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Nicholas Kay got a lot of extra value with his Tigers ticket Wednesday. It led to a "once in a lifetime experience," as he puts it.
The Warren fan's experience started with a series of ball tosses from and to Lance McCullers Jr., a Houston Astros pitcher. The dreamlike day also included a photo with the All-Star player, an autographed ball and a couple of follow-up tweets between them.
It began when the young Metro Detroiter was standing in the right place (first row at the rightfield corner) at the right time (an hour and a half early) with the right accessory (a baseball glove).
McCullers also was way early for the 1:10 p.m. game and eager to throw. Nick was the only one nearby with a mitt, so two guys did what comes naturally on a late summer morning at the ballpark.
Their impromptu drill lasted about five minutes, was taped briefly by WXYZ (see below) and became a mini-thing on Twitter.
He signed the ball, took a picture, and said he appreciated me playing catch with him!! What a great guy! Also he gave everyone around, autographs and high fives!! pic.twitter.com/5ep3uuZ0iH
— Nicholas Kay (@NKay03) September 13, 2018
McCullers, 24, replies: "Nick (I'm assuming you go by that), I appreciate you throwing today. You can sling it! Sorry for all the high throws. It was early for the kid."
Lance McCullers Jr. and his new pal at right.
The young fan responds: "Totally understandable. At least they didn't get your high throws on video, but this was a really cool experience I was shaking as I was so excited! I didn't let go of that ball all day and now it's above my bed under an Astros championship banner."
Kay updates his Twitter bio to say: "The kid who played catch with Lance McCullers."
Ah, baseball -- a game, a business and a way for two strangers to make a connection one toss at a time.
Original post, Wednesday afternoon:
Throwing a hardball from glove to glove, especially outside on a warm morning, evokes childhood memories that last a lifetime. The rhythm, the sound, the back-and-forth create an instant connection, even between strangers.
The setting could be a backyard, a schoolyard, a neighborhood diamond, a summer camp, a Little League field, a college stadium or a big city ballpark, which is where a young Houston Astros pitcher and a younger Detroit Tigers fan united Wednesday morning in the ageless ritual of toss and toss back.
The spontanous scene played out at Comerica Park about an hour and a half before the final game in a three-game series.
Two early arrivals -- pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. of the visiting team and a young man up front at the right field corner -- each had a glove. The uniformed pro also had a ball, and no teammates around yet to help him warm up. So . . .
A WXYZ camera caught a half-minute of what happened, which its sports anchor tweets:
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers came out to the field to play catch.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 12, 2018
None of his teammates were out here, so he played catch with a kid for five minutes. pic.twitter.com/RJAVO5rOnu
The clip ends before a fitting final scene that helps reinforce a memory that will endure for a fan who was rewarded for being early and bringing a mitt. The 24-year-old pitcher, in the majors just three years, confirms he gave the ball -- autographed -- to his new Detroit pal:
Haha signed and all! Kid could play some catch now!
— Lance McCullers Jr. (@LMcCullers43) September 12, 2018
McCullers knows how meaningful the moments were for his pregame partner. Just six years ago, the All-Star pitcher was an 18-year-old captain of the Tigers baseball team at Jesuit High in Tampa, Fla.
♦ Sequel: The Astros won by 5-4, as they did a day earlier. The series started Monday night with a 3-2 win by Houston.
