Have you ever got a ball at a game before?

[HBroll]

Back in the late 1970's I went to a Cleveland-Detroit doubleheader (remember them - 2 games for the price of 1) at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

We were sitting in the upper deck behind home plate and I caught a foul ball off Indians catcher Gary Alexander in the 3rd inning of the first game and then caught a foul ball off Tigers Ron LeFlore in the 5th inning of the second game of the doubleheader. Been to a lot of games since but never caught another ball again.

[barrysloate]

Back in the late 80's my wife and I, my friend John, and his daughter, went to Shea for a Mets game. We were sitting pretty deep in left field, not a place where we would expect to get a ball. Turns out we got two, and they are the only ones I've ever even had a chance to catch.

The one my wife retrieved was hit by Mike Scioscia. We still have it. After we got the second one we could hear the crowd buzzing around us; anyone can get one at a game but two, especially so far from the batter's box, is rare.

[ullmandds]

I have caught numerous home run/foul balls during bp at camden yards and the metrodome/target field...BUT the only ball i ever caught during a game was during the 4th game of the 1978 world series. We had seats behind home plate just to the left side of the screen. Reggie smith hit a hard foul ball right at us...i ducked and te ball landed under the seat in front of me...and i grabbed it! I was nine and it is a moment i'll cherish forever and i will have this ball til the day i die!

[sportscardpete]

I was bat boy for the Yankees the week after David Cone pitched a perfect game. Before the game, he took time to speak with me and he eventually gave me a signed baseball that he was warming up with. It solidified me being a Yankee fan!

[barrysloate]

Pete- you were a batboy for the Yankees!? Tell us some good stories.

[sportscardpete]

It was a wonderful experience. I was around 7 years old. They took me around the club house and I got to sit in the dugout before the game. I met all of the prominent Yankees during the year. Funny story, the only person to decline me an autograph was CHUCK KNOBLAUCH. He simply walked away from me. I have framed a Derek Jeter signed jersey, and a picture of him signing it while the jersey was on my back. I wore his jersey, and he initiated the signing. Everyone was very friendly. The jersey is the most cherished part of my sports collection. It just means a lot because my dad worked so hard getting me the opportunity. I will definitely try to do the same for my son!

[whitehse]

I remember getting a few foul balls when I was a kid.

The 1st one was at Wrigley in the early 70's. A foul pop up came our way, my mom tried to catch it and it bounced off her hand. The guy next to us who got the ball turned around and handed it to me. The thing is I begged my mom and dad to let me take my glove to the game but they said no, that I would only lose it and besides a ball will never come our way.

In 1977 at Comiskey park my little league team had seats in the 1st row down the left field line. a foul ground ball dribbled by the 3rd baseman and I took my hat and scooped the ball up.

Fast forward a few years and I worked for the Chicago Cubs for seven years. For two years my job was dugout security, sitting on the bench during the games and received many baseballs during that time. Umpires, players groundscrew would always give me baseballs even without asking. I remember being on the field when Tony Pena was hitting BP and he nailed me with a one hop liner right in the rear end. I still have that ball!!!

My most memorable ball story was during the 1984 playoffs between the Cubs and Padres, they had a work out day before the series started. This workout was closed to the public but I was asked to be the security in the bleachers while the workout went on. Being the only one out there any baseball that went into the seats was mine. I ended up throwing some back, throwing a good number to the ballhawks waiting on the streets and pocketing a bunch for myself.

I had a incredible seven years and have memories that I will never forget.

[Jcfowler6]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

I was bat boy for the Yankees the week after David Cone pitched a perfect game. Before the game, he took time to speak with me and he eventually gave me a signed baseball that he was warming up with. It solidified me being a Yankee fan!

How does one get to be a bat boy? That is pretty cool. David Cone was excellent.

[nebboy]

Ive gotten about 20 balls at MLB/AAA/CWS games over the years - most of which were at Royals games. Some times late games I would be one of a very few in a section. In one game I got 3 foul ball in 3 swings by one batter. Always have had a lot of luck with catching foul/HR balls

[novakjr]

I've gotten one ball from a game before. It was back in '92 and I was 12 at old Municipal Stadium. I was at the game with my parents and a few kids from my little league team with their parents as well. We had crap seats. Well, that was always the plan at Municipal. Get crap seats, and usually by the 4th inning the ushers kinda just stopped working, so you could always move closer. Luckily this time the place was almost empty, and we ended up in the first row of the box seats on the first base line, right above the Indians dugout. They were playing the Tigers that day, luckily the Indians were winning, and the final out was an easy ground-out. The team quickly celebrated and started heading for the dugout. First baseman Paul Sorrento glanced up and tossed me the ball(which I ended up getting signed by Sandy Alomar after the game). I was the happiest kid ever at that moment. To make things even better, he then went into the dugout, and then came back out and tossed the managers line-up cards on top of the dugout also. Well, I ended up with those too.. Which works out even better, because in the home dugout, the visiting teams lineup card was always the actual copy, while the home team kept the carbon copy of their own. So I ended up with Sparky Anderson's autograph as well.

At a game later in the year, I also ended up with the lineup cards from a game against the Orioles. But Johnny Oates' autograph really doesn't quite measure up to Sparky.

[scooter729]

I've had a partial season ticket package at Fenway for many years now, in the first row of bleachers behind the Red Sox bullpen. So there are many chances for balls coming in my direction, but only one have I snagged - from Aaron Hill of the Blue Jays a few years back.

Otherwise my luck has been "so close, yet so far away." I've brought people to games who have snagged home run balls twice, and a few times have had home run balls go off my fingers and end up in someone else's hands. My goal is to catch a homer off a Red Sox player's bat at some point!

[bbcard1]

I think I have gotten three over the years, all at Salem Red Sox games. I remember having a shot at one in 1977 when George Foster was tearing it up. It was during BP and I was above the wall in the outfield...it's actually a cement barrier that was a deck above the wall. He absolutely crushed one on a line right below me. I leaned over the barrier and as the ball approached, I could hear it hissing from the velocity. I decided to pull my hands up and it crashed into the wall. I would have broken every bone in my hand. Discretion was the better part of valor.

[chris6net]

I was with my father in the 70,s at Yankee stadium during the Yankees/Royals heyday when they were playing each other and my dad snagged a foul ball hit by Al Cowens and my brother and myself were thrilled. In 1999 I was at a playoff game with my wife at Shea Stadium when I caught a foul ball hit by Edgardo Alfonzo.(This was also the game Todd Pratt hit a homerun in extra innings to beat the Diamondbacks in the series 3 games to 1)