TOLEDO, Ohio — Imagine you're out on the golf course, getting ready to putt when all of a sudden you're told that you won a brand new SUV. Doesn't seem real right?
On June 28, that so-called fantasy became a moment Matt Gerken will never forget.
"Unbelievable, I still don't know if I can [process it] because I entered the competition just wanting to hear 'Hammy' call my name," Gerken said. "So, just to hear that and then obviously to win a car was unbelievable."
The Toledo resident entered the Cleveland Guardians' "Liberty Ford Grand Slam Giveaway" back in April for the first time.
When Cleveland took on the Royals in Kansas City for a mid-week matchup, Gerken had no idea he had been selected for the game. In fact, he was getting ready for a putt on hole #8 on the Buckeye Course at Michigan's Bedford Hills Golf Club in Temperance when the unthinkable happened.
Under the organization's criteria for the contest, a Guardians player must hit a grand slam in the third inning for a winner to be crowned. Third baseman Jose Ramirez did just that, thus changing Gerken's day in a big way.
"I've had a lot of people reach out and say congratulations from all over the state, people hitting me up on LinkedIn," Gerken said. "It's felt great to have the love from everybody."
Ramirez's huge hit not only marked the first grand slam of the season for Cleveland but gave legendary broadcaster Tom Hamilton the opportunity to exclaim on the radio: "Matt Gerken of Toledo, you've got a new Ford Bronco Sport from Liberty Ford."
Words itself that won the day for Gerken who is a longtime Cleveland baseball fan. Later this month, he will head to a Guardians game and pick up the SUV.
He even told WTOL 11 that plans are already in place for his new ride.
"I bought a Cleveland Guardians license frame, so first day maybe I'll slap that on the back of the car," Gerken said.