10-10-2005, 08:27 PM
Fan catches long shots by Burke, BerkmanESPN.com news services
It was Shaun Dean's lucky day at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Dean, of Porter, Texas, did more than catch the game-winning home-run ball hit by Chris Burke in the Houston Astros' dramatic 7-6 NLDS series-clinching victory over the Atlanta Braves, an 18-inning, six-hour epic.
Ten innings earlier, with the Astros down 6-1, Dean caught Lance Berkman's grand slam to the left-field seats to close the gap to 6-5.
"It came right at me," Dean, 25, told the Chronicle. "I just reached over and caught it."
On catching Burke's solo shot: "It was all just a blur ... [it] came more toward my father-in-law, and he just leaned over and I reached down and caught it."
After the Burke homer, "an usher came down and talked to me," Dean told the paper, saying that the Astros normally compensate fans who return special home-run balls to the players who hit them.
Dean, who caught the home run balls approximately three hours apart, reportedly said he probably would give the ball to Burke.
"Everyone was congratulating me, patting me on the back," Dean told the paper. "I had several people say I should buy a lottery ticket or go to Vegas."
It was Shaun Dean's lucky day at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Dean, of Porter, Texas, did more than catch the game-winning home-run ball hit by Chris Burke in the Houston Astros' dramatic 7-6 NLDS series-clinching victory over the Atlanta Braves, an 18-inning, six-hour epic.
Ten innings earlier, with the Astros down 6-1, Dean caught Lance Berkman's grand slam to the left-field seats to close the gap to 6-5.
"It came right at me," Dean, 25, told the Chronicle. "I just reached over and caught it."
On catching Burke's solo shot: "It was all just a blur ... [it] came more toward my father-in-law, and he just leaned over and I reached down and caught it."
After the Burke homer, "an usher came down and talked to me," Dean told the paper, saying that the Astros normally compensate fans who return special home-run balls to the players who hit them.
Dean, who caught the home run balls approximately three hours apart, reportedly said he probably would give the ball to Burke.
"Everyone was congratulating me, patting me on the back," Dean told the paper. "I had several people say I should buy a lottery ticket or go to Vegas."
apple Wrote:Aww, but mich, its only a 22 year age difference, I'm still legal :broken:
Bill Wrote:The pool is frozen like Tom Foolery's Saturday night date's snatch.
pineschic Wrote:comon' over here big boy (Vita E).. I'll warm you right up. lol
