TORONTO — A young New York Yankees fan who was gifted a baseball by a Toronto Blue Jays fan met his hero Yankees star Aaron Judge on Wednesday.
The memorable moment happened hours after cameras captured 9-year-old Derek Rodriguez crying joyfully as he hugged Blue Jays fan Mike Lanzillotta. The latter gave Rodriguez Judge's sixth-inning home run ball after snagging it, the Associated Press reported.
A video shared by the Yankees via Twitter showed Rodriguez getting to meet Judge on Wednesday before the team wrapped up its 2-game series against Toronto.
Baseball is the best 💙 pic.twitter.com/t1f3ZATGmz
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 4, 2022
According to the news outlet, both Rodriguez and Lanzillotta were invited to the field and the Yankees dugout.
Judge surprised both of them, signing the home run ball and also gifting the young fan a paid of his batting gloves.
Rodriguez, named after Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, told the AP that he took the ball to school with him on Wednesday.
The Yankees also added that Rodriguez and Lanzillotta had been invited to attend an upcoming Yankees game this season, can invite nine people each, and will get to watch the game from right field in The Judge’s Chambers seats.
