Man celebrates birthday in honor of late father, catches game-winning home run ball: 'There is crying in baseball'

A man celebrating his 21st birthday at the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Tuesday was the recipient of a souvenir he won't soon forget.

Alex Robertson and his brother were attending the game for more than just Alex’s birthday; it was a nod to their father, Billy, who had passed away last month after a battle with liver failure. Baseball had always brought the family together, and the game was a way of honoring their dad.

The young man admits that losing his father has not been easy. While holding back tears, Alex told ABC 15, "We became best friends when my mom and him got divorced. We would watch the Diamondbacks and the Cardinals together all the time."

At the Tuesday night game, the team was down by one against the Texas Rangers at the bottom of the ninth when Jarrod Dyson stepped up to the plate.

Alex told Fox 10 that his friend Josh and his father, who worked with Billy, were watching the game. They told themselves, "Watch this... the Diamondbacks are about to come back for Billy."

Sure enough, Dyson smacked the game-winning two-run home run ball into the stands. The ball bounced between fans before it ultimately plopped into Alex’s hands — and the entire moment was serendipitous.

"I got my tickets. I was super hyped. I got good seats, and someone was in my seats, and I looked at my brother and said, ‘Should we go get the bouncer?’ and my brother said, 'No, it's fine, let's just find new seats that are open,' and those new seats that we found were where we were when we caught the ball," Alex said.

To make the moment even more unbelievable, Dyson has never hit a walk-off home run in this career.

"I almost started crying because it was such an emotional thing for me," Alex told ABC. "One guy tweeted me, 'Dyson doesn't have a lot of power so I was wondering how he hit that ball out, after reading your tweet, now I know.' I wanted to cry then too."

The ball right now is in the process of being signed by Dyson, and Alex plans to frame it in a case — as well as purchase a Dyson jersey.

The story wasn't lost on baseball fans, including those who were rooting for the opposing team.

"I know my dad is up there smiling for sure," Alex said.

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