rented a suite for his bday a couple of weeks ago, and Dom Smith fouled a ball off that hit the steps of the suite and skipped inside.
I’ve had a few close calls, the closest being a game I went to in Toronto in the old stadium. There must have been half a dozen foul balls that landed near us, but none close enough to get to. I did get a ball brown to me by a Philly OF a number of years ago.
I was sitting in the loge section slightly to the left of Home Plate (looking from behind the plate)when Del Unser fouled a ball off straight back that it went to the Mezzanine section.
As a kid, I had my glove and naturally looked up. A fan was trying to catch it at the first row of the Mezzanine when it dropped through his hands and came straight down to me and my glove.
Only time at a MLB or Double AA game I caught a ball in the stands.
I came close one other time. Summer of 1993 I was at a Wed afternoon game (that summer every homestand had Wed afternoon games). 50% discount for students. So I got an upper deck box seat, 1st row along RF line. I was just getting there for first pitch against the Twins. Knoblauch fouled it off and the ball went over over my head by about a foot, hit the back of a seat a few rows back and bounced back over my head by about a foot. I got booed.
Very close as a teen out at Shea. Went just over my hand and dad caught it. He's caught a few in his life. It was at age those teen years we are always at odds. I remember being pissed he got it and not me as I always wanted one. I can still see that ball over my fingers, the shit you remember. He got one at Yankee Stadium with my bro in his 60s. My son chased one down at a minor league game. I'll get mine someday!
Yankees-Indians, I was in the front row of the upper deck on 3B side. Top of the 9th, Mariano in to close. 2 outs, Roberto Alomar fouls one way up and came right down in my hands.
Got a nice round of applause for catching it, and Mo struck him out to end the game on the next pitch.
Won’t lie, one of my prouder moments. Still have the ball
Good idea for thread. I have 3 experiences with game balls...
When I was kid, my family went to Yankee Stadium and the opener to the real game was an old-timers game. And my dad caught a foul ball from Mickey Mantle. Good memory.
Living in St. Louis later in life, my friends and I had shared Cardinals seasons tickets for a few years. At one of the games, a foul ball from Ray Lankford came whipping back into our section and shooting over my head. I turned around to watch it and it ricocheted off one of the higher empty seats right back towards me and I caught it.
My last one was I went to another Cardinals game years later with my father-in-law and a few others. And a line drive came near our seats and my father-in-law put up his hand to grab it and it deflected off his hand and broke middle finger.
Over the hundreds of games I’ve been to I’d never come close. Then a few years ago I sit down to my seat at an A’s game, talking with my sister and a ball comes hell on a high heels and about rips off the hand of the guy next to me.
Never dawned on me how fast a foul ball liner really is and I’ll never risk breaking a finger over a foul ball.
I worked at the Lakewood Blue Claws Stadium the summer of 2002. I used to like to get to the park early and watch BP. I would pick up a BP ball and put it in my pocket.
When the fans started coming into the stadium, I would look for a wide-eyed kid with a baseball glove.
"You lookin' to catch a ball today?" I asked.
"I sure hope so," was often the response.
I'd lob the ball right into his mitt. A newly minted fan for life.
There were about 50 kids in Central Jersey with a genuine Sally League Baseball sitting on their shelf.
We went to the PoloGrounds and Yankee stadium for doubleheadersWe got there early for batting practices and would get of balls hit into the stands.We sell the good ones to the semi pro teams and have enough to go the following week. Never got one during all the games that we saw.
got one at a Phillies' AA team game in Reading PA - and, got a hockey puck at a Rangers game at the old Garden. Sitting behind the net and there was no protection in those days - lucky I didn't get my teeth knocked out...
Whenever my friends and I sat in the bleachers at the old Yankee Stadium, we’d go really early to be there during batting practice. One day I got 4 balls that way. I’m assuming it was the Orioles because Rafael Palmiero almost took my head off and nearly killed a cop with some of the rockets he hit in batting practice.
Back in the 90's at the old Metrodome in Minnesota -
(watching the Mariners play the Twins), I caught a lazy foul ball down the right-field corner off of the bat of our old friend Luis Sojo. What was funny about it was that everyone around me had a glove and they were reaching out for it as it came to us. But it came right to me and I caught it cleanly with my bare right hand. My hand was throbbing the rest of the night.
1. In the 80's at Yankee Stadium a Rick Rhoden scuff ball that was fouled off went off my hands and the guy next to me caught it. The ball had a least 3 jagged cuts in it.
