Logan O'Hoppe returns to Yankee Stadium five years after catching homer as a fan

Updated Apr 19, 2023 3:34 pm ET

Monday marked a very special homecoming for Los Angeles Angels rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe, as the Long Island native, who grew up a New York Yankees fan, got a hit in his first game back at Yankee Stadium as a professional during the Angels' 5-2 win Monday.

[Shohei Ohtani channels Babe Ruth with Yankee Stadium blast]

But that was not his first highlight in the Bronx.

In 2018, weeks before the Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 23rd round of that year's MLB Draft, O'Hoppe was decked out in Yankees gear and sitting in the second deck of Yankee Stadium when Manny Machado, then of the Baltimore Orioles, hit a home run off CC Sabathia — that O'Hoppe caught.

And as a proud Yankees fan, O'Hoppe showed the arm that the Angels now count on to throw out would-be base stealers by chucking the ball back onto the field.

"I was 17," O'Hoppe recalled. "I remember not being able to watch the rest of the game because it was the first time my phone was blowing up for anything. So, good learning moment for moments like tonight when my phone's blowing up."

Tuesday night was also not O'Hoppe's first time hitting at Yankee Stadium as a professional baseball player — he did so when he was still a member of the Phillies in a preseason game just before the shortened 2020 MLB season began. O'Hoppe went viral during that at-bat for the big smile he wore as he clearly enjoyed hitting in the stadium where he grew up attending games as a fan.

But unlike that 2020 game, fans were allowed in Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, which meant O'Hoppe had a large contingent of friends and family cheering him on.

Oh, and back in 2018, O'Hoppe defended himself on Twitter for throwing Machado's home run ball back. No word yet on whether he still stands by this.

Top stories from FOX Sports: