CLEVELAND — The final out nestled in the glove of the visiting first baseman, who raised both arms to the air in triumph. The series was over, and his team had reached new heights. He vowed to keep the ball as a symbol of the achievement.

That scene played out last fall in Cleveland, with Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs, who ultimately presented the ball to the owner Tom Ricketts at a championship parade with millions of revelers. Before that, though, it had also happened in Toronto, with Carlos Santana of the Indians. He caught the foul pop that clinched the Indians’ first American League pennant in 19 years. It signified the possibility of the franchise’s first World Series title in decades.

The Indians, of course, came up one run short, losing in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series. Santana keeps his last-out ball at his home here, so his family can see it. He stores his A.L. championship ring in a safe.

“I don’t want that — I want the big one, like champions,” Santana said on Friday, by his locker at Progressive Field. “I felt last year like a champion, because we were fighting till the last out. Last year was very special, but the team this year is much better.”