Most baseball fans never get to experience the sublime feeling of snagging a foul ball while watching their favorite team. Avid Athletics supporter Angus Olaes remarkably managed to grab three foul balls in the same inning while watching Oakland take on the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday at the Coliseum.
Olaes, an 18-year-old lifelong A's fan and Alameda native, was sitting in section 216 with his dad Tony, where the pair experienced an inning of baseball they'll remember for the rest of their lives.
"I'm still trying to figure out what the heck happened," Olaes told NBC Sports California. "I mean, it's just been unreal, that experience. Sharing that with my dad and just seeing everything blow up on social media, it's just been absolutely crazy. All my friends reaching out to me, family, it's just a lot. Still trying to comprehend what's going on."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Hauling in three foul balls in one inning is impressive in its own right, but the fashion in which Olaes caught the last one truly was breathtaking, leaping out of his seat to make an incredible jumping grab that is among the best fan catches you'll ever see.
How exactly was Olaes able to react in a split-second to make such a sensational catch? It all starts with his baseball instincts, which the 18-year-old revealed stems from working with his teammates at Diablo Valley College, where Olaes stars as a rising freshman outfielder for the Vikings.
"First, at that point, I'd already caught two," Olaes said. "And in the back of my head i was like, 'What if there's a third one? But, there's like no way, right?' Because, I mean the odds of that happening are so low. I guess just as it was flying toward me, I don't know, I guess I just used my baseball instincts to kind of reach up and grab it.
Oakland Athletics
"I get a lot of defensive work in with a lot of my teammates over at DVC, shoutout to them and some of my friends. So, shoutout to them two, Leo and Andy, always putting in work. I guess I just used some of that instinct."
Olaes' teammates were quick to reach out about his viral grab after it sent social media into a frenzy.
"I was checking my phone seeing like, 'Oh, man, am I on TV?' I ended seeing myself on like the MLB account," Olaes said. "I was like, 'There's no way, this is crazy.' After that happened, all the DMs and the texts started flooding in, that's when I realized like, 'This is really happening right now.'
What does someone do with three foul balls caught within one inning? Do they get displayed as a precious keepsake, a proud trophy to commemorate a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence?
Not for Olaes, who prioritized sharing the incredible experience with others in attendance, gifting two of the balls to nearby fans, including a family who made an arduous trek to attend Friday's game at the Coliseum.
"I have just the first one, I got to keep the first one because that was my first ever caught foul ball," Olaes said. "But I gave away the second one to a kid a few rows in front of me. The third one was pretty cool. So, after I caught the second one, this family in front of me, they were like, 'We're all the way from Germany. We're foreigners here, we're just here on a vacation. If you catch another one, can we get that too?'
"Just jokingly, I was like 'Yeah, sure. If I get another one, you got it. Fair enough, less than like five minutes later I get the third one and I'm like, 'There you go!' It was just crazy, absolutely crazy."
NBC Sports California's Dallas Braden fittingly provided jubilant color commentary of Olaes' awesome catch, which meant the world to the lifelong A's fan, who lauded the Oakland franchise icon's impact on the ballclub.
"It was truly an honor," Olaes said. "Dallas Braden is just an amazing human being. He just means so much to the Athletics organization as a whole. As a player, but as a person too. Obviously, he's had crazy moments with the A's, too. Like his perfect game back in 2010, I remember that when I was just like four years old or something. His impact on this team, this ballclub is crazy.
"I just love seeing the way he interacts with fans, players, coaches, whoever it may be, I just love his dynamic with everyone he meets. So, it was really cool to see his comments on my plays."
One of the most special aspects of Olaes' fascinating achievement was sharing the moment with his dad, who always has been a fixture in his baseball world.
"It was a blessing. My dad is there pretty much 100 percent of the time when it comes to me with baseball," Olaes said. "He drives me to games, drives me to batting practice. Wherever I need to be, he gets me there. So, it was really a blessing to be able to share that with him. I mean, as you can see, he was extremely excited -- even more excited than me to be able to do that.
"Oh my god, I love him to death and I'm extremely grateful I got to share that moment with him."
Fans bringing gloves to games has become less of a common sight in recent years, even bordering on a controversial topic within the baseball community. So what does Olaes say to anyone who frowns upon bringing some leather to the ballpark?
"I mean, the proof is in the pudding, right? I caught three balls, I guess you got to bring your glove from now on," Olaes said with a chuckle. "We do see some crazy barehanded catches too, right? Like that guy a few months ago, he had like a baby in his arm and a beer in his hand. But, I mean having the glove definitely helps too. I don't think I would have made all those catches without a glove. So, I guess you got to bring it."
Olaes' catch lives on for eternity, properly ranking among the most spectacular fan catches in baseball history, something that the die-hard A's fan will cherish forever.
"I never actually really thought about that until now ... it's just wow. That's just crazy," Olaes said. "As someone who is just trying to process what is happening in this moment, it's just unbelievable, seriously it's unbelievable. I'm really grateful for all of this."