Toronto's Frankie Lasagna and Kyle Mulligan are now famous after missing home run ball
Frankie Lasagna from Toronto can thank New York Yankees baseball superstar Aaron Judge for making him a household name.
Judge famously made history this past week for tying Roger Maris' record for the most home runs hit in a single season in American League history.
Judge hit his 61st home run in the Rogers Centre off Blue Jays relief pitcher Tim Mayza.
Yankees Aaron Judge hits his 61st Home Run of the season, tying Roger Maris for the American League record pic.twitter.com/8wSqK1jknZ
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) September 29, 2022
The celebratory moment turned bleak for two baseball fans who came agonizingly close to catching the historic ball (which could've been worth millions) in the left field bleachers, just to let it bounce off their fingertips.
The reaction of the fans who just missed Judge’s 61 homer ball pic.twitter.com/BY1mxL2XTM
— Ted Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) September 29, 2022
The two Toronto-based men reached over the railing to try to catch the ball, which ultimately ended up bouncing into the Toronto bullpen.
The men have now been identified as 37-year-old Frankie Lasagna, who owns Italian restaurant Terrazza near Harbord and Ossington, and electrical contractor Kyle Mulligan.
The cameras at the historic game immediately panned to a shocked Mulligan, who threw his hat down in frustration as the reality of the situation set in.
Mulligan appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, and revealed that catching the ball could've put his kids through college.
The man who ALMOST caught Aaron Judge’s 61st home run! @TheJudge44 #KimmelinBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/DeXc0KTt19
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) September 30, 2022
"How do you feel today Kyle?" asked Kimmel. "Terrible," Mulligan responded.
"Frankie Lasagna, the guy that everybody thinks I am bumped my glove a little and I missed it by two inches," he told Kimmel.
A little guide to the guys who missed Aaron Judge's 61st HR ball pic.twitter.com/jfLl6cz4Sb
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) September 29, 2022
Lasagna, who revealed that his name is actually Francesco Lasagna, appeared on Breakfast Television to discuss the once-in-a-lifetime missed opportunity.
.@BlueJays fan Frankie Lasagna joined us LIVE this morning to talk about how he's feeling after missing Aaron Judge's iconic home run ball ⚾ pic.twitter.com/qKalD7apmI
— Breakfast Television (@breakfasttv) September 29, 2022
Lasagna joked that the mishap was "Judge's fault, he could've hit it a little harder."
Late night host Stephen Colbert also discussed the situation, and called Frankie Lasagna "either the best name I've ever heard, or the worst alias in the history of the mob."
Frankie Lasagna is gonna be hurting for days. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/rAWtsWHeCl
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) September 30, 2022
Since the fiasco, social media has naturally become enamoured with Lasagna's name.
The fact there is a real person who goes by Frankie Lasagna — and owns an Italian restaurant — has to be more interesting than Judge hitting 61 home runs.
— Nick Ashbourne (@NickAshbourne) September 29, 2022
Others joked about the reaction Lasagna might've had if he managed to catch the ball.
Frankie Lasagna if he caught Judges home run pic.twitter.com/UGjPALPw4U https://t.co/7Eoh2Zr17T
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) September 29, 2022
Another person said that they're more likely to forget a loved one's birthday than the name Frankie Lasagna.
The Toronto Blue Jays fan who just missed catching Aaron Judge’s 61st home run’s name is Frankie Lasagna.
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) September 29, 2022
I will forget phone numbers, important dates and the birthdays of loved ones, but this information will remain in my brain for the rest of my life. pic.twitter.com/93NRBkGNee
One person even suggested that a GoFundMe campaign be created in Lasagna's honour in order to cover losses for the embarrassing blow.
Can someone please start a @gofundme for Frankie Lasagna? No one should have to live with that level of regret for the rest of their life. There's been less worthy causes get 1M+. We should be able to get him at least 100K.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) September 29, 2022
Despite all the events that occurred at Wednesday night's Blue Jays game, I think we can all agree that history was made, one way or another.
Jimmy Kimmel Live
