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Baseball 2012: The game's best off-beat, under-the-radar statistics and trivia

Fascinating baseball firsts and notable statistics can easily be missed in the playing of more than 2,000 big-league games each year. Here are the most intriguing developments that possibly escaped your notice.

3. Bleacher 'double play'

  • By Ross Atkin Staff writer

Sitting in the front row of the outfield bleachers at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark, Caleb Lloyd caught consecutive home runs hit by Mike Leake and Zack Cozart of the Reds.

Backstory: Lloyd, who plays soccer at Thomas More College in his native Cincinnati, had not planned to attend the Reds game against Atlanta on May 21. But a friend and the friend’s uncle dragged him along for an evening in the Great American Ballpark bleachers.

Sitting in the first row, he managed to make a bare-hand play on Mike Leake’s drive to left field. That really smarted, so he was grateful when the next batter up, Zack Cozart hit a home run that bounced a little behind him and right into his lap.

In a show of generosity, he gave the ball hit by Cozart to his friend’s uncle, who had had paid for his ticket. The other ball he gave to Leake, a pitcher, whose home run was his first in the majors. The next night, the Reds made Lloyd the team’s honorary captain and had him deliver Cincinnati’s lineup to the umpires.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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