A serendipitous Philadelphia Phillies team appearance turned into a memory that will last a lifetime for one fan who permanently stamped autographs of two players on his sleeve.
Mat Bernardo, of Wilmington, was at Xfinity Live with his lifelong friend Tommy McLean when the Phils came into the VIP area to celebrate their win against the Atlanta Braves.
“You look up and the whole team is there? It’s an unbelievable experience,” Bernardo said.
The fan recalls that, after he bought Alec Bohm’s jersey at the game earlier that day, he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to go all out.
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“I stuck my arm out and told him to sign my arm, and I told him I was going to get it tattooed,” he said.
Bohm signed Bernardo's arm, and so did Brandon Marsh. The diehard fan received the autographs by 1 a.m., and by 5 a.m., he had a permanent tattoo courtesy of his buddy.
While Bohm is Bernardo’s favorite player on the Phillies squad, the fan says he would’ve appreciated all of the players' signatures -- and there’s plenty of room to add more names.
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“It could’ve been the bat boy and I still would’ve gotten it tattooed,” he said.
“Just to be there in that moment, and to then have it on me for the rest of my life, to be able to tell the story about it, to be able to look down and remember it, is priceless.”
