Angels Fan Eli Strickland Says Wife 'Mortified' After Nearly Dropping Daughter for Home Run Ball

— -- The Los Angeles Angels fan who unwittingly became the subject of Internet infamy after he was caught on video nearly dropping his infant daughter while trying to catch a home run ball says his wife was “mortified” and gave him the silent treatment.

“She didn’t say much for a long time,” Eli Strickland said of his wife, who was also at the game. “Obviously, she was mortified. Moms and dads are wired much differently."

“She’s like, ‘What are you doing? How could you possibly do this?,’” Strickland said today on "Good Morning America." "I said, ‘Obviously, in hindsight I would have set the baby down but it all happens in three seconds. What can you do, you know?’”

Strickland, a father of four, has been forced to relive the split-second decision he made Monday night while watching the Angels take on the Chicago White Sox with his family, including young daughter, Penelope.

When a home run ball came flying in their direction, Strickland dove for it with Penelope in his arms, nearly flipping her over the railing.

“I’ve always wanted to catch a home run ball and so it was coming, it was coming, it was coming and I didn’t have the foresight to set my daughter down and so when it came to me, I balled it and I reached down and I grabbed it and I had it in my glove and I knew I could hold onto my daughter,” Strickland said. “I thought I could get the ball at the same time and it just didn’t work out that way.”

The moment was captured on television and quickly went viral, earning Strickland, an Angels season ticket holder, the nickname, “Dangling Dad.”

“To be honest, it looks much worse than I think it was but it doesn’t look good,” Strickland conceded. “I’ll admit that.”

According to Strickland, his daughter, despite the controversy that erupted later, had fun at the game and was not hurt.

“If you see in the video, she’s sitting there munching popcorn and having the time of her life about two minutes after the fact,” Strickland said. “She’s great.”