength, and speed to compete at the highest level. She has driven meaningful change and expanded opportunities for women at the Olympic level — more female athletes represent Team USA because of Kaillie. And that’s exactly why we’re leading with her as we grow in how we support female athletes.”
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Denver, CO6 minutes agoDenver Broncos’ Day 3 pivotal to expanding title window after only 1 draft pick so far
-
Seattle, WA12 minutes ago
Neal selected by Seattle in 3rd round of NFL Draft
-
San Diego, CA18 minutes agoEarly morning beach volleyball sessions face city tickets in South Mission Beach
-
Milwaukee, WI24 minutes agoWave rallies against Sockers to pull within 1 win of MASL championship
-
Atlanta, GA30 minutes ago‘Tears of joy’ in Atlanta after Falcons bring Terrell brothers together in secondary
-
Minneapolis, MN36 minutes agoMinneapolis police audit: Officers feared entering shooter’s home after Moturi attack
-
Indianapolis, IN42 minutes agoRetro Indy: Indianapolis lawyer’s campaign against ‘Bob & Tom’
-
Pittsburg, PA48 minutes agoOff-site parking remains a critical part of Pittsburgh International Airport’s operations