Orioles Fan Makes Barehanded Catch Without Dropping Drink, Phone: See Video

BALTIMORE, MD — An Orioles fan made one of the flashiest foul ball catches of the year Monday in Baltimore, drawing roaring cheers for Pasadena resident Tim Byer. (See video below.)

Josh Naylor of the visiting Cleveland Guardians hit a soaring fly ball that curved way foul down the right-field line in the top of the third inning. Byer was the lone fan in the far-flung section of the upper deck where the ball was heading.

With a drink and a phone in his left hand, Byer spun and caught the ball on the fly with his bare right hand. The snag, which some are already calling the fan catch of the year, drew a loud round of applause.

Byer soaked it in, tipping his cap with his arms stretched open wide to welcome the cheers.

"When you're good, you're good," Byer said in an interview on MASN's TV broadcast later in the game.

Right place, right time for this @Orioles fan. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/C9Au0VZ6m5
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Orioles TV commentator Kevin Brown called the catch with audible excitement.

"Josh Naylor whacks one down the line and way foul. And caught by the one guy out there who's got a drink and a phone in his hand! What! Got it in the hat? No. He just barehanded it. That's insane!" Brown said.

MASN's Rob Long interviewed Byer on the TV broadcast later in the game. Long said the catch was "phenomenal."

"Kevin Brown probably had his best call of the year," Long said of the foul ball commentary. "Kevin Brown has great calls. He was more excited for you than he was for a Gunnar Henderson home run."

MLB.com said the foul ball was hit 415 feet and had a 108.5 mph exit velocity, but the speed didn't faze Byer.

"It was like nothing," Byer said. "No big deal."

Byer said he was an outfielder for Pasadena's Chesapeake High School when the Cougars won the state championship in 1997.

This was Byer's first foul ball after attending roughly 30 games a year for the past three decades. His wife and daughter were at the bouncy house during the catch, so they missed the spectacle.

Byer was still proud of his feat.

"Would that come with a contract? Is Rex Barney still around?" Byer joked in reference to the former Orioles broadcaster who famously proclaimed, "Give that fan a contract!" when spectators made impressive catches.

With the Orioles losing 3-2, Byer's catch offered a jolt of excitement for Baltimore fans.

To see the catch and Byer's interview afterward, read MLB.com's story.