Radiologist Dr. Dave Huyette is adjusting his eyes to the subdued light of the reading room at St. Anthony's Health Center in Alton, IL, this week, after experiencing the flash of sudden fame from recovering the ball from David Freese's dramatic 11th inning walk-off home run that won Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.
After the game in St. Louis last Thursday night, Huyette gave the ball to Freese, who was later named Most Valuable Player after the Cardinals won the series with a Friday night victory. The gesture probably cost 39-year-old Huyette a fortune, but it just as likely carved him a place in baseball lore.
"I'm sure in the next few days it will get back to the point where people will stop talking about it, and people will stop wanting to take my picture," he said to AuntMinnie.com.
A premonition
Huyette's story begins with a premonition he felt four hours before the game that he and friend Jeremy Reiland would experience something extraordinary while they sat in the right center field bleachers of Busch Stadium. He wrote in a text message, "Jeremy & I going to world series game. Look for us catching the cards winning home run!"
Huyette enjoys the spotlight as the fan who gave back the ball that turned the tide for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 World Series.Freese's two-run triple then forced the game into extra innings. Josh Hamilton again gave the Rangers a two-run lead in the 10th, only to have it erased by a pair of runs by St. Louis in the bottom of the inning. Texas was shut out in the top of the 11th, setting the stage for Freese and Huyette to make their plays.
Huyette and Reiland's seats were located next to a short wall separating them from a grass-covered slope serving as green background for hitters in center field. From the ninth inning on, the athletic Huyette told himself that he could make a play for the ball if someone hit a homer into that grassy area.
About three feet had to be covered between the rows of seats and a fence that would have to be climbed. Huyette readied himself to jump as Freese positioned himself in the batter's box and more than 46,000 fans held their breath. Huyette heard the crack of the bat and the crowd's roar. He leaped over the fence, fell to the grass, heard a thud, and saw a baseball within arm's reach. He stuffed it in his pants and jumped back to his seat, as Freese rounded the bases and the crowd went crazy. No one else jumped the fence to compete for the winning ball.
A good deed
Huyette felt compelled to give the ball to Freese as soon as it came into his possession. His friend Reiland had shown bad form by wearing a Chicago Cubs T-shirt to the game, but he also quickly realized the ball's value and the dangers of trying to capitalize on it.
If the Cardinals won the series, the ball could command several million dollars at auction. (The ball Mark McGwire hit for his record-breaking 70th home run was auctioned off for $2.7 million). But Huyette was concerned that keeping the ball could stir up a controversy that could have awful lifelong implications if the Cardinals lost the final game.
"Everyone in St. Louis would hate me, and I would end up becoming some kind of curse," he said.
Huyette and Reiland were escorted by a Cardinals team official to the clubhouse, where Freese arrived shortly. He thanked Huyette for giving him the ball, and Huyette thanked him for hitting the home run. Freese autographed a bat, and a Cardinals official came up with a ball autographed by the entire World Series roster. All the while, Huyette struggled to think of items other than cash that he could ask for in the exchange.
"Photos were taken of the three of us, and I gave him the ball. That was pretty much it," Huyette said.
The next 24 hours were mayhem. Huyette received his first phone request for a television interview at 4:05 a.m., just five minutes after returning to his Maryville, IL, home. After showering and changing clothes, he drove to Reiland's house, who hadn't had time to do either. He would wear the same Cubs T-shirt for the next 20 hours.
The pair shuttled from one television or radio station to another through day. In the process, the public learned that they neglected to ask the Cardinals for tickets to that night's final game. A local auto supply dealer responded with free field-level seats. The Cardinals won the pennant that night, and on Sunday Huyette and Reiland attended the downtown victory parade.
Looking back, Huyette admits his adventure had very little to do with radiology. He couldn't think of anything about his training as a radiology resident at the University of Missouri or his clinical experience since board-certification in 2004 that factored into his ability to grab the ball or respond to the situations that would follow.
His comfortable living with the four-member Advanced Imaging Consultants in Alton, IL, however, may have made it easier to sacrifice the money he may have realized from his quick actions. Several blogs speculated that radiologists must earn too much if Huyette could afford to give away the ball. Other suggested the he should have demanded a contract giving him the right to interpret Freese's future MRIs.
The reward for Huyette may have been in the adventure itself, as St. Louis citizens recognize him at every turn.
"People stopped us and took our picture for 12 straight hours, even at the parade on Sunday," he recalled. "The fame, although fleeting, was definitely the experience of a lifetime."
