This is our new favorite baseball fan.
The Houston Astros ended the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday night when the umpires ruled star slugger Yordan Alvarez out due to fan interference. With Houston trailing the New York Yankees 3-1 at the time, Alvarez hit a ball down the left field line near the wall. As a Yankees outfielder jumped to make the catch, an Astros fan reached over the ball and attempted to catch it first. This was a Steve Bartman situation all over again, albeit with much smaller stakes.
This would have been a humiliating moment for most fans, but it was anything but for our man in Houston. When the fan, whose name is Maurice, returned to his seat, ESPN’s Buster Olney went over for an on-camera interview. What happened next was TV magic.
Maurice explained he had just moved to Houston. He said he went to catch the foul ball because he wanted to give his son a special moment at the game by hauling in the foul ball. Then the interview went completely off the rails. Watch the full clip here:
“The reaction was shock, disgust, happiness, sweat, a little bit of lust, baby,” Malcolm said when asked about the crowd’s reaction after he dropped the ball. “I was in there, (it) kinda hurt my fingers. It’s still shaking a little bit. The ball weighed heavier with the gravity.”
Malcolm happily exclaimed to his young son that they were going to be on TV. “Houston loves me, and I love Houston.”
I don’t think Malcolm will go into hiding like Bartman did. Our guy completely owned the moment and came out as a viral star even after hurting the home team by reaching for the ball. Just don’t ask why Malcolm is wearing a Royals hat, and may have called the team the “Astroids.”
Here’s a full look at the interference.
The Yankees beat the Astros 6-1.
Please let Malcolm throw the first pitch next week, Houston. He has more joy to give us.