Random act of kindness: Mariners fan gifts historic ball to young stranger
Marcus Ruelos and his dad Galan hoped to see something special when they went to the Seattle Mariners vs. Colorado Rockies game on Wednesday night, but they never thought they would be a part of the moment.
“It was a surreal experience,” Galan said of the game.
Not only did the Mariners win the division title for the first time in 24 years, but catcher Cal Raleigh made history, hitting his 60th home run of the year, making him one of only seven major league players ever to do so — with the ball landing right in the Ruelos’ section.
“Normally when you’re at a baseball game, anytime a ball comes in your section, you’re already excited, like, you’re part of the game,” Galan said. “So all those layers adding up, the ball comes in our section over my shoulder, it ricochets off a couple sets of hands — come to find out later, it hits my wife — and then into the guy’s hands.”
Rather than keep the history-making memento, the man — identified as Glenn Mutti-Driscoll — promptly handed the ball over to 12-year-old Marcus.
“He caught the ball, and then I was trying to go for a high five, and he just gave me the ball,” Marcus said.
Mutti-Driscoll told MLB.com, “The whole thing was surreal. It just was happening so fast, and like, standing there with it, and I was just looking down at a kid, and he deserves more than me.”
Home run-record balls have sold for millions in the past — including just last year when Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball sold for a staggering $4.39 million at auction.
Raleigh’s 60th run ball would have likely fetched somewhere in the six-figure range.
Understanding the importance of the ball, Mariners security quickly whisked Marcus and his dad away where they could negotiate an exchange to get the ball to Raleigh.
Marcus says he knows the ball could have probably netted “$100 to 250,000,” but he decided to trade the memorabilia in for a signed bat.
“I don’t really care about the money, so I just got the bat,” the seventh-grader said. “I just kind of wanted to give it to Cal because that means more to him than it means to me.”
The moment, captured by fellow Mariners’ fans, went viral on social media, drawing comparisons to the “Phillies Karen,” who insisted a dad hand over a ball he had caught and given to his son.
“This is almost a complete opposite,” Galan said of the contrast between the Phillies fan and their experience.
“With the world that’s going on now, it’s a lot of turbulence,” he said. “To know that good things can happen, and something like this could uplift people is cool, and it’s cool to share this to make people feel better.”
Marcus said that since the moment went viral, he’s become something of a celebrity among his classmates. But he hasn’t let the fame get to his head.
“It feels kind of good,” he said of the sudden popularity boost. “But I think the guy who gave me the ball, he should be like two times more famous than me or even like three times because he was really nice.”
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