My father will soon be 77 years old. He has been going to baseball games since the 1940s. He saw the Cubs play in their last World Series when he was 10.
He has never gotten a foul ball at a game. Not once. And he still really, really wants to.
My fear is that one of these days, he’ll get one. But there will be a kid somewhere in the vicinity, and the surrounding crowd will angrily demand that my father give it up to the little moppet.
No, no, no. A thousand million times no.
I have three kids. I want every moment of their lives to be special. But there is no way that my kids, let alone some stranger’s kids, deserve that foul ball, that keepsake of a lifetime of attending baseball games, more than my father.
In my mind, the appeal of getting a foul ball was centered in the fact that you got the ball. If it’s handed to you, I’m not sure what makes that ball special anymore. I’m not saying that a game-used ball wouldn’t have appeal to a kid, but I don’t know where the idea grew that a kid was more deserving.
And above all, just because you get older doesn’t mean you stop being a little boy inside, especially when it comes to being a baseball fan.
All you people who are aghast at the selfishness of a grownup who would keep a foul ball rather than hand it to a child need to do a serious rethink. If someone who has never gotten a foul ball wants to keep it, and you intimidate him into doing otherwise, you’re the cruel ones.
Anonymous
I am reminded of the time I got the foul ball when at the game with you and Bob, Fortunately no cameras or kids around.
Josh Sloan
It wasn’t a foul ball caught in the normal course of the game, Moreland was clearly trying to toss it to the kid and those selfish, self centered jerks kept it for themselves.
Jon Weisman
I’m not addressing that situation. I’m addressing the situation with foul balls that comes up a thousand other times.
Steve Hall
I’ve been a baseball (and Dodgers) fan since 1958, when I was a six-year-old in Palm Springs. I’ve attended maybe 50 major league games, and I’ve never gotten close to a foul ball. (My 7-year-old granddaughter, on the other hand, has two from Tropicana Field!) So you better believe if I ever get a foul ball, I’m damn well keeping it! Here’s hoping your dad gets one soon!
Anonymous
I outran a youngster for a ball outside of the Quakes stadium last year and I kept it. Feel free to use whatever euphemism you like.
Ernest Reyes
yes, yes, yes… you are so right… Baseball is also for the old …it allows us to be that little boy that life and responsibility forces us to put aside… I too have yet to ever catch a foul ball (I turn 40 in a couple of months) and will relish the day I do (if ever)…
BTW, I think my lifelong Baseball card obsession has a lot to do with that idea. It’s like a pathway to those days of yore.
Kyle MacGregor
I kind of ran into a similar situation at last Friday’s game in Houston. Tried to get Javy to sign a ball but he kept signing young Astros fan’s stuff even though I was right in front of him decked out in blue. Luckily Andre stuck around for every last person that wanted his signature and made my night.
Marcos Vargas
Totally keepin’ it and flipping off the camera man if people start booing. I’ve never gotten one. I’d have to get one before my own child. Maybe I’d share the first with my own kid…maybe.
Anonymous
This is smart. If you flip off the cameras they can’t put you on TV and berate you in front of millions. I’m adopting this approach.
Kyle MacGregor
They also might eject you for ruining family atmosphere. This Astro fangirl behind me was a wee bit loud and intoxicated-sounding and they kicked her out after heckling Ethier last Saturday.
Marcos Vargas
I’m still keeping the ball
Marcos Vargas
Wonder if this would work with the Kiss Cam too?
Matt Powell
Last week my wife caught a foul ball (yes, I was sitting right next to her). We were on the third row and a little boy was on the first row with his glove on… She wrestled with it through the rest of the game… feeling the need to give up that ball to the little boy. Then, during the last inning he was tossed a ball as the players were running back to the dugout. She let out a huge sigh of relief… and needless to say, kept the ball! It was a first for both of us.
Jason Ungar
Totally agree about your dad (or anyone in this situation). I wouldn’t even want a mad scramble one. I need to catch it..
