I went to a Columbus Clippers game last Saturday. My seats were choice: first row, right at the dugout. The best part: being so close to the action and being just beyond the screen meant that I was in mortal fear of having my head taken off by a foul ball all game which, in turn, required me to pay total attention to every pitch. Can’t remember the last time I was so engaged at a ballgame!
Worst part: that part of the park attracted a bunch of ball hawk kids, constantly leaning over the rail begging people in the dugout for balls. One kid even yelled at Andy LaRoche, asking for his bat. This right after LaRoche hit a home run. I said to the kid “what makes you think he wants to give up a bat he just hit a homer with?” The kid said “why should he care?” Oy. The sense of entitlement among today’s whippersnappers!
But sometimes that souvenir lust can go beyond annoying. It can actually impact the game itself:With two on and two outs in the seventh inning, Philadelphia third baseman Mike Fontenot tracked a soft popup near the seats in foul territory to get the Phillies out of the inning.
Just as he was reaching up to make the catch, a young kid’s glove came over the top and snatched it away. Fontenot looked over and the youngster was wearing a Phillies cap and shirt. Minnesota’s Ben Revere followed with an RBI single, proving that these hard-luck Phillies just can’t catch a break.
I am informed by numerous previous comment threads that I am not to call this kid out, however. He is merely passionate. Or something.
(thanks to Kopy for the heads up)
