The fan who caught Alejandro Kirk’s homer Oct. 25 during the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers is keeping the ball, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda wrote Thursday on social media.
Aranda announced last Sunday that he was searching for the person who caught the ball, which made Kirk the first Mexican-born player to record a World Series home run.
“We located the person who grabbed Kirk’s HR, but we couldn’t get him,” Aranda wrote Thursday. “I’m glad we tried and I thank them for reaching out to us. I’m happy for them to have a piece of history in their hands.”
Kirk’s historic homer came in the sixth inning of the Blue Jays’ 11-4 Game 1 victory.
The Blue Jays have since taken a 3-2 lead over the Dodgers with a 6-1 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Both Kirk and Aranda are from Tijuana. The two have known each other since they played Little League baseball together when they were four years old, according to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.
Aranda attended Game 4 of the World Series wearing a Kirk jersey from Glu Glu, the youth team they played on together in Mexico.
Aranda was also on hand to see Kirk hit his first World Series home run in a historic sixth inning on October 25.
The two teams were tied 2-2 before the Blue Jays started the inning by scoring three runs. Addison Barger then stepped in to hit a grand slam.
Kirk then added his two-RBI homer to cap a nine-run inning that marked one of the highest-scoring frames in World Series history.
This isn’t the only time Kirk hits over the wall in the 2025 Fall Classic. He also erased a two-run deficit in Game 3 with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning on October 27.
The Dodgers eventually earned an 18th inning victory in Game 3 to take a 2–1 series lead, although the Blue Jays have since won Games 4 and 5 to move closer to a title victory.
Kirk could potentially make more history if he is able to help the Blue Jays close out the series and capture their first World Series championship since 1993 with a Game 6 victory Friday night in Toronto.
