Teen on catching Astros rookie's first home run: 'It was crazy, man'

A South Texas teen’s trip to Minute Maid Park with his family on Father’s Day was a memorable one.

Not only did Rylan Freeman get to watch his Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox, but he earned his 15 minutes of fame when he caught Astros rookie designated hitter (DH) J.J. Matijevic’s first major league home run (HR) in the bottom of the fourth inning.

While the 16-year-old Freeman, who’s a member of recently crowned Class 3A state champion London High School’s baseball team, didn’t get to keep the ball, the Astros made sure he received a few things in return for his troubles.

“It was crazy, man,” he told Houston FOX affiliate KRIV.

Freeman added that he was in Houston for a baseball tournament.

His trip back home to Corpus Christi was postponed for at least several more hours as his dad wanted to take him and his family to watch the Astros.

“Boom, first home run, first hit for J.J.,” Freeman said, according to KRIV. “And I got it. It’s been a crazy experience, man.”

Citing The Associated Press (AP), Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that the team gave Freeman six tickets, six batting practice passes, a ball bearing Jose Altuve’s autograph and a signed Justin Verlander jersey in exchange for the ball.

The HR was not only Matijevic’s first in Major League Baseball (MLB), it was also his first professional hit, per the AP.

“When I was rounding the bases I just took it all in," Matijevic, who was called up from the Sugar Land Space Cowboys after rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena went on the injured list, said in the report. “I wasn’t really thinking anything, but I looked up and I saw all the fans and stuff and I really took it in and it was a special moment."

Matijevic wasn’t the only new Astros player to hit his first HR with the team during the game.

Shortstop Mauricio Dubon smacked a two-run HR in the fifth to put Houston up by three.

Dubon came to the Astros via a trade with the San Francisco Giants last month.

Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that the 4-3 victory broke a tie between Houston manager Dusty Baker and his Chicago counterpart Tony La Russa, with Baker now holding a 106-105 advantage against his former Atlanta Braves teammate through a quarter-century worth of matchups.