2. Also in the 80's that Yankees were playing an exhibition with the Mets at the Stadium. During batting practice Daryl Strawberry hit a shot into the right field bleachers that was coming right at me. I just got out of the way.
I got Shea Stadium grass. Cut school for the '73 Reds game 5 ($5 tix). I was sophomore in HS. Was on the Mets dugout in the 9th inning and got right field grass and jumped over the 396 mark and took it home on the bus (grew up in Flushing). Planted it in my backyard. But funny part is, I'm NOT a Mets fan (was a S.F. Giants fan, now Yankee), i just hated school...
Old Yankee stadium was sitting upper deck just to the left of the batter. Batter was Yankee second basement who forgot how to throw to first base. Chuck Knoblock. Just returned to my seat after purchasing a large beer. Sit down and batter fouls off a ball into the upper deck which I caught with left hand while not spilling a drop of beer. I’ve played a lot of baseball so pretty easy catch - good right fielder back in the day. Lots of applause and compliments on way out after the game.
Best part is my wife was with me and we went to the subway station to go back to Manhattan. Sure enough Knoblock and Ricky Laday were standing a few feet down.from us.wife’s grabs the ball and takes it over to him and asks him to sign it which he did after doubting it was the actual ball. But it was. I then gave the ball to my niece who is a huge Yankee fan.
Great night and memory.
Kevin Elster tossed me a baseball before a Mets game once
But more impressive was my seat number getting called for a prize in Toronto at a Blue Jays game when I was about 12? The mascot came to the seats and took us to some dingy office and in the stadium and presented me with….a gigantic basket of All-Freesia scented bath and beauty products. At a baseball game. If I never smell Freesia again, it’ll be too soon.
At my first MLB game as a kid. Yankee stadium in summer of 1977. Seats on third base side. And my Dad handed to me the ball off the bat of Thurman Munson. I have cherished it ever since. I was crushed when Thurman tragically died.
At my first MLB game as a kid. Yankee stadium in summer of 1977. Seats on third base side. And my Dad handed to me the ball off the bat of Thurman Munson. I have cherished it ever since. I was crushed when Thurman tragically died.
Same but it was my mom who to got the foul ball. On my birthday at my first game in '93 or so.
1968 in the first base side mezzanine of the original Yankee Stadium. Line drive by Joe Pepitone and my dad never even bobbled it. Tremendous catch that I still vividly remember to this day even though I was not quite 8 years old when it happened.
My friends dad took us and we sat 1st row on top of the Yankee dugout. Apparently when the Yankees come off the field someone in the dugout tosses a ball to Mattingly so he has one in his glove for the next inning warm up. I begged him for that ball after every inning.
When the came off the field after the 8th Don Mattingly tossed me the ball. Of course I missed it and it rolled across the dugout to a kid in a wheelchair, who grabbed it and was crazy happy about it. Don Mattingly looked at me and just shrugged and smiled. I missed the ball but is was a cool moment.
Closest to catching a foul ball was at a game at the old Yankee stadium vs the Indians in 2006. A-Rod hit it behind home plate and the ball hit an empty chair armrest 3 seats away but a row down. It was so close and so loud I can still here the ball smacking the seat in my head to this day.
It bounced off the seat and went pretty far. Some guy caught it and some woman wanted it ... just because it hit her seat.
games than i can count, and most in pretty good spots to catch one, but never even close. But I do have another interesting situation. I was on the field after the Mets won the World Series in 1969 as a fan, and in 1986, for work. If the Mets ever won again I've promised myself I'd get on the field again. If I pulled that off, how many other people do you think would be able to say that?
No. Came close a few times, but never had a ball bounce off my hands.
I went with my daughter to a Portland Red Sox game probably 15 years ago. We sat down the third base line 10 rows up from the dugout. Someone behind home caught a foul ball. My daughter said, "I want a foul ball, Dad." An inning later, a batter launched a foul ball directly behind home plate. I had a feeling that the wind might bring it our way; so I stood up -- we were right next to the tunnel egress. I leaned against the railing as the ball began to swing our way. Sure enough I was able to lean out and catch it with my right hand (I'm left-handed, but I was an ambidextrous baseball player growing up) and hand it to my daughter who was duly impressed. Someone in the crowd said, "Nice catch for a hockey coach." I have no idea who that was or how they knew.
closest I ever came was catching one of Hamilton's home runs in the 2008 derby. It hit off my dads bare hand and person in the row in front of us got it
In the 70's my dad caught one, I forget who hit it now
I know it was an player on the other team, the Orioles. I then lost the ball down the sewer playing baseball in the street. He was pissed. He tore his pants getting that ball
Well…almost. Took my kids to Cleveland to see the Yanks. Super hot day and one of kids, then 9 or so, complained so we moved to the shade. Two innings later Jeter hit one that literally landed in our original seats. That was 12 years ago and we still don’t let him forget that one.
