Mariners fan takes home run ball to face, but gets signed apology and message from favorite player

The silver lining: Muñoz, her favorite player, reached out to her on Instagram to make sure she was OK. — Longtime Seattle Mariners fan Nikki Jones went to T-Mobile Park Tuesday night hoping to score an Andrés Muñoz bobblehead.

She got it — and then got hit in the face by a Julio Rodríguez home run ball in the 8th inning while she was in the pen.

“So I’m keeping my eye on the ball, pun intended. And what happened was I just saw it coming to me, and I’m like, ‘Awesome! I can’t believe I’m about to catch this ball,’” Jones told KIRO Newsradio. “And well, let’s just say I dropped the ball right into my face, and thankfully didn’t hit my eye or anything like that. Just hit right above my eyebrow, so I didn’t feel dizzy or like confused or anything like that. And while the security there called the medic, they took me to the hospital.”

Another Mariners fan snagged the ball, but later reached out to Jones about sharing it.

“The person reached out to me on Facebook, and he was just like, ‘I kind of feel bad. How about you and I just split the ball 50-50?’” Jones said. “And I messaged him back, and I was just like, ‘No, you just go ahead and keep it. There’s just no animosity between us.’ Like, go ahead and just keep it, whatever. I’ll probably catch another one in like the next 10 to 20 years that I’ve been going to games.”

Muñoz reaches out on Instagram to check on her

Nothing’s broken, but Jones will have to miss work until Monday. The silver lining: Muñoz, her favorite player, reached out to her on Instagram to make sure she was OK.

“Apparently Muñoz came out, and it was a little chaotic, and Muñoz was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Jones explained. “And I think his brother was like, ‘Oh, the person over there with your bobblehead that wanted you to sign, she got hit in the head with a ball.’ So he messaged me on Instagram asking me if I’m doing OK and to get better soon.”

Last October during the American League Division Series, Jones made a poster that read “I heart Matilda’s Dad.” Matilda is Muñoz’s cat.

“He stopped, and he ushered me over, and he high-fived, hugged, and he asked me for a photo,” Jones said. “I was like, that is super strange-a player asking a fan for a photo, but you know what? I’m not going to say no to that, obviously. And so later on, I posted the photo on my Instagram and tagged him in it. He DM’d me with a photo of us. It seems like every single time we see each other at a game, he’s always coming over and making sure he says hi and whatnot. So it’s pretty cool.”

Julio also reaches out, sends signed ball: ‘I’m sorry. Get well soon!’

Jones posted a screenshot of the Instagram exchange with Muñoz on X. In a separate post, shared a picture of a ball signed by Julio that reads: “I’m sorry. Get well soon!”

“Julio reached out to me on Instagram, and he just apologized,” Jones said. “And I just responded back, ‘There’s no need to apologize.’ Like you hit a home run. Like there’s nothing to apologize for. It’s not like you did it on purpose, obviously. So that was pretty cool.”

Despite Julio’s homer, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Mariners 4-2.

This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

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