On Sunday, Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez achieved the first cycle of his career during a 6-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He received a unique memento from this milestone, one that other major leaguers who have hit for the cycle might not have.
Mariners fan Amy Franz caught Alvarez’s home run ball after it ricocheted off the upper deck facade of T-Mobile Park and fell into the lower deck, where she was sitting.
Franz quickly took to social media, reaching out to the Astros and Mariners to let them know she had Alvarez’s home run ball and wanted to return it to him. “It’s worth more to him than me being as he hit for the cycle,” she posted. “Please find a way for me to get it to him.”
Her post gained traction on social media and caught the attention of both the Mariners and Astros. After the game, Franz met Alvarez and handed over the ball, which she described as “the piece of history that he earned.”
“I did not ask for anything in return,” she shared in a follow-up post with a photo of her and Alvarez. “But he made sure that I received an autographed ball to show his appreciation.” In addition to the signed ball, Franz received a jersey from Alvarez, according to MLB.com.
During Sunday’s game, Alvarez went 4-for-4, hitting his home run in the fourth inning and completing the cycle with a triple in the sixth. His triple, a deep drive to left-center field, led to Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez injuring himself as he crashed into the outfield wall, resulting in a sprained right ankle.
With his 4-for-4 performance, Alvarez’s batting average rose to .301, with a .930 OPS, 20 home runs, 22 doubles, two triples, and 54 RBIs for the season.
Alvarez is the second player this season to hit for the cycle, joining the Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford. He also became the second player to accomplish the feat at T-Mobile Park, following Miguel Tejada’s cycle for the Oakland Athletics in 2001.
Alvarez is the 10th Astros player to hit for the cycle, following José Altuve, who did so last season against the Boston Red Sox. But did Altuve get his home run ball back from a generous fan like Alvarez did?