Just to get 1st row seats at the 20 yd line. Players would always walk over to my son or daughter and give us balls or sign stuff. My daughter when she was 9 was having players sign her jersey. Got some cool sigs from giants greats like Harry Carson etc
Caught a Jerry grote foul ball at Shea
Great childhood moment that I’ll never forget
BTW. My mom threw out the ball years later along with many valuable baseball cards
Yanks vs Red Sox at Fenway back in 1990. I was sitting lower level halfway between 1B and the RF foul pole.
Wade Boggs hits a foul ball, line drive that takes one hop on the field and headed right at me. I thought I had it lined up, but it kept hooking and hit me on my left wrist, shattering my watch. Probably saved me from a broken wrist, though. That thing was moving.
Jim Palmer threw it, Pat Kelly (White Sox Pat Kelly before a trade to the Orioles) hit it....and I caught it...on the fly in the upper deck. Figure I had to be about 13 or 14.
I'm in the left field bleachers at Shea. Kevin Mitchell of the SF Giants hits an absolute screamer. Entire section gets up thinking they'll catch it. Until we realized how fast it was coming. You could hear it buzzing as it rocketed over our heads. That guys was a beast.
MLB: i had one hit right at me at OPACY and I missed. Thankfully it was after a lengthy rain delay and there was no one else around, so I was able to pick it up off the floor.
Not foul, but Strasburg tossed me a ball after playing catch before a Mets/Nats game
MiLB: Had a foul ball land on the concrete steps to my right, bounce and hit my gf at the time square on the top of the head, bounce again and my mother caught it
in Olympic stadium. In fairness, it was pretty easy to do in the early 90s because they weren't selling well and most of the fans at the game were over 70.
I'm in the left field bleachers at Shea. Kevin Mitchell of the SF Giants hits an absolute screamer. Entire section gets up thinking they'll catch it. Until we realized how fast it was coming. You could hear it buzzing as it rocketed over our heads. That guys was a beast.
I had front row seats in a box on the mezzanine level at Shea in I think 2007 or 2008, but I cut it too close and got there at the start of the 2nd inning. Someone was sitting in my seats, but the ones behind them were open so I didn't really care. One row doesn't make any difference to me.
Until someone hits a foul ball, goes right to the person sitting in my seat. And they effing dropped it. Which is probably good because then I WOULD have been pissed. Still. I could have had a foul ball if I were insistent that everyone sit in their assigned seats.
With some old friends, we were touring monument park during batting practice when a ball was hit there and No I didn’t catch it, but it landed at my feet. I picked it up and there was a kid begging me for the ball, so I flipped it to him. When I saw the kid I told him to go try to get it signed, the kid looked sad, I asked him where the ball was, and he pointed to a guy showing off a ball. I asked what happened, he said when I flipped it to him the guy pushed him out of the way and grabbed it! M two buddies and I went over to the guy, he was a German tourist and said this is my only time at a Baseball game and that the kid will have many chances to get another. Well we as politely as we could explain to him that if he didn’t give the kid the ball, he’d be going back to Germany on a Med Flight!! Happy Ending for all involved!
She was about 6 years old and we went to a Rangers game. She said her plan was to catch a baseball, meet a star player and see her face on the jumbotron.
Around the 4th inning a foul ball bounced off of the seats in our area and she was able to grab it (check 1).
After getting it and jumping around they showed her on the big screen (check 2).
A couple of innings later they recognized some former TX Ranger player who's name I forget and as the pressboxes were about 4 rows behind us, her mom took her up to get the ball signed, which he was happy to do while he was standing outside the box, giving an interview (check 3).
She's never been to another game nor has the desire to go, lol
I’ve had a few close calls, the closest being a game I went to in Toronto in the old stadium. There must have been half a dozen foul balls that landed near us, but none close enough to get to. I did get a ball brown to me by a Philly OF a number of years ago.