Amy Pircher
I completely agree with this article. Having never caught a foul ball as a little girl, nor thrown a temper tantrum over not catching it, I would love to catch one. The only person I’d give it to is my dad since he has missed opportunities to catch one when we were younger in order to get my sister and I food. I would feel like such a little girl if I were to catch a foul ball, but I’d definitely have to be the one to catch it.
underdog
I was fortunate enough to have a foul ball come to me (after it rolled down from a different section of seats), ages ago, and while I’d love another one if I ever have the pleasure of sitting with you and your dad, Jon, you can rest assured a foul ball that comes to us will be all his! Unless it hits me in the head or face, in which case I can’t guarantee anything, including my consciousness.
Terry Pruett
I am in absolute agreement, Jon. My Dad would have been extremely upset at me when I was a little boy if I had cried because some adult didn’t give me a ball. The world does not revolve around my kids, your kids, or anybody’s kids.
Don Wanlass
There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of getting a baseball at a ball game. When we were younger, my friend caught a Tony Perez home run off Bill Singer in the left field pavilion. I was happy for him, but was a lot happier for me when I got a home run Joe Ferguson hit off Juan Marichal a year or so later. There is no way I would have given that ball to anyone.
Emma A
I caugh my first 3rd out ball after an inning at Petco Park this year. I jumped up and down excitedly. There was a kid next to me. I felt guilty for a few seconds but fans were *high fiving me. The kid was happy cause he was telling that he got a bat earlier. Hairston had giving him a bat during bp. I would give up another baseball instead of the one I caught. I marked it in my scorebook right after that innning that I caught the baseball from a 5-3 play.
Anonymous
This thread on the ESPN Dallas site has a lot of adults agreeing with Jon and disagreeing with the writer of the post.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers/post/_/id/4882216/lets-talk-foul-ball-etiquette-at-the-park
Anonymous
If the thrill of catching a foul ball truly is the catching of it, then your dad should be pleased to hand it over to the nearest kid. He’ll have the memory of catching it forever, whereas the ball itself will probably disappear into some box in a closet.
My father grew up a Portland Beaver fan and covered literally hundreds of games as a cub reporter for the Oregonian. In all those years, he never once caught a foul ball. When I was 10, he took me to my first AAA game, and I caught an easy hopper that bounced once on the grass before bounding up to my seat. Oh, the irony. I’ve long since lost the ball, but I treasure the memory forever, and of course so does my dad.
Jon Weisman
“… He’ll have the memory of catching it forever, whereas the ball itself will probably disappear into some box in a closet.”
a) You’re wrong about the closet.
b) The kid who gets the ball is less likely to cherish it more than my father and more likely to eventually toss it in a drawer – as your last sentence indicates.
Anonymous
My point is that the memory of catching it is what’s important, not the ball itself. If Loney tosses your dad a ball during bp, he won’t get the same thrill that he would get from catching a ball that Loney pops up into the stands during the game.
We’re all little kids inside, but actual little kids get a thrill out of the ball, even if they don’t catch it themselves. Imagine if you and I went to a game together with your dad and your kids and I caught a foul ball. Who would be more excited to receive it, your dad or your kids?
Jon Weisman
If you caught it? My kids. But if my Dad caught it, my Dad.
Look, if you don’t want the ball, don’t keep the ball. But you’re sitting here trying to tell me that my kids would care more than my dad about a ball he caught. I know all the parties involved, and I’m telling you you’re wrong.
Anonymous
Then that’s the difference between your dad and mine. He’d be elated at catching the ball, but the physical ball itself wouldn’t be important, and he’d gladly give it to a kid in a nearby row, who would get a thrill just by osmosis.
Jon Weisman
That’s fine, but I hope you’re not implying one is superior to the other.
Onlyatriple
I once took the give-it-to-a-kid thing the extra mile. I was with my then 7 year old at our seats on the loge level just to the left of Fast Ball Alley, as Vin calls it. So we get a lot of foul balls when lefties are at the plate. So that night, a ball landed a few seats to my left, at the feet of an even smaller boy. Somehow it ended up rolling to my son, who picked it up, did the victory dance, and then we both noticed the smaller boy crying. I will say that my son was not enthusiastic about giving it up, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Dad was not popular that night, but I think I did the right thing. But at age 8 now, my son has gotten his share of foul balls handed to him or rolling to him. More than me, I might add.
Roberto Baly
I agree with everything that you’re saying Jon if it’s a foul ball. If it’s yesterdays situation in Texas then I have to disagree. Just what Josh Sloan said, they were jerks just because they were laughing and showing off the ball. Poor kid couldn’t stop crying. I don’t think the boy cried because the adult didn’t give him the ball like others have said here. He cried because his dad didn’t get the ball.
By the way Jon, my dad beats your dad by 1 year. He’s currently 78 years old.
Dylan Hernandez
Jon, I understand that your dad wants to get a foul ball. I also understand that you really want him to get one.
I don’t know your dad, but based on the way you turned out, I’m guessing he’s a nice man. And I’m guessing that if he’s put in that situation, he’d happily give the ball to a kid.
If giving a baseball to a child causes you anguish, you might have to rethink your life …
Jon Weisman
Sure, he’d give up the ball and get over it, if it came down to it. He’d also take a bullet for a kid. I don’t really see that as the issue here.
The question is, why must he give up the ball to avoid people yelling at him? Why isn’t he allowed to keep it? What makes the kid more deserving?
Anonymous
Growing up is the gradual process of accepting that your dreams and desires won’t be fulfilled. As adults, we concede to children not because they’re any more deserving, but because they’re less capable of handling disappointment.
Anonymous
But accepting that your long-held dreams and desires won’t be fulfilled only makes the fulfillment of dreams and desires (particularly the primal dreams and desires of childhood) all the more joyful. If a man can experience the childlike fulfillment and simple joy of catching a foul ball at the age of 77, who’s to take that away from him? It’s not that giving up the ball causes anguish, it’s that catching the ball has tremendous symbolic meaning for the man that it does not for the boy.
Moreover, the counter to your point is in your last sentence: when someone in the crowd gets a ball and a child doesn’t, it’s a perfect time to for that child to learn that other people can have things that sometimes you can’t. (This doesn’t apply to a very young child, but then how much could the ball really mean to them anyway?) I remember wanting a foul ball and my dad telling me that I’d just have to catch one–I didn’t have the god-given right to just have a foul ball. I’d have to rely on my skill and good fortune. Lo and behold, a couple years ago, I caught a ball, barehand and on the fly, off the bat of Matt Kemp (off a pitch from Chad Qualls, then of the D-backs). Smiles and high fives all around. Nobody asked me to give up the ball, and catching it pretty much left me giddy for a week. I still have it on my desk in a place of honor.
danny castro
I know I lead the LF Pavilion in what I like to call “game used Kemp balls”….. I have season tickets out there and got about 30 balls from Matt Kemp last year. However this year I have taken my son more and now my son is the leader out there. Kemp has tossed him 3 this year and he tossed me one on Monday that I gave to my friends son with a nice thumbs up from Kemp… I agree… its still a thrill to get a ball at the game… and if its your first, or a meaningful one… keep it… but if its your 15th, make a kids day….
DODGERDSTRO
Anonymous
As a long-time season ticket holder out in the LFP, I have caught hundreds of BP HR
balls and blessed to have caught six live game HR balls – most recently Juan
Uribe’s 4th (and final) HR as a Dodger last season (and the last HR he has
hit). And as much as I hate to admit it, my favorite live game HR catch was off
the bat of Ryan Howard three years ago (his 194th career HR). I was also
blessed to get Rafael Furcal’s 2008 NLCS HR ball and Manny Ramirez’s 550th
career HR ball, but I did not catch them on the fly. I was able to get every
live HR ball that I have gotten autographed except for the Howard
ball. I did throw one HR ball back (a Chris Snyder HR ball) several years ago
but have vowed that I will never do so again – regardless of the verbal abuse I
will get. (People who yell “Throw it back” only do so because THEY
did not get the ball).
Jon – your father is absolutely welcome to join me anytime for any game out in the
LFP, where I can pretty much assure him that he will at least get a BP HR ball;
a live game ball? Oooh, that’s a toughie – he’ll have to fight me for that one
– haha!
