It has been an incredible week so far for nine-year-old Yankees fan Derek Rodriguez: he watched his favourite baseball player, Aaron Judge, hit a home run; a Blue Jays fan snagged the ball and gave it to Derek; and then Judge signed the ball in person.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Derek on Tuesday night, just after meeting Judge and shedding a few tears of joy. “It’s so amazing.”
Derek’s amazing ride began on Tuesday night when he and his father, Cesar Rodriguez, came to Toronto’s Rogers Centre to watch the Toronto Blue Jays take on the New York Yankees.
Both father and son, who live in Toronto, are big Yankees fans. Cesar Rodriguez said he first got hooked on the team in 1996 when Hall of Famer Derek Jeter became the starting shortstop.
“When I saw him play — Derek Jeter — I [said], ‘Oh, my God, this is my favourite player right now, and this is going to be my team forever,'” said Rodriguez. “That’s why my kid’s name is Derek, because [of] Derek Jeter.”
Despite his namesake, Derek’s idol is Judge, who is currently considered one of baseball’s best players. Derek came to the game decked out in a Judge jersey, and that caught the eye of Blue Jays fan Michael Lanzillotta, who was sitting nearby.
“I immediately noticed this boy and his father in Yankees gear and said, ‘Okay, here we go. Yankees fans are behind us,” he said.
Michael Lanzillotta, left, snagged an Aaron Judge home run ball in Toronto Tuesday and handed it over to Derek Rodriguez, right, because he knew how much that would mean to a young fan. (Grant Linton/CBC)
But any animosity he felt wore off fast. In fact, when Lanzillotta learned that Derek was desperate to catch a ball during the game, he decided to help out because he knew how much that would mean to a young fan.
When Lanzillotta was 12 years old, his grandfather held his legs so he could reach over and grab a foul ball during a Blue Jays game in the mid-’90s.
“Growing up as a Jays fan, that’s what you want. That’s what you live for when you go to a game,” said Lanzillotta, who lives in Newmarket. “I turned to the kid and said, ‘Listen, we’re going to get you a ball no matter what.'”
Watch | Blue Jays fan gives Yankees fan home run ball in heartwarming moment:
Blue Jays fan gives Yankees fan home run ball in heart warming moment
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Duration 0:37
At Tuesday night’s game between the Jays and the Yankees a home run ball was given to a young boy wearing a Yankees right-fielder Aaron Judge shirt by a Jays fan. 0:37
Somehow the stars aligned, and Lanzillotta was able to keep his word. When Judge hit a home run, the ball flew into the stands where bothLanzillotta and Derek were seated. Lanzillotta snagged the ball and handed it to Derek without hesitation.
“Instinct just took over and I turned right to the kid and I said, ‘Here you go, buddy,” said Lanzillotta. “He wrapped his arms around me, and I just had an overwhelming feeling of joy and elation.”
Derek, of course, was also elated.
“It was like a roller-coaster of emotions,” he said. “I couldn’t hold back my tears and I just started crying [tears] of happiness.”
Derek meets his Yankees idol
Derek thought his week couldn’t get any better — until it did.
He and his father also had tickets to the Jays-Yankees game on Wednesday night, so they dropped by batting practice before the game to see if Judge might sign Derek’s ball.
Judge gladly obliged and took time out to chat with Derek in the dugout — even giving him a pair of batting gloves.
Yankees player Aaron Judge met Derek Rodriguez at batting practice on Wednesday and signed his ball. (Grant Linton/CBC)
“It was really exciting,” said Derek. “He was really nice.”
The feeling was mutual, according to Judge.
“I asked him who his favourite player was and he just turned around and showed me his little jersey. That still gives me goosebumps to this day to see little kids that are wearing my number,” he said. “So a pretty cool moment that I definitely won’t forget.”
Derek plans to keep his precious ball close by as a constant reminder.
“I’m going to keep it in my room and not take it out,” he said.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
