An Instant Fan Legend

[“I waved at him when he came up,” Turner said. “Maybe he saw me.”]
This year, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (nickname “The Big Dumper”) became just the 7th man to slug 60 home runs in a season. That helped lead his team to the playoffs, and on Tuesday night, his Mariners faced off against the Tigers for game three of the American League Division Series in Detroit. At the game was one incredibly lucky fan:

Jameson Turner — who was born in Longview, Wash., and now lives in Las Vegas — was wearing a bright teal shirt, with a simple message (“DUMP HERE”), with a massive No. 61 in the middle.

According to The Athletic, Turner made that shirt for Seattle’s final regular-season series. He hadn’t planned on traveling to Detroit for last night’s game, but the shirt was “begging to be worn”. He snagged a last minute ticket in left field above the Mariners bullpen and hoped a dinger might find its way to him. As MLB.com reports, that’s exactly what happened.

Raleigh…caught up to a 1-1 sinker at the top rail from Brenan Hanifee and drilled it the other way, 391 feet to left-center.

…

It flew into the bullpen and took the perfect bounce — straight to the fan who’d asked for it.

For Turner to catch Raleigh’s 61st home run of the season was incredible enough. It’s what happened next, however, that makes him a legend:

Turner was more than prepared. As soon as he collected Raleigh’s homer off a bounce in the Mariners’ bullpen, he had a change of clothes ready.

This new shirt? “DUMP HERE — No. 62.”

[Photo credit: NAME]

If there were a Baseball Fan Hall of Fame, Jameson Turner would be elected on the first ballot.

Link: https://www.mlb.com/news/cal-raleigh-home-run-caught-by-fan-wearing-dump-here-shirt