A fan ran up a steep hill pursuing a Spring Training homer -- but the hill won

Being a fan at the ballpark can have its perks. For one, there's always the chance to take home your very own baseball (as long as you're paying attention).

But, sometimes, that perfect in-pursuit-of-a-white-sphere-flying-through-the-air-in-your-general-direction moment crashes down with the unforgiving pain of reality.

One fan in the center-field area at Wednesday's Marlins-Astros Spring Training tilt was at the forefront of this exact scenario in pursuit of a homer off the bat of Miami prospect Isaac Galloway . Everything started well for this fan, a man named Alex, as he ran up a rather steep hill ready to pull in the baseball and --

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Oh. Oh dear. A misstep that is new. That didn't go quite according to plan for Alex, who would go on to blame his own "lack of athleticism" for the flub. In fact, Alex says he had been asking Galloway for a ball all afternoon, so in essence the home run was the outfielder acquiescing to his request. As a result, he and Galloway are pretty much best friends now.

He told Astros field reporter Julia Morales as much in an on-site interview after the dust settled:

Thanks to his tumble, which really can't be blamed on him given the slope of that hill (something that should come as no surprise to the various Astros players located around the field), Alex wound up with both the baseball and an on-camera interview.

Mike Petriello of Statcast™ broke down Alex's route (in)efficiency on the play:

Any way you look at it -- and we can't stop -- this fan was a great sport afterward. All smiles. Now, laughter is calling for you.