Anonymous
Keeping the ball is not what counts AT ALL, in my opinion. What would count is that your 77 year old father, who is an avid baseball fan, finally got a chance to partake in one of baseball fan’s coolest things: catching a foul ball. Now, the ball can be stole, taken away, given away, stored up in some dusty shoe box for eternity…it really doesn’t matter. No one will ever be able to take away the fact that on that particular game, you father caught a foul ball. That’s all that matters. Experiences don’t need further proof. The mere fact that it happened is enough. And add to that, an opportunity to make some kid’s day, an opportunity to share that lasting memory that will never fade with a kid by giving the ball to him — it’s a win win.
Anonymous
Yep.
Jon Weisman
So if an angry crowd forced you to give all your photo albums to a kid because kids dig old pictures, you should feel compelled to do that because, after all, you have the memories?
The Trolley Dodger
No, I think you’re missing my point.
First off, you should never feel compelled to do anything you don’t want to do. So if your dad doesn’t want to give the ball up, if and when he catches a ball, that’s completely fine.
My point is that you are weighing the physical presence of the ball way over the *experience* of catching it. What makes it so special is the experience, not the whereabouts of that ball…
You’re saying that your father’s experience of catching a foul ball will somehow be tainted by ‘being forced’ to give it away. And I think that’s wrong. Whether your dad keeps it or not, he’ll always cherish that memory for ever.
I hope he gets it.
Jon Weisman
I agree that he’ll cherish the memory, even if he doesn’t keep the ball. But it would be nice if he could keep the ball. It would be nice. Nicer for him than for a random kid.
But with the mob mentality at ballparks, you’re not even given the option. It’s not your choice – not if you want to enjoy the rest of the game in peace. And that’s why I think the argument needs to be made that it’s not inherently necessary to give the ball away.
The Trolley Dodger
I don’t think keeping the ball, especially after he’s caught it, would be nicer for him than for ‘a random kid’. Can you imagine receiving a ball that the players actually play with… for a kid, that’s the greatest thing EVER. But that’s very subjective – so point taken.
I also don’t think it’s ‘inherently necessary’ to give a ball away. Not at all. That’s what being an adult is all about right?… Making your own decisions and not succumbing to ‘the mob mentality’… And at 77 I think you’re dad could handle that.
And lastly, I’m very curious as to what your Dad’s take on it would be. He may even get a bigger kick out of seeing the smile on that kid’s face than catching the ball (or at the very least add to the experience).
Anonymous
I have never caught a foul ball. That said, last yeat when the Dodgers were in DC I had one hit me in the hands and bounce away. Adding insult to injury, it was off the bat of Jayson Werth.
Jeffrey Thomas III
I’m going to have a shirt printed that reads “I’ve never caught a foul ball” so that when I do others will read it and immediately cut me some slack. No little kid is getting my first foul or HR ball that I catch.
Paul
“a kid was more deserving.”
Who said anything about more deserving? And in case you missed it, well, first, stop jinxing the team, since no sooner do you post about more than 1 run losses and up comes a more than 1 run loss. Now more to the point, learn it, live it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/speakingoffaith/6792308389/
So it’s not about deserving. And for two by the ways, by the way, Jackie was a helluva ballplayer but an infinitely better human, and I also quite that if and when the moment arrives, your dad will understand that a joy shared is rather more magic than a joy kept to one’s self. In other words, stop selling your dad short (leave that to Goldman Sachs).
And last but certainly not least:
“The world does not revolve around my kids, your kids, or anybody’s kids”
And so 40 million of an obscenely rich nation’s children live on food stamps. And Jesus wept.
Jon Weisman
So Jackie’s lesson only applies to my dad, but not to the kid or the angry crowd. The kid and the crowd gets no meaning from allowing my dad to have a keepsake?
Anonymous
“stop jinxing the team, since no sooner do you post about more than 1 run losses and up comes a more than 1 run loss. ”
I look forward to posts about how the Dodgers aren’t hitting back-to-back homers, pitching shutouts, and turning triple plays frequently enough.
Terry Pruett
“And so 40 million of an obscenely rich nation’s children live on food stamps. And Jesus wept.” OK…you’ve now broken the record for the most overwrought and non-sensical allusion in the history of history. Sheer over the top hyperbole.
