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Bandits' Gregor homers, dad catches ball

Astros prospect's first Midwest League dinger lands in the right hand
May 25, 2014

Baseball is a family game, even at the professional level.Conrad Gregor knows that as well as anybody.The Astros prospect slugged his first Midwest League home run on Saturday night and the ball was caught beyond the right-center field fence at Quad Cities' Modern Woodmen Park by none other than Gregor's

Baseball is a family game, even at the professional level.
Conrad Gregor knows that as well as anybody.
The Astros prospect slugged his first Midwest League home run on Saturday night and the ball was caught beyond the right-center field fence at Quad Cities' Modern Woodmen Park by none other than Gregor's father, Marty.
"That was my dad," Gregor confirmed to the Quad-Ctiy Times.
The three-run blast put the Class A River Bandits ahead en route to a 5-2 triumph over Cedar Rapids.
According to the newspaper, Marty Gregor and Conrad's mom came to Davenport, Iowa, for the Memorial Day weekend series, making the nearly five-hour drive from Carmel, Indiana. The 22-year-old first baseman made Saturday extra special by sparking a comeback win and sending his father a souvenir with one swing of the bat.
"He may have to watch every game from out there," Gregor joked.
The home run came off Kernels starter Ethan Mildren with runners on first and second and one out in the sixth inning. A nearby fan leaped and reached to catch the ball, but Marty turned and appeared to make a basket catch that prevented it from clearing a guardrail. As the younger Gregor ran the bases, the elder stood in front of the Mississippi River, his arms raised, the ball in his right hand.
"It's a little unbelievable, but I'm glad my parents were here to see it," Gregor told the newspaper, "and when I got back to the dugout, I heard he made a pretty good catch."
The homer was immediately followed by another, Tyler White's second of the season.
Gregor was selected by the Astros in the fourth round of last year's Draft out of Vanderbilt University. In his first crack at pro ball, he hit .289 with four homers and 35 RBIs in 74 games with short-season Tri-City, helping ValleyCats win the New York-Penn League championship.
He's batting .307 with a homer and 27 RBIs in 42 games in his first full season in the Minors.

Josh Jackson is a contributor to MiLB.com.