Major League Baseball

Heads Up! Strong-armed fan hits Yanks’ Stanton with HR ball

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:26 a.m. ET

BOSTON (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton has been plunked plenty of times. But by his own home run ball?

The New York Yankees star homered over the Green Monster during Saturday's 8-5 win, connecting in the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox. Stanton then got quite a surprise from a strong-armed fan while rounding second base at Fenway Park.

A man wearing a black T-shirt heaved the souvenir from his first-row seat on top of the left-field wall, and the ball took a hop and bounced off Stanton.

"I wouldn't have thought it got to me that fast with a fan throwing it," Stanton said. "I've never seen it happen before, so that wasn't my first thought."

The slugger continued his home run trot, but turned his head, smiled and appeared to tip his cap to the fan.

"He got it that far, got his target, he got in trouble for it," Stanton said. "I think it's fine on both sides."

The game was briefly halted as umpires gathered near the third-base line to point out the fan to stadium security officials.

"You see a lot of things in these games," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I think some places it's tradition, it lands on the field. Should probably just hang onto it."

Stanton's solo homer, the Yankees' 266th of the season, gave him his 100th RBI of the season. Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer in the fourth to snap the Yankees' tie with the 1997 Seattle Mariners for the most in a single season in major league history.

"That was cool for me," Stanton said. "A lot of cool things happened for our team today, so it was a good day."