Kopp Snags 100th Ball on BP Homer From Ichiro
Ballhawk From New Jersey Hits Triple Digits With Athletic Catch at Nationals Park
by Alan Schuster, July 4, 2011Kopp poses with his 100th career ball, snagged on the fly off the bat of Ichiro Suzuki.Alex Kopp, a 21 year-old college student from New Jersey, joined the 100 ball club recently with a snag that was arguably the greatest in his young career. The milestone snag came on June 22 at Nationals Park and was hit by none other than future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki. "I thought to myself wow how awesome would it be to snag number 100 from Ichiro, especially because I had never gotten one from him before," Kopp remarked, recounting his thought process as he sat on 99 career baseballs while watching the Mariners take BP from the right field seats. Ichiro routinely showcases his power during batting practice, so it was no surprise to Kopp when he came to bat and smacked a towering fly to right. "I ran about 15 feet to my left and thought it was going to fall short so I started to step into the row below me when the ball kept traveling," Kopp said. "A second later I found myself straddling the second and third rows of seats when the ball smacked my glove." Kopp went crazy, celebrating his first major milestone of his ballhawking career. He also finished the day with 10 balls, snagging double-digits for just the second time in his lifetime. For the season, Kopp currently ranks 17th among ballhawks with 79 balls. View Alex Kopp's complete collection on his Member Page