TORONTO — Michael Angeletti says he knew he was going to catch George Springer's ball before it happened.
The Toronto native sat front row in left field at Rogers Center wearing a Springer jersey during Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. The game was a do-or-die showdown between the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, who tied three games each and were both one win away from a historic World Series berth.
The score was 3-1 and the Blue Jays were down in the seventh inning when Springer came to the plate.
“I was actually texting my cousin telling him I was in the front row about to catch the ball so he would leave me alone,” Angeletti said.
“And I dropped the phone, caught the ball, and here we are.”
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Just seconds before hitting, Angeletti said he had just told the man sitting next to him that the seventh inning is historically a big deal for the Jays.

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“All the magic happened in the seventh inning with Bautista and the Rangers back then,” Angeletti recalls saying, referring to the 2015 American League Series game that featured Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip.
Angeletti said he hoped to experience some of that magic in the seventh inning, and with one swing of Springer's bat, he and more than 44,000 other fans at Rogers Center erupted in cheers.
A three-run home run led the Jays to a 4–3 victory over the Mariners, securing Toronto's first World Series berth since 1993. The Jays will now face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fall classic, with Game 1 set for Friday night.
Angeletti said he had been to 72 countries and five continents, but the feeling of being in a crowd at that moment was unmatched. As the owner of Niagara Toronto Tours, he said he knows what it takes to make the experience memorable.
“Stay unpredictable,” he said, and you might become a part of baseball history.
“I’m tired of lying on the couch and scrolling and just passively watching,” Angeletti said. “I needed to feel something real and that’s why I spent this money tonight.”
“I felt the most real I’ve ever felt in my life.”
After catching the iconic home run ball, Angeletti kept it in a black baseball glove, which he brought to the park, hoping that its authenticity would be confirmed at the suggestion of other fans. After the game, he said, staff brought him onto the field for a moment, but he later had to leave to go home.
He said he's willing to do “what's best for the ball” if it means trading it back to the Blue Jays as part of historical memorabilia, but for now he's content to enjoy the moment.
“I’m fortunate to be a part of Canadian sports history,” Angeletti said. “I'm a Toronto sports fan. I love all of our teams, especially the Blue Jays.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press