Bob CollinsThe family of Robert Lucier of Windsor, Ontario memorialized their dad the only way they knew how last Friday afternoon: by taking in a Detroit Tigers baseball game.
“My father’s the biggest baseball fan I know. We thought the best way to memorialize him was to have some friends go to the ballgame,” Rob Lucier tells the CBC.
So they went to the funeral on Friday morning, and then headed for the ballpark.
Long-time family friend Ally McCabe went, too, and appeared to be a magnet for homeruns.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, Lord, if you could get a ball to land and let the [Lucier] boys pick up, that would be great.’ But I didn’t realize home run balls don’t just land in your lap,” McCabe said.
And one didn’t just land in the Lucier boys’ lap. It landed in hers, thanks to reigning league MVP Miguel Cabrera.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, that ball is coming right at me,'” McCabe said. “I thought, ‘How am I going to catch this ball?’”
McCabe, who plays roller derby, tucked in her arms, swung out her hip and knocked the ball to the ground.
Fans flocked to the ball, but McCabe “hip-blocked” them from getting the ball, reached down and picked it up.
“I didn’t know who hit the ball. I didn’t know it was his 2,000th hit. I only knew I caught a ball,” McCabe said.
“It may sound a little corny, but a baseball miracle sounds good to me,” the son said.
They gave the ball to Cabrera.
Here’s the family’s interview with the CBC.
(h/t: Krystyna Pease)