The point I was addressing was the sense of entitlement of a 10 year old kid crying because an adult nearby wouldn’t give him a foul ball. You diminish the tragedy of a nation that steadfastly refuses to take care of it’s own people by injecting it into this relatively trivial baseball conversation. Get over yourself, and try not to catch pneumonia up on that high horse.
Jon Weisman
Look, at the end of the day, no one wants to see a sad kid. I know that, my family knows that. But I am just genuinely bothered by the idea the idea that if a grown person keeps a foul ball with a kid around, he must be a horrible human being.
Anonymous
I don’t think the boos make anybody a horrible human being. People boo the guy who proposes to his girlfriend at the Stadium. That doesn’t make him a horrible human being, just one who doesn’t have the good sense to propose in a less public, more romantic place. The boos say more about the people doing the booing than the people being booed.
Anonymous
Doesn’t being 77 years old cut the man some slack? Or does being under the age of 10 beat everything? Has Vin Scully beaten us into submission with all the shots of little kids in the stands?
Anonymous
This is why I always take my kids with me to baseball games. That trick also works well for getting autographs at Spring Training.
Eric Enders
Agree 100%, Jon. The “give it to a kid” nonsense has gone too far.
Anonymous
I’d agree that the “catcher” has every right to the ball. Like fansince53 said above, those that yell at adults to give it to kids are just envious they didn’t catch it themselves. I would make an exception for the obnoxious fan that pushes or bullies a youngster to get the ball. And while this type of fan is becoming all too prevalent, it doesn’t sound like a character trait of your father.
Anonymous
What would this conversation look like in Philly?
Anonymous
More $#%$#$#^$&^$^%$&^
Jason Ungar
I guess I don’t watch close enough..do kids even want the ball? i always thought you wanted it until someone else got it and then you hoped to get the next one. I didn’t realize kids wanted balls other people caught..the thrill of the catch is applied both ways, or so it should be taught IMO. I wouldn’t let my 4 year old accept a given ball .
Mr. LA Sports Fan
A little off-topic, but I always get peeved whenever the crowd implores someone to toss a home run baseball hit by the opposing team back onto the field.
Anonymous
Awesome post. I totally agree.
Andrew Shimmin
What percentage of kids at Dodger Stadium would, if they had a choice, take a Cool-a-Coo over a foul ball? 90%? 95%?
underdog
Hah. Tweet from the fake Colletti tweeter:
DodgersGM @DodgersGM
If you’re a #Dodgers fan and enrolled in college, you can earn internship credit by picking up Nathan Eovaldi at LAX for us.
foul tip
If someone takes the bait and shows up, does Plaschke have column material?
Anonymous
He might have showed up himself if not for the college requirement.
NorthStateBlues
None of this has anything to do with the incident that happened, only with Jon’s post here.
Kids today have a variety of entertainment choices. Their first choice to spend a day might not be Dodger Stadium, it’s likely his dad’s choice. The kid, still young, might have autograph books from characters at Disneyland, a ball caught from the 66ers, maybe a puck from a hockey game.
For a 77 year old baseball fan, baseball was more than an entertainment choice, it was the crux of their sporting experience. When they weren’t at Dodger Stadium in person, they followed on their radios, in their cars, and if they lived far away from a radio station that carried the game, in box scores. The Newspaper was the only place to follow outside the ballpark, but from the time they were young they followed their team with a passion. Their love of the game grew with Snider, Roseboro, Tommy and Willie, Sandy, Big D, in a time when Baseball was the big ticket in town, the NFL and NBA fledgling compared to their status today in the media’s scope. And when their kids grew up, they watched Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey grow up together, and appreciated the magical triumph of that ’88 team, and perhaps with the grandkids watched Karros, Piazza, Mondesi, Nomo and Hollandsworth 5-peat for Rookie of the Year in the sunset of the O’Malley era.
For a kid, it would sit with those other non-digital trophies that sit in the periphery as they play video games, watch tv, etc. For that 77 year old fan, it’s a connection to something he has been following his whole life, his Playstation 3, Wii, laptop, iPad, smartphone, iPod and Netflix rolled into one.
