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I have two thoughts on the issue. They are foul ball or tossed ball vs Homerun ball.

Now , I always wanted to get a ball anyway possible when I was a kid. But my father would rarely take us to a game and when he did they were cheap seats and no way were we getting there for BP. So when I was older we would always get there for BP and I'd bring a glove. I usually am in the bleachers trying to get a homerun BP ball. I was in my 40's and had my step son at his first game. the kid was about 9 and managed by hook or crook to get 3, yes 3 baseballs! Stepson 3, me 0! A few years later we got there earky to watch Barry Bonds take BP. My stepson managed to get a ricochet off the third deck. Finally a year later I caught a Bonds BP HR off the second deck in the air. A year or so later I got an Andre Ethier BP HR on the fly. If there was a little kid nearby I would probably hand it over. I did in Txas after catching a BP HR ball.

I had seats near 1st base once an Ryan Howard tossed a foul tip over and I caught it. I knew they tend to show you on TV when this happens so I handed the ball to a little kid nearby. I was right, several people at work said they saw it so it looked better to hand it over!

Now as for a HR ball during a game, no way, no how am I giving it away to anyone, even a crying child. Sorry. I came close once. Had it all lined up and at the last second the guy in front of me tipped it away from my glove.

There is one caveat to my giving away of a foul ball. If it was an important historic game I would probably keep it. I was at Randy Johnson's 300th win game. There was hardly anyone there so I was hoping to get a ball. One was fouled over my head into the next section which had only a few people in it. I watched a guy hopping over seats to try and catch up to it as it rolled downhill. I ran over and got several rows in front of it and it rolled to me. I got booed by the crowd as they thought the guy chasing it should get it. But I do not care, I got a game used 300th win ball. plus he was a grown man and had a shot to catch it and blew it. Sorry.