Bryce Harper's latest booming homer wound up in the hands of an 87-year-old grandma Nats fan
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Harper's latest formidable blast came during Sunday's Nats-Astros Spring Training contest, and its trajectory (and the loud, made-the-crowd-audibly-gasp contact sound heard in the clip atop this post) was quite a sight:
In the grassy hill over the fence, a swath of fans pursued the ball, with one gentleman in a John Wall jersey emerging victorious and handing the ball to an elderly woman:
That man's name is John Reep, 23, a Stafford, Va. native and the woman who receives the ball is Reep's grandmother, Ida, who will celebrate her 88th birthday in May.
In a way, Ida receiving a homer hit by Harper is the perfect gift considering her intense Nats fandom. Her sons are pretty sure she hasn't missed a Nats TV broadcast since the team moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C., and just couldn't let this Spring Training go by without visiting the team's new facility at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Ida and her family will be back for the Nats' next game on Wednesday, so could a sequel be in the works? We'll have to wait and see ...
It's been a great Spring Training for grandmas, so far.