Fenway Park is a must-see if you’re a big sports fan, but few have the first-time experience that Andrew Lastrapes had Saturday at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.
Lastrapes made social media waves Saturday during the Boston Red Sox’s loss to the New York Yankees when the 32-year-old corralled a Giancarlo Stanton home run ball atop the Green Monster. As Stanton rounded the bases, the Atlanta man uncorked a wild throw back into the field of play, hitting Stanton on one hop as he rounded second base.
While Stanton was a good sport about the incident, tipping his cap to the fan after being plunked, Lastrapes knew he had to make himself scarce after doing his best “Rookie Of The Year” impersonation.
“When the ball hit him, I was just like, ‘Oh, this might be a big deal,'” Lastrapes told ESPN’s Coley Harvey.
Lastrapes immediately grabbed his friend Thomas Barton and left the top of the Green Monster.
“I looked at Thomas and was like, ‘Let’s go,'” Lastrapes said. “So I left, and then I saw a bunch of security go down and (they) just missed me. And then I was one security guard left, and it was an old guy, and he was like, ‘Son, did you hit Giancarlo Stanton with that ball?’
“And I was like, ‘Yes.'”
Lastrapes had to fill out some paperwork but was not kicked out and was not told he was banned from Fenway.
“I turned to Thomas and was like, ‘Whatever happens to me, I’m going to text you later,'” Lastrapes said. “They were like, ‘Nothing’s going to happen to you.’ They were pretty cool about it.'”
Stanton also had a laugh about the incident, as he posted a video to Instagram that mashed up the real-life incident with that from “Rookie Of The Year.”
Even if there’s nothing on the line, games between the Red Sox and Yankees never are dull.
