Niko Kavadas had easily the best moment of his professional career up to this point on Thursday of last week, when he tallied his first MLB hit and first MLB home run in one swing against the Toronto Blue Jays in the top of the ninth inning. It served as the only runs the Los Angeles Angels scored in a 5-3 loss, and the game ended on the very next batter.
In the frenzy of the home run and the game ending, the fans that caught Kavadas’ milestone baseball left the stadium without a trace. It was a difficult moment for the Angels top-30 prospect, who had been hoping to gift the ball to his father, a memorabilia collector. And while his father wasn’t upset in any way about the lost ball, Kavadas would ultimately get his wish.
The next day, the Blue Jays informed the Angels that the ball had been retrieved and the catchers wanted to return the ball without any compensation. Kavadas was stunned by the generosity, according to Julia Kreuz of MLB.com:
“I signed a few balls for them, and I wish I could have done more — I didn’t know what they wanted,” said Kavadas. “But yeah, they were so gracious in the fact that they weren’t asking for anything in return, they just felt like it was the right thing to do.”
The fans who helped retrieve the ball also got to share an on-field moment with Kavadas, the Angels revealed the following day.
A big thank you to Jason for helping reunite Niko with his first home run ball! ⚾️ https://t.co/S2cABSRGf1 pic.twitter.com/nAKBiDj8aH
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 23, 2024
Kavadas obviously got to bring the gift to his dad as he always intended, but he also got to fulfill an equally personal prophecy for himself in the process.
“When I think of that ball, I think of when my little sister got old enough to where she didn’t use her swing set anymore,” said Kavadas. “And I took the swings off, put a batting cage on there and hit balls into a tee every single day as a 9- or 10-year-old.
“That’s what that ball means to me.”
Kavadas is looking forward to many great moments in the Majors, and the new Halo should have his chances to find success at the big-league level.
Johnny Cueto influencing young Angels
Johnny Cueto — known for his time with the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants as a workhorse starter — has been in and out of the league for several seasons now. At 38 years old, expecting a comeback effort of any kind would have been naive. But manager Ron Washington and the Los Angeles Angels gave him that chance by starting him against the Royals on Wednesday of last week.
For manager Ron Washington, Cueto is here to provide a helping hand with some of the team’s younger pitchers. And in less than a week, Washington is already impressed with what Cueto has brought in that regard.