Yankees: Chris Gittens shows off adorable landing spot for first home run ball
![BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JUNE 15: Chris Gittens #92 of the New York Yankees hits a home run during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field on June 15, 2021 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2021-2F06-2F1323876289-850x560-631fd89e95837d75444cff7942f53560.jpg)
After a brief skirmish, New York Yankees rookie first baseman Chris Gittens got his first home run ball back last week and fulfilled a promise in the process.
Of course, after a few weeks in the bigs, Gittens picked the worst possible location for his very first dinger: the minor-league stadium the Blue Jays have been forced to use in Buffalo, which features no seating in the outfield and a literal highway within shouting distance of the wall.
Gittens showed off his prodigious power, slamming a baseball off Hyun-Jin Ryu way out of the ballpark … which is good!
Unfortunately, it rolled down the busy road (well, Buffalo busy) and got picked up by ballhawks … bad!
Gittens promised when he reached the majors that the first hit (and, hopefully, home run) ball would eventually go to his newborn son. He likely didn’t calculate at the time, though, that said ball would bounce ever closer to the Canadian border, with only some of the game’s rowdiest thieves in its path.
Luckily, in the aftermath of the dinger’s quest to end up as far away from the wall as possible, a consensus was reached. We’re proud to show you now that Gittens’ ball has now been transferred to its rightful owner.
He got the ball!!!! 😍❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/WYku8wxvMq
— chris gittens (@HardhittinCG) June 22, 2021
Yankees first baseman Chris Gittens gave his first home run ball to his infant son.
Adorable. All is right with the world.
Gittens is back in the minors now, only having picked up a pair of hits in his first big-league cameo. Luckily, they were both massively impactful: the aforementioned monster home run in what eventually became a one-run win, and a two-run single that gave the Bombers breathing room to end their sweep of the Jays.
Heck, the final time he was on an MLB field before his demotion, Gittens caught the final out of a triple play to finish off the Yankees’ series win over the Oakland A’s. Not bad at all!
There were a few dicey moments along the way, however. In order to deliver this particular memento, Yankees staffers had to work overtime pleading with a Sweatshirt Guy who came with a pack of followers and swiftly became a villain from quite far away.
NYY's Eddie Fastook out on the highway negotiating for Chris Gittens' first @MLB homer ... pic.twitter.com/UZoI6nOSzg
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) June 16, 2021
That guy had all the leverage in the world. Very glad he came to his senses.
In case he regrets his decision to “sell” an heirloom that has very little intrinsic value, show him this article and the one-month-old baby’s toes. That should do the trick.