Justin Zackal wonders about what lengths a man will go to in pursuit of a home run or foul ball.
Watching baseball games and highlight shows every night, we witness men recklessly risk their bodies—and others around them—to reach for glory.
Oh, and the players try hard, too.
The pursuit of souvenir baseballs—from foul balls, home runs or ones discarded by players—results in desperate maneuvers by men who covet the used cork ball wrapped in yarn and stitched cowhide.
So how far will a man go? Let’s just use examples from the past year alone.
Will he let an occupied baby carriage roll down a hill to chase a ball? Yes.
Will he crush a seated elderly woman to catch a foul ball? Yes.
Will he injure one woman and push a little girl only to miss a foul ball? Yes.
Will he enter a four-man scrum while an infant jostles in his arms? Yes.
Catches with baby in arms occur at an alarming rate. Just Google “man catches ball while holding baby” and you can see multiple incidents in the last three seasons. In most of the video clips the announcers proclaim things like “Father of the Year” or “good parenting,” perhaps in jest, but for the most part Dad gets a fond reaction.
Craig Calcaterra of HardballTalk.com notes that “any one of those catch-a-homer-while-holding-a-baby things is mere inches away from tragedy.”
Right now, fathers holding babies own a 1.000 fielding percentage. The average Major League fielding percentage by professionals who aren’t holding babies is .983. If you watch the behavior of baby-holding fans, you may have doubts that their first error will be a dropped ball.
Showing no regard for the safety of others for a baseball that sells for $15 retail and basking in the glory of your souvenir is certainly a selfish act. However, some fathers have noble intentions. Retrieving a ball for your son or daughter can make a special family memory. But they come with a risk.
In 2011, Texas Rangers fan Shannon Stone fell to his death while reaching for a ball to give to his 6-year-old son, Cooper. The ball was tossed in the stands by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and the team later built a bronze statue to memorialize Stone, whose widow, Jenny, said it’s a reminder of “the importance of a family’s love—love of each other, love of spending time together, and love of the game.”
The heart-aching memory of Shannon Stone is exasperated by the behavior of men who pursue baseballs for selfish reasons. They should follow two simple rules: Don’t injure—or risk injuring—anyone to obtain a baseball and give the ball to a youngster. It’s not worth it. And, like instructing a boy in the rules of baseball, it can be a teaching moment.
The “prizes” at games aren’t limited to baseballs. Some of the loudest fan reactions at games are for the t-shirt toss, despite fans having a closet of shirts they rarely wear. Some teams shoot hot dogs into the crowds, but, frankly, they are nothing to relish.
The real prize at a baseball game is enjoying America’s pastime with friends and family. The same way we’re reminded of Steve Bartman when a fan attempts to catch a foul ball that a player could have caught, I think about Shannon Stone when a fan does the right thing and presents a ball to a child. And it’s not just because Shannon never got the chance to give one to Cooper. I think about all the fun they would have had just watching games together.
You can have a ball at a game without actually having a ball.
Photo: Charlie Riedel, Associated Press