Meet the Cubs fan who caught Jake Arrieta’s home run ball at AT&T Park

The ball sailed through the cool night air, moving at a speed of 106.2 mph.

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta’s three-run home run against San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner on Monday night in Game 3 of the National League Divisional Series was the first longball he’d served up in the postseason since Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s homer in Game 1 of the 2014 World Series.

Fans across baseball were flabbergasted.

The ball flew 377 feet directly to a Cubs fan named Ed Baum. He gloved the ball and raised his arms triumphantly. In a sea of orange and black at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, Baum was about as easy to spot as Waldo. But this being the magical 2016 Chicago Cubs season, maybe it was no surprise the ball found its way to a Cubs fan.

Take a look:

Baum talked with reporters about the catch.

“I was just thinking, ‘I’m glad I’m in the right place at the right time,’ ” Baum told MLB.com.

After the stunning home run, a man who said he knows Baum tweeted at Arrieta and his wife.

Brittany Arrieta responded:

Interlude: Sometimes social media is the best.

Baum told the CBS affiliate in Chicago he’s “an experienced bleacher bum,” who is originally from Evanston, Ill., moved to San Francisco when he was 7 and remained a Cubs fan all these years.

That kind of makes the story even sweeter.

Baum gave the ball to someone from the visitor’s clubhouse.

“The experience was catching the ball,” Baum told CBS. “Of course the ball should be back with Jake.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Meet the Cubs fan who caught Jake Arrieta’s home run ball at AT&T Park."