Two games in a row with a foul ball! Well, more like one and a half. Let me explain.
Here's the short version...
Monday night the people sitting in the row in front of me were so excited to be at the game, it was almost too much. I actually thought to myself I hope they get a ball... A fourth inning foul fall ball hit on the facade above us and to the left. It bounced back down and into the aisle. It squirted past me and down under the seats in front of me -- right under these 4 touristy folks I was hoping would get a ball. They didn't even realize where it was, though. I could have grabbed it, but I tapped the guy's shoulder and pointed down. He dove beneath his seat and emerged, to thunderous applause, with the ball. (videos below) The next night, Tuesday, a family sat in front of me. The little boy had his glove on the whole time, ready to catch a foul ball. Again, middle of the game, a pop foul ricocheted down from the facade above. This time it bounced up off the concrete aisle and back behind me. I shifted my beer to the left hand, reached up with my right, snagged the ball, and dropped it into that kid's glove before anyone knew what had happened. More thunderous applause! (picture below)
Now the long version...
The first thing I usually do when I settle into Section 107, Row R, seat 19 on the aisle, is take a look around for any children sitting nearby. No, not because I'm wondering if I need to watch my language. I'm mentally preparing for a foul ball. Who will I give it to if I catch one? I want them to both understand and appreciate what's happening. Ideally they will have a homemade sign, poorly drawn, with bad handwriting, that they clearly made themselves. They should have some interest in the actual game, not just dippin' dots. I'm not saying that a six-year-old at a baseball game should have a old school walkman in their ear tuned to the game on 93.7 and keep a scorecard with the pitch count. No, a kid at a baseball game should indeed leave with sticky fingers, an expensive souvenir, and memories of mascots launching hot dogs into the upper deck. But the kid I'm looking for, the kid who's going to get the foul ball that I catch, should display some interest in the game itself.
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| got a foul ball Tuesday and gave it to this young man |
Foul Ball #1
(see videos below) Monday night, the first game of 4 against the Dodgers, there weren't many kids. Maybe because it was Monday? The only family with kids were Dodger fans. It took me an inning and a half to decide, but I concluded that the group of three guys and a girl in the row in front of me were the most deserving of a souvenir foul ball, should one fall within my range. As soon as they sat down each one starting taking pictures in every direction -- the field, the stadium, the city skyline, each other. I think they even took pictures of each other taking each others' pictures. One guy knew baseball and the Pirates pretty well but the other 3 were in complete awe of everything that happened. "OHHHHHH," they would burst out when someone hit a pop up. They turned around bug-eyed in their seats every time someone behind us would yell something like, "You suck, Barmes!" They actually seemed emotionally touched when the stadium would unite in a chant of "Let's Go Bucs." They were having an experience.
My seats are about 20 rows back from the field, just beyond first base. I would barely call it shallow right field. I like to call them "infield seats at an outfield price." Anyway, it's prime foul ball territory. I can get two different types of foul ball in my section, both from a right handed hitter. One is a pop-up or line drive that lands directly in my section or nearby. The other, though, the more common one, is a higher foul pop-up that hits the facade of the upper deck or club level and rebounds back down into section 107 or 108. We get a lot of these. Some people catch the foul ball hit directly at them. Most don't. Most foul balls that go into the stands bounce off of something -- a person, a seat, an aisle, a facade -- and eventually get scooped up by the third or fourth person who touches them. When I visualize the play before it happens, as I was instructed in Little League to do, this is what I envision -- fouls balls bouncing off the facade back down into my section.
My seat is on the aisle, which gives me an advantage over most -- I can easily step out and glide up or down a few stairs to pounce on a ball bouncing on the concrete. Foul Ball Number One did exactly that. I totally could have snagged it, but I'm really glad these guys ended up taking home the souvenir.
Foul Ball #2
Tuesday night there were a lot more kids at the game. The perfect recipient was sitting right in front of me. He peppered his father with questions the whole time. He was a smart little one. "When there's a player on first base, and the batter walks," he asked, "can you try to get the runner out at second base?" Good question, young man! I had a feeling this fellow was going home with a ball, and I'm glad it turned out that way. Same kind as the previous night -- just a high foul pop that rebounded down from the facade above. You gotta be ready for those in section 107, Row R, Seat 19 on the aisle, season tickets, baby!
On a related note, I sold my tickets for tonight and tomorrow.
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