In 2016, I snagged a Vogt homer. In 2024, I asked him about it

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- If you’re a baseball fan, you've probably drawn up the scenario of catching a home run from one of your favorite players at a game. But until the moment happens, you’re never going to be fully prepared for the adrenaline rush you feel when the ball is coming your way.

That’s what happened to me at the Oakland Coliseum on April 15, 2016.

On a whim, I headed out to the Coliseum on a crisp Friday night with a friend from high school to watch the A’s play the Royals. We booked it to the right-field bleachers and took advantage of the section’s open-seating policy to maneuver our way into the first row.

Fate had a grand plan in store for me that evening. In the bottom of the second inning, the stadium rocked with excitement as Stephen Vogt -- a fan favorite in Oakland -- launched a ball to right field directly at me. Time felt like it froze as the ball inched closer. It bounced off my left thigh before bouncing around and ending up hiding behind my backpack. With a swarm of people around me, I quickly scooped it up and triumphantly raised my hand.

Some fans spend a lifetime dreaming of catching a ball. Luckily for me, at 15 years old, I found myself living the dream. The memory became embedded in my head, the highlight reel playing on a loop in my mind for years to come. For the longest time, I tried my best to track down Vogt in future games to get the ball signed. That moment never came to fruition.

But it’s funny how life works sometimes.

Fast forward nearly a decade later and I found myself seated across from Vogt at the Guardians' Spring Training facility in Goodyear. But I was no longer the starry-eyed fan seeking an autograph. Now, I was a reporter for MLB.com, stepping into the shoes of our wonderful Guardians reporter Mandy Bell.

After a round of important questions, I decided to jog Vogt’s memory about the at-bat. I didn’t think he’d remember all the details.

I was wrong.

“You don't remember all of them off the top of your head,” Vogt said. “But when you get specific, you're right back in the box, you're right back in the field.

“I remember the pitch: It was a 2-2 slider off Edinson Volquez. It was Jackie Robinson Day, because it took me a while to get my first homer.

“I can remember the at-bat and the moment, feeling like I finally got the first one out of the way for the year. All the feelings come back.”

Check. Check. Check.

He nailed every single one of the details. When I revealed to him that it was me who caught the ball, he and the rest of the room reacted in disbelief. The odds of us reuniting in that specific scenario were minuscule, yet there we were on a Sunday morning in Arizona.

“I love connecting with fans,” Vogt said. “It's one of my favorite things to do. I try to do it as often as I can, but it's crazy that you caught the ball. That is absolutely wild.”

And that’s what made grabbing that home run even more special.

There were plenty of other fan favorites in the lineup for the A’s that day -- Josh Reddick, Khris Davis and Marcus Semien, just to name a few -- but Vogt’s improbable rise to stardom in Oakland was one of those feel-good stories everyone could gravitate toward.

Vogt gave the A’s plenty of memories, whether it was his walk-off single in the 2013 American League Division Series or fans doing the iconic “I believe in Stephen Vogt chant” with "Comatose" by Skillet playing as he walked up to the plate. But he was also an active member of the East Bay community who wanted to give back to the area in any way possible.

For Vogt, that may have just been another day in the office. But for teenage me, it was a moment that grew my love for the game to new heights, fueling my passion for baseball and influencing my career aspirations.

As a reporter, staying objective is the name of the game. But that moment with Vogt was a sample of why so many people fall in love with America’s Pastime.

It’s a reminder -- in the words of our own Sarah Langs -- that baseball is the best.