Catcher shakes umpire’s hand after his team loses

Video of a walk-off single in the 10th inning of a Virginia state quarterfinal baseball game went viral last week, not because of the clutch hit, but for the reaction of the losing team’s catcher in the wake of a season-ending defeat, writes

Scott Allen of The Washington Post.

After the ball left Herndon junior Mitch Maurer’s bat and landed safely in right field, West Springfield’s Eric Fila removed his catcher’s mask, turned toward the home plate umpire and extended his hand. The umpire, Homer Gaouette, watched to make sure the runner from third base touched home plate before reciprocating the gesture, shaking hands with Fila as Herndon’s players celebrated a 7-6 triumph in the distance.

The video was recorded and posted on Twitter by Steve Beasley, who does PA announcing for Herndon’s home games and is the father of Hornets sophomore pitcher

James Beasley. Two days later, it was even shown during the Phillies-Brewers broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia, with Phillies play-by-play man Tom McCarthy praising Fila’s display of “class and respect” at “his team’s worst moment.”

Fila, a rising senior, doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.

“It’s nuts,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s something so simple, it’s the standard, in my eyes, and it’s gone everywhere.”

Fila said he was scrolling through TikTok last week when he saw Beasley’s video, which had been shared by someone else with the caption “Catchers do this” and the thumbs-up emoji. About 15 minutes later, his mom came into his room and told him that the video was all over Twitter.

Gaouette, who has umpired baseball games at various levels in Northern Virginia for 34 years and worked 135 games last season, didn’t realize video of his postgame handshake with Fila existed, much less had more than a million views.

“I felt bad because I left him hanging there,” Gaouette said after watching the video for the first time. “He stuck his hand out and I kind of didn’t do anything because the game wasn’t over until the kid touched home plate.”

Gaouette and Fila never expected their moment of mutual respect to be featured during an MLB game.

“I tell you what, that’s pro right there,” Phillies analyst Ruben Amaro Jr. said on the broadcast.