What could only be described as a dream come true for any Dodgers fans happened to Amber Roman and her husband Alexis Valenzuela Wednesday evening.
They both couldn't believe it when they snagged Shohei Ohtani's first home run ball in Dodger Blue.
The ball initially slipped through the hands of Valenzuela, and that's when Roman sprang into action picking up the ball that had fallen beside her.
"I look over at him, and I look down. And I say, 'Oh my god, it's right there,'" recounted Roman.
After the crowd applauded, the couple found themselves in possession of a prized memento— a baseball representing Ohtani's first home run with the Dodgers.
However, despite the excitement, a sense of longing lingered as their hopes of meeting Ohtani remained unfulfilled.
The couple was both quickly approached by team officials where trade discussions began for the historic ball.
In return for the Ohtani ball, the couple received two hats, a ball and a bat. While they were very happy with the trade, they admit that they were optimistic on meeting the Dodgers superstar.
"We wanted to meet him for sure," lamented Vanezuela, reflecting on the bittersweet nature of the encounter. "We really waited for him to come out and at least take a picture, exchange some words but nothing. Everything happened really fast."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The loyal Dodger fans say the experience hasn't steered them away from supporting their favorite team and are still optimistic about the possibility of a future encounter with Ohtani.
"If in the future he would like to do a meet and greet, we're very open to it. Throw in some tickets maybe," said Roman. "Overall, we wouldn't trade this experience for anything,"