As a kid, I had my glove and naturally looked up. A fan was trying to catch it at the first row of the Mezzanine when it dropped through his hands and came straight down to me and my glove.
Only time at a MLB or Double AA game I caught a ball in the stands.
I still have the ball....LOL
Foul ball by Gerald Williams when he played for Tampa. Bounced off the hands of a guy in front of me and into my hands.
Fortunately there were no kids seated anywhere near me, so I got to keep it ;>)
Never got an actual foul ball though.
Got a nice round of applause for catching it, and Mo struck him out to end the game on the next pitch.
Won’t lie, one of my prouder moments. Still have the ball
Living in St. Louis later in life, my friends and I had shared Cardinals seasons tickets for a few years. At one of the games, a foul ball from Ray Lankford came whipping back into our section and shooting over my head. I turned around to watch it and it ricocheted off one of the higher empty seats right back towards me and I caught it.
My last one was I went to another Cardinals game years later with my father-in-law and a few others. And a line drive came near our seats and my father-in-law put up his hand to grab it and it deflected off his hand and broke middle finger.
Never dawned on me how fast a foul ball liner really is and I’ll never risk breaking a finger over a foul ball.
When the fans started coming into the stadium, I would look for a wide-eyed kid with a baseball glove.
"You lookin' to catch a ball today?" I asked.
"I sure hope so," was often the response.
I'd lob the ball right into his mitt. A newly minted fan for life.
There were about 50 kids in Central Jersey with a genuine Sally League Baseball sitting on their shelf.
one in the stands behind third - all three at Shea Stadium
My Brother has quite a few he's caught, not sure how many - I have to ask him, but I was with him all three times it happened.
2. Also in the 80's that Yankees were playing an exhibition with the Mets at the Stadium. During batting practice Daryl Strawberry hit a shot into the right field bleachers that was coming right at me. I just got out of the way.
Best part is my wife was with me and we went to the subway station to go back to Manhattan. Sure enough Knoblock and Ricky Laday were standing a few feet down.from us.wife’s grabs the ball and takes it over to him and asks him to sign it which he did after doubting it was the actual ball. But it was. I then gave the ball to my niece who is a huge Yankee fan.
Great night and memory.
Same but it was my mom who to got the foul ball. On my birthday at my first game in '93 or so.
Fetched Reggie Jacksons first Yankee HR in Ft Lauderdale during spring training
When the came off the field after the 8th Don Mattingly tossed me the ball. Of course I missed it and it rolled across the dugout to a kid in a wheelchair, who grabbed it and was crazy happy about it. Don Mattingly looked at me and just shrugged and smiled. I missed the ball but is was a cool moment.
It bounced off the seat and went pretty far. Some guy caught it and some woman wanted it ... just because it hit her seat.
And an usher gave me a foul ball that bounced to him at a Renegades game when I was a kid.
Only a couple other close calls on real foul balls..don't go to games enough anymore to have a real chance..
Old rooftop box seats behind 3B. I was 14. Got two the same game. Just missed a third.
Great childhood moment that I’ll never forget
BTW. My mom threw out the ball years later along with many valuable baseball cards
Wade Boggs hits a foul ball, line drive that takes one hop on the field and headed right at me. I thought I had it lined up, but it kept hooking and hit me on my left wrist, shattering my watch. Probably saved me from a broken wrist, though. That thing was moving.
Not foul, but Strasburg tossed me a ball after playing catch before a Mets/Nats game
MiLB: Had a foul ball land on the concrete steps to my right, bounce and hit my gf at the time square on the top of the head, bounce again and my mother caught it
Until someone hits a foul ball, goes right to the person sitting in my seat. And they effing dropped it. Which is probably good because then I WOULD have been pissed. Still. I could have had a foul ball if I were insistent that everyone sit in their assigned seats.
.
She was about 6 years old and we went to a Rangers game. She said her plan was to catch a baseball, meet a star player and see her face on the jumbotron.
Around the 4th inning a foul ball bounced off of the seats in our area and she was able to grab it (check 1).
After getting it and jumping around they showed her on the big screen (check 2).
A couple of innings later they recognized some former TX Ranger player who's name I forget and as the pressboxes were about 4 rows behind us, her mom took her up to get the ball signed, which he was happy to do while he was standing outside the box, giving an interview (check 3).
She's never been to another game nor has the desire to go, lol