Just like Babe Ruth, new Toronto legend Michael Angeletti called the shot to be heard around the country.
The Blue Jays fan was prophetic in calling the catch too.
The Toronto tourism operator by day and Toronto sports fanatic by night snagged Blue Jays slugger George Springer’s iconic Game 7-winning home run ball not once but twice on Monday night at the Rogers Centre.
“Once with my glove and then the ball popped out and grabbed it with my bare hand, and I squeezed it so tight that it could have sprouted out oil,” Angeletti told the Toronto Sun .
Then, like everybody else in the Rogers Centre , the 42-year-old started celebrating the historic home run. For about four seconds, he said he blacked out. Angeletti’s entire section was cheering with him and people all over the world watching couldn’t miss his No. 4 football-style Springer jersey he was wearing.
“The whole thing is like a dream,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.”
FAN PREDICTED IT
In a way, though, he can. Because he predicted it — more than once.
Not only did he tease people sitting with him in left-centre field that the ball was coming to him, he also texted friends before the game that he might catch the winning round-tripper.
He paid $700 for his seat to be in a position to do it.
“But when I heard George hit it, I knew it was good but I was not quite ready. I was texting my cousins and had to drop my phone, put on my glove and jump up and grab the ball. I didn’t have my glove on right so it bounced up and I secured it with my other hand,” he said.
Michael Angeletti is the biggest star in Canada today — except for George Springer. Stay tuned for more. #BlueJays @GeorgeSpringer pic.twitter.com/L9gCJkjsTs
— Joe Warmington (@joe_warmington) October 21, 2025
It was meant to be. Catch of the year. A baseball with a lot of value. His first thought, however, was to reach out to Springer, which he attempted to do.
“The Jays staff put me in the on-deck circle and everybody was coming over and getting a picture with the ball,” Angeletti said.
But not Springer. Seems he was a little busy.
“He had interviews to do and family there and was celebrating with his teammates,” the fan said.
The last thing No. 4 was focused on was his individual achievement.
Completely respecting that, Angeletti was happy to take his ball and go home with a piece of Canadian baseball history .
Springer’s home run helped the Jays beat the Seattle Mariners to capture the American League pennant and gain a berth in the World Series, and people are telling this fan that the ball is worth a fortune.
But as of Tuesday, he was not sure he knew what he wanted to do with it. There are suggestions it’s worth a lot of money, but he also liked the idea of keeping it and integrating it into his Niagara & Toronto Tours business, which takes tourists on buses around the city and to Niagara Falls daily — often with Angeletti at the steering wheel.
“We get a lot of international tourists and American visitors, and I think they will enjoy this story,” he said. “But am I still open to talking to George about it.”
Time will tell. It’s all been a whirlwind in the past 24 hours.
“Right now, I am just enjoying it,” he said.
And enjoying a day of interviews and pats on the back, from his mailman to friends he went to high school with. Angeletti has looked comfortable in the media spotlight since making his big catch. Gregarious, fun and humourous. He’s good in front of the camera.
His father Renzo saw someone wearing the No. 4 unique football-style jersey catch the ball, “but it wasn’t until friends called and said it was Mike who caught it” that his dad found out.
ALWAYS BEEN LUCKY
His proud dad wasn’t surprised.
“That kid has always been lucky his whole life,” Renzo said. “He wins at everything. Contests, cards and draws. He’s so lucky, we named our dog Lucky after him.”
He might have won the lottery this time.
When he was a football kicker in high school, Angeletti once hit a 46-year field goal. Also, when he was a kid, he managed to pick up a foul ball off the bat of San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn during a game at the Big O in Montreal against the Expos.
“That’s when I became a Padres fan and this year I took my girlfriend to see the Padres against my beloved Jays and they were handing out these No. 4 football sweaters,” he said.
Who would have ever known that months later, he would be wearing No. 4 and catching the clutch homer off the bat of No. 4.
It seems like everything in Angeletti’s journey is all connected. Who knows where it leads? So, with his prognostications coming true, the big question is, will the Jays win the World Series?
“I know the experts say the Dodgers in five, but I am picking the Jays in six.”
And if he can, he’s going to try to get a spot in the outfield to see if he can catch the next big home run ball. Who knows? He certainly called it on this memorable October Monday night.
