NEW YORK -- The glove that Jo Adell wore during his historic performance on April 4, which saw him rob three homers in a game, is heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Adell originally planned to use that same glove for the rest of the season but decided to officially donate it to the museum before Thursday’s game against the Yankees. Adell said he’ll now use his backup glove, which is the same one he used when he was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award in right field in 2024, and that Wilson is in the process of sending him a new backup glove.
“It’s a weird feeling, but it’s good,” Adell said. “Because I always think, ‘What would I actually do with it?’ It’s like, every year we get a new glove, but I want my kids or their kids to have an opportunity to go and see it. Have something up there, even after I’m long gone, they have something to see.”
The glove has been authenticated for the Hall of Fame’s use, as the black Wilson glove was made famous when he triumphantly raised it in the air after making his third and final home run robbery in the ninth inning that saw him end up in the stands down the right-field corner at Angel Stadium. Adell said part of the reason why he wanted to donate it now was because of a fear of having it stolen.
Adell, who also robbed Cal Raleigh of a homer in the first inning and Josh Naylor in the eighth inning on similar leaping catches at the right-field wall, said he’s also done countless media interviews and appeared on MLB Network and ESPN several times since making the home run robberies. He also spent time at MLB’s main office this week for a promotional video.
“There’s the reaction of what it meant to viewers for how special that game was,” Adell said. “I’ve heard from multiple people that it was the best baseball experience they’ve ever been a part of. It was really cool and really special. Until the game’s over, you don’t realize the type of impact that it has. And over the past week, just everything that’s been coming my way has just kind of been a tribute to that.”
But Adell said he still doesn’t know what happened to the ball he caught in right field because he “blacked out” after making the play and simply threw it to second baseman Adam Frazier.
The glove, however, will now be a part of history with Adell generously donating it to the Hall. It’s a rare artifact highlighting a defensive performance and is likely to be initially displayed in either the “Today’s Game” section of the museum or in the Angels’ display locker as part of the museum where they display artifacts from all 30 clubs.
“The Baseball Hall of Fame is home to tens of thousands of artifacts that tell the game’s most important history, including incredible moments on the field,” said Hall of Fame vice president Jon Shestakofsky. “And nobody ever has seen a game by an outfielder like Jo Adell’s game on April 4. So it was important for the Hall of Fame to reach out to see if there was a way we could document that with an artifact that was used in that game, and this glove was kind of the ultimate storytelling device to remind people and to be preserved forever.”