Royals photographer shares how he got that epic Lucas Erceg photograph
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jason Hanna called the shot 'pure luck', citing dust and CrownVision light.
- Erceg said he hopes to have it framed this offseason for a future man cave.
- Social posts likened the photo to art, with one comparing it to Picasso.
Royals fans were frustrated that closer Lucas Erceg had to pitch Wednesday night in KC’s 13-9 win over the Twins.
The Royals had a 12-1 lead after six innings on a rainy night, but the bullpen had a historically bad night until Erceg put out the fire.
But had Erceg not pitched, we would have been robbed of a candidate for the best photograph of 2026.
Royals photographer Jason Hanna caught the incredible moment.
Hanna explained how he got the shot but downplayed his impact.
“It was really pure luck. It had more to do with the circumstances than me doing anything special,” Hanna said. “The grounds crew was literally throwing dirt everywhere. There was a bunch of dust in the atmosphere. It kind of reflected the light from Crown Vision (the videoboard) when they took down the lights and it was just the blue on Crown Vision. I really didn’t do much. I’ve taken that shot 500 times, and nobody has ever cared about it.”
Thing is, those other 499 pictures didn’t look like that incredible Erceg shot.
Royals broadcaster Jake Eisenberg summed it up best during a weekend game: “That is more than pushing buttons. That is art.”
The social-media site Art But Make It Sports thought so and compared it to a piece by Pablo Picasso.
You know who else liked it? Erceg.
“I work out with (Dodgers pitcher) Alex Vesia in the offseason because I live in Arizona, and he has a huge RV garage that he turned into a weight room,” Erceg told me. “Vesia messaged me on Instagram a couple hours after Jason had posted it. He was like, ‘Dude, this picture so sick.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to get it framed and I’ll sign it and I want to hang it in your gym area,’ because he has pictures all over.
“Kind of more so just joking around with him, but kind of serious. And he’s like, ‘Oh, dude, I love it, we’re gonna get that taken care of, no problem.’”
Erceg, who became a father in December, hopes one day to have that photo in his home, too.
“This offseason, I’ll have it professionally framed and put up maybe somewhere down the line, if I have some sort of man cave,” he said. “I don’t think my wife would like the esthetic of me on a wall in our living room. But it was a really cool picture. I mean, Jason does a really good job.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 11:57 AM.
