Photo: twitter.com/ballysportscin
Jacob Kingsley catches a foul ball while feeding his infant son during a Cincinnati Reds game at Great American Ball Park on April 26, 2022.
There was a spectacular catch during Tuesday's Cincinnati Reds game, but the play didn't come from a pro ball player.
Jacob Kingsley caught a pop-up foul ball when the Reds hosted the San Diego Padres on April 26. No big deal, right? Foul catches happen a lot in baseball and certainly at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park.
But in this instance, Kingsley was holding his infant son Shepherd, who was strapped to Kingsley's chest in a baby sling. During the fifth inning, Padres catcher Luis Campusano popped up a 1-2 pitch from the Reds' Jeff Hoffman. The ball blooped backwards on the third-base side, where Kingsley nonchalantly reached up with one hand and plucked it from the air as he fed little Shepherd a bottle.
Read all of that again. A man caught a foul ball with one hand while holding a bottle up to his baby's mouth with the other.
Absolutely incredible.
Honestly, it was the play of the game — and maybe even the season thus far for the Reds, who lost 9-6 to the Padres.
"Catching a foul ball while bottle-feeding the baby... just dad things," the Reds tweeted after the play.
In the video the Reds posted, Kingsley's wife Jordan can be seen marveling at her husband's catch, her face painted first with incredulity and then with elation. Baby Shepherd wasn't phased by his dad's highlight-reel play, content to keep sucking down his bottle like a champ.Catching a foul ball while bottle-feeding the baby... just dad things. pic.twitter.com/tTXL0oDquu
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 27, 2022
Major League Baseball broadcaster Jim Day later visited the Kingsley family in the stands to get their take on what had happened.
"Safety first, obviously," Kingsley told Day. "Saw the ball pop up and just wanted to keep him (Shepherd) happy. And so, did my best to protect him at the same time, reached a hand up, had some fierce competition, but it ended up happening great."
"It looked like from afar, he never missed a drop," Day exclaimed.
"He probably didn't know what was happening," Kingsley replied. "But this will be a great memory to share with him. It's his first Reds game."
Kingsley said friends immediately began texting him about the catch, and he was able to look at the video on Twitter. "Definitely some bragging rights," Kingsley said.
As of 10 a.m. April 27, the Cincinnati Reds are just 3-14 for the 2022 season with the worst record in the MLB, and fan and player pressure on Bob, Phil and the rest of the Castellini family continues to mount.
The Reds will continue the homestead with the Padres at Great American Ball Park on April 27 and April 28.
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