The fan who caught Alejandro Kirk’s home run on Oct. 25 during the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers is keeping the ball, Tampa Bay Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda wrote Thursday on social media.
Aranda had previously announced last Sunday he was in search of the person who caught the ball, which made Kirk the first player born in Mexico to record a World Series home run.
“We located the person who caught Kirk’s HR, but we couldn’t get it,” Aranda wrote Thursday. “I’m glad we tried and I thank them for contacting us. I’m happy for them that they have a piece of history in their hands.”
Kirk’s historic home run took place in the sixth inning of the Blue Jays’ 11-4 Game 1 victory.
The Blue Jays have since taken a 3-2 series lead over the Dodgers thanks to a 6-1 victory during Wednesday’s Game 5 in Los Angeles.
Kirk and Aranda are both Tijuana natives. The two began have known one another since they were playing Little League baseball together at four years old, per The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.
Aranda attended Game 4 of the World Series wearing a Kirk jersey from Glu Glu, the youth team on which they played together in Mexico.
Aranda was also in attendance to see Kirk hit his first World Series home run during a historic sixth inning on Oct. 25.
Both teams were tied at 2-2 before the Blue Jays started out the inning by scoring three runs. Addison Barger then stepped up to pinch-hit a grand slam.
Kirk then added his two-RBI homer to cap off a nine-run inning that marked one of the highest-scoring frames in World Series history.
That isn’t the only time Kirk has put a hit over the wall during the 2025 Fall Classic. He also erased an early two-run deficit in Game 3 with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning on Oct. 27.
The Dodgers ultimately pulled off an 18th-inning Game 3 victory to take a 2-1 series lead, although the Blue Jays have since won Games 4 and Games 5 to come within one win of a title.
Kirk could potentially make more history if he is able to help the Blue Jays close out the series and claim their first World Series championship since 1993 with a Game 6 win on Friday night in Toronto.