It would be nice if he tossed it to the kid, sure. But it should be his to do with as he wants, and no one else should get to make that decision for him. To him, catching a ball thrust from a play in a Dodger game would be holding on to a piece of something that has been for over a century, and will probably be for over a century afterwards, it’s a connection far beyond an instant gratification of a moment. The kid might not even think that the ball should be his unless an adult around starts insisting that he should get it by proxy.
foul tip
Well said.
Anonymous
Nobody is talking about anyone’s rights, but rather only the behavior of those who surround them at the ballpark. These are the same people who do the wave in the middle of a rally, boo opposing ballplayers no matter how beloved they were when they played for the Dodgers, go all Charley Steiner on lazy fly balls, and boo throws over to first by the opposing pitcher. I don’t value the opprobrium of Dodger Stadium fans as any barometer on my morals and neither should your father.
Anonymous
All the times ive been to Dodger Stadium, ive never once gotten a ball. But I too one day would like to get one, and if I ever do, im keeping it. If it was a player or someone throwing a ball to a kid and somehow I end up with it, then yeah id give it to the kid, but if I am lucky enough to get a foul ball hit to me fair and square and I catch it, I plan on keeping it because it is something ive always wanted, and would mean a lot to me.
Anonymous
I will add, the ball I caught in 2008, I had James Loney sign it prior to a playoff game and then later gave the ball to a friend for her kid.
Anonymous
The only foul ball I came close to (off of Dave Kingman’s bat if memory doesn’t fail me) bounced off my brother’s hand, then hit me in the nose, then rolled to someone else who got it.
So, I’m anti-foul ball now.
Anonymous
Wasn’t there once a commenter on this site named Foul Tip? You’ll have to have a throwdown.
foul tip
Yup. Been here more than once, too. ;-])
Anonymous
An appropriate day for you to be commenting.
Anonymous
Officially, foul tips and foul balls are different things. Foul tips are balls that go directly off the bat and are held on to by the catcher. If it hits the ground, then it’s a foul ball.
foul tip
Not the first time I’ve been referred to as “different.” But this time it’s official. ;-])
Also, I show up fairly frequently on Gameday as a pitcher’s helper–as in batter “strikes out on foul tip.” ;-])
Anonymous
Did the other fans laugh at you?
Anonymous
Yes they did. We laughed too
Anonymous
Great story :)
Anonymous
Wow, took forever to get to the bottom where I can offer my two cents. I totally agree with Jon. I might add that while that kid was crying, his parents seemed to be acting appropriately.
As much as I would love to have a ball come to me where I might catch it or maybe pick it up at my feet after it has rolled around some, I would hate the thought of someone sitting a few rows away pushing themselves down my aisle, spilling my drink, knocking my Dodger Dog out of my hands trying to get to the ball.
Anonymous
Maybe we should go back to the dead ball era where fans were not allowed to keep the ball.
Anonymous
In cricket, we only use 1 ball, so if a player hits a six, we never get to keep it :)
Anonymous
Actually, when they take the new ball at 80 overs, have you ever heard of a fan, or a player, being presented with the old ball that’s done? Or they they need to keep it just in case there’s some sort of protest later about the condition of the ball? Maybe at the end of the match they might present it to a player who did something significant, like his first 6, or 1,000th run?
Anonymous
sometimes they may give it to a bowler who gets 5 wickets in an innings, but I’m not sure. Certainly not to fans
Anonymous
Congrats on Australia’s win over West Indies this morning, and series win. 2-0 now.
foul tip
This afternoon I happened to catch a video on MSNBC of a woman at a game–didn’t catch where–reaching over and taking a ball away from what appeared to be a 7-8 year old girl as the girl walked up a ramp. Apparently the young girl had just caught or chased it down. (If not, what the adult did was even more brazen, and why else would the woman want it?)
Woman sat down in her seat and HIGH-FIVED a companion.
Thoughts that come to me are 1) it’d have been better if she’d gotten the high five upside the head; and 2) wonder how well that ball would fit in a certain place where the sun normally won’t shine?
Didn’t see a happy ending to this one where some team official came out and tossed another ball to the young girl.
