Fan donates Albert Pujols' historic baseball to Hall of Fame in memory of late son

Detroit Tigers fan Ely Hydes donated a historic baseball he caught in the stands to the National Baseball Hall of Fame last month in memory of his late son, who died when she was just 21 months old in June of 2018. 

It was Albert Pujols' career home run No. 639, which also represented Pujols’ 2,000th RBI, joining Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez and Cap Anson in the elite club of players who have accomplished the milestone. Pujols is only the third player to reach the milestone since RBI became an official stat in 1920.

Hydes, a Detroit law student, corralled the baseball at Comerica Park on May 9 when the Angels visited the Tigers. He immediately caught social media backlash when he decided to not give the ball to Pujols, who turned him down when offered the next day. 

Hydes' late son, Cyrus Arlo Maloney, was named after Cy Young, and died after a brief infection. For his donation to the Hall, he received a lifetime pass to the museum in Cooperstown, New York. The display of the ball will honor Cyrus as well as the "people of Detroit." 

Hydes told The Detroit News: "People always ask that, 'Was it hard to give it up?' No, honestly. I was aware I was never going to touch it again."