Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
Before the thawing of relations between the United States and Cuba, only the occasional defector escaped the island nation to perform in the Major Leagues. September 6, 2013, featured an historic confrontation as pitcher Aroldis Chapman faced countryman and fellow defector Yasiel Puig for the first time. It was also the night of the "Great Eight Reunion" at Great American Ballpark which reunited "The Big Red Machine" (Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, George Foster, Ken Griffey Sr, and Cesar Geronimo). The fireballer came out on top, using this very Official Major League (Selig) ball to smoke a 102 MPH fastball in striking out Puig, as the Reds went on to a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles. This was also game six of Chapman's record-breaking 49 straight games with at least one strikeout for a reliever. This item comes with detailed Letter of Provenance from the fan who acquired it, as well as a letter and small plaque from its display in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. Also includes MLB Authentic hologram for it's use. Please note that MLB Authenticated officially lists this as a foul ball hit off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez in the ninth inning, who immediately batted after Yasiel Puig in the Dodgers' lineup.