Also didn’t see anyone who acted out my thoughts, if anyone else had those or similar ones.
Seeing either or both would have been sweet, and highly justified. ;-])
foul tip
Probably should add that the girl who had the ball taken away was surprised and unhappy–of course–but after hesitating slightly she just started up the ramp again. No tears, at least not that showed in the clip. Really, what else was she going to do?
Anonymous
Off topic. Joe Thurston signed a minor league deal with Houston today. I always hoped for more out of his time with the Dodgers. Now, I just hope Jerry Sands doesn’t follow a similar path.
Anonymous
Me too.
Anonymous
Actually, it was the Twins.
Anonymous
Obviously you are correct. Once again Yahoo has let me down.
Anonymous
Dale, I believe you posted a few days ago that you can’t get the Dodgers on the radio. Last season they had 15 English language stations in CA. Have you seen the list of 2012 station affliates? ( I have the impression you live in CA south of LA btw)
Hope you see this.
KT
That’s why I always bring my daughter to the games and once my son is old enough to sit through a game he’s coming also.
By the way we have got a few foul balls but we use them for autographs and currently we are on our last ball…time to pay for those good seats again to get another ball to have autographed
Gilbert
off topic…Brandon Inge released by tigers today would you guys pick him up?
Anonymous
No. It’s not like the Dodgers have a shortage of poor hitting, utility infielders. And Inge really can’t play positions other than 3B and a slightly better than Aubrey Huff-quality 2B.
Jibin Park
One time, a friend of mine, caught a foul ball and someone offered him $50 for the ball. I suppose people go to great lengths to procure foul balls. When I was in Cincinnati last year, a gentleman sitting next to me and I were jockeying for position to get a foul ball and it landed in the cupholder adjacent to us. He yelled out loudly, “MINE!” So I relented, since he yelled it out first and so loudly. Was it Barry Bonds’ 71st HR in which a judge had to rule whether or not a fan had possession of the HR? Fascinating stuff.
Rob C
The closest I ever got was at the Sydney Olympics and Doug Mientkiewicz had just hit a bomb in my direction in the upper left field stands…it was headed right towards my hands until this guy, who spent the whole game chatting away to his girlfriend, ignoring the game, reached in front of me and snagged the ball. As a lifelong fan who never got close to catching a ball, I was gutted. Flash forward to now (10 years later, with kids) if I’m in the same situation, I would still try to catch that ball so I can feel the thrill, then promptly hand it over to both of my boys to enjoy (and tell their friends Daddy caught the ball).
Eric Enders
My only foul ball came when I was about 15. I was sitting right behind the first base dugout and a right-handed batter hit a wicked line drive right at me. I didn’t really even have time to react, just reached up instinctively and snagged it one-handed. Sprained a finger because I caught the ball while still holding a pencil in my hand (I was keeping score). Kept the ball, but I don’t know where it is anymore. I wish I did.
Brian Bergman
A father should give a foul ball to his own son or daughter. That’s how memories are made. If you are with a group and you don’t have kids but there is a kid in your group, you should strongly consider giving it to the kid, but there is certainly no obligation. I can’t for the life of me understand why people think someone should give up a foul ball to a kid they have no connection to. Absurd.
Jon Weisman
NPUT
Emma
Friday I got (it landed in the seat in back of me) my first foul ball at Dodger Stadium. I jumped up and down like a little kid ’cause it was my first foul ball in a long long time. It has been many years since I got one and I love that this year the balls have the 50 anniversary logo. I sat during the game with a kid that kept trying to get a ball at end of a Dodger inning. He kept coming over. I told him he could sit with me. He went and asked his mom who said it was OK. He told me he is a Giant fan but he would not wear Giant gear as he did not want to get beat up (sad). I showed him two Giant fans that had their Giant gear. Anyway, he did not get a ball but I suggested he try the umpires at the end of the game. He still did not get a ball so I reached into my bag and gave him the ball I had gotten earlier. He, his mom and uncle thanked me. They were flying back to San Francisco early the next day. They were at Dodger Stadium to honor little John’s grandpa who was a Dodger fan. Wrote about it in my blog and posted a picture of the kid.