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Zachary, who had had metal in his mouth for a long time, was told by his parents on Friday that he could leave his fifth-grade class early to have his braces removed for an orthodontist appointment. The shaggy-haired 10-year-old boy thought he would get out of his chair in time to watch Game 1 of the World Series on TV.
Eventually, Zachary wore a Dodgers uniform to school, pulling out a wardrobe that included several shirts with the name of his favorite player, Freddie Freeman.
So when his father came to pick him up, and—surprise! Zachary showed him the right wing pavilion ticket and headed directly to Chavez Canyon. Zachary was very excited. They met his mother at Echo Park for tacos before the Guisados game and were seated right away.
However, Zachary’s elation was incomparable to the one he felt in the bottom of the 10th inning, when Freeman’s winning grand slam hit him directly.
“When he hit the ball, we knew it was going to leave the park, but we didn’t think we would be able to catch it,” Zachary told NBC News. “The ball bounced off the seats in front of us and rolled a little bit on the ground. Then I knew it.”
Fans in the surrounding seats delighted Zachary, an avid fan who keeps a scorebook at games. And what kind of games were they? He was there when Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey was retired in 2023, and this year he attended Opening Day, Clayton Kershaw’s Bobblehead Night, and the National League Div. Attended Game 1 of the Championship Series.
“Everyone wanted to see the ball,” he said. Everyone wanted to take pictures with me. It was just a mess. ”
Zachary and his parents with Freddie Freeman’s big home run ball
(Courtesy of Nico Ruderman)
Kudos to the Dodgers faithful fans for not letting anyone try to take the ball out of his hands.
“He was crying tears of joy and had a big smile on his face,” said Zachary’s father, Nico Ruderman, whose family lives in Venice. “He probably took pictures with 100 different fans. They were all so excited. Yankees fans also high-fived him. It was surreal.”
Early the next morning, Zachary accompanied his mother, Ann, on a business trip. He was wearing a Dodgers T-shirt when a flight attendant asked him if he had seen the walk-off home run.
“Oh,” Zachary replied, “I understand.”
The flight attendant hopped on the in-flight public address system to announce Zachary’s good fortune to other passengers. “I took my seat and everyone cheered,” he said.
Needless to say, the entire episode feels like a dream, but Zachary has one final wish. That means he wants Freeman to sign the ball.
And in the end, no one could blame him, at least for considering a sale. The ball that Freeman’s teammate Shohei Ohtani hit into the bleachers, making him the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, was sold at auction for $4.4 million.
This will be enough to cover the cost of orthodontics.
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