Another reason not to give balls to strange kids

[TBM]

Just found this and it's another reason I'll never give any ball I ever catch, if I ever do catch one, to any kid but my own. I've seen kids walk out with so many balls, batting gloves, hats and other items at some games.

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/06/06/234771224/young-fan-changes-from-mike-trout-to-miguel-cabrera-jersey

Hey Mr. Any Player I'm over here and would love anything your giving out and I would be eternally greatfull to display it in my collection. Mr. Any Player snears as he gives the kid with arms fully loaded more stuff.

[sox83cubs84]

I had a day at the Cubs/Rockies game in the former Family Section at Wrigley Field a bit over 10 years ago, fuming at the antics of a dad/kid combo I dubbed Father and Son Greedy. Father Greedy did catch one BP HR, but Son Greedy hit up 5 different Rockies players shagging flies for 5 baseballs. The kid was loud and obnoxious, yelling at every new guy who stood below us in left field, and several fans (including me) were warning the players about how Son Greedy was playing them, but to no avail. Then, late in the game, whomever was playing left for the Cubs tossed the between innings catch ball up into the Family Section, where Dad Greedy pimped the kid (not his own) and grabbed their seventh baseball of the day. Fans were booing the Greedys and yelling insults at them, but they were impervious to shame and criticism.

I don't have kids, but if I get a second baseball, IF I decide to give it away, I don't give it to a kid near me, I instead offer it to one with a parent that is several rows away from the field or just entering the seating area. If a loudmouth bellows at me to "give the kid the ball", I tell the kid (often one related to the loudmouth) that I WAS gonna give it away, but since the loudmouth had to be a jerk about it, I'm no giving it away now and HE'S the reason why. I've also told such loudmouths, "If you want the kid to have one so bad, then YOU get him one!"

Dave Miedema

[joecoco]

My understanding is Zack Hample popularized this switch- a-roo stunt on his blog. It definitely paid off for him, in terms of baseballs, but is a concept I have always struggled with. I agree with Dave's greedy assessment. I get it's a free country and whatever, but just because you have the right does not make it wise to harrass every player for a ball when you have six or 13 of them already! Maybe I'm just jealous, lazy or a combination of the two, but this behavior informed by whatever overvalue d idea driving it becomes annoying. Oh well.. there are obviously bigger problems in the world.

[joecoco]

To be clear-cut I am not slandering anyone here, just commenting on things. Again, I struggle with this because my 10- year-end self says " way to go." Then I realize I am too socially inhibited for this stunt at any age!! Ok. Be well guys

[ironmanfan]

As with most things in life, every situation has to stand on it's own merits.
Case in point was something that happened just last Sunday @ Camden Yards. I've had a Sunday Season Ticket Plan there for nearly 15 years and can count the # of close foul ball opportunities over that time period on one hand. In that game in the top of the 5th, Andrew Benintendo hit a foul ball in the section to our right, which was mishandled by a couple fans there and rolled down our row and my son was able to snag it (among of sea of other hands).
My son decided (on his own accord) to give it to a young fan decked in Sox gear sitting in front of us (who did not ask for it, but was surely admiring it). My son decided to give it up since it wasn't hit by an Oriole and he didn't snag it on the fly (otherwise he would have kept it). We learned from the boy's dad that it was his birthday weekend and that it was his first trip to Camden Yards.....
After hearing that, my son reminded me that a stranger gave him a foul ball during his first game @ Camden Yards back in 1998 (off the bat of the Rangers' Luis Alicea) which still sits on a shelf of his home to this day....

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k172/whhp72/Misc%20Orioles/Ebay/Blog/Kids/C6A10DDE-6DF4-41BE-847B-6062076781A7_zpsuairy6ap.jpg

[Juicyfruit66]

The kid in the middle is eying it up haha

[Juicyfruit66]

I grew up watching ball games in the giant toilet bowl known as the Big O aka the big owe. We never had money for the close seats, I used to bring a glove hoping to catch a foul ball. Never, ever, would I have been caught screaming at a player begging for a ball. If I was a player I'd go out of my way to make sure loudmouth father son begging duos got skipped over, maybe the kid would learn a life lesson or something about failure haha. Looking back on it, if my dad had been obnoxious maybe I would have been as well.

[Juicyfruit66]

And 39 years later, still no ball.....if I ever get one it's going in my pocket to be given to my boys....that teary eyed boy staring at me can wait his 39 years as well haha. The only ball I have is from when my dad went to a Montreal vs Brewers game in Montreal and got a national league ball and a Brewers team ball hit during bp. He made sure he got one for each of his twin boys (my bro got the Brewers one). I Kept it, and when I started collecting game used stuff a few years ago I brought it out of storage. Means more than anything else I have.

[mrjohnmalton]

I typically sit in one of the same 2 seats at Progressive Field. My immediate family has shared season tickets for the past few years. A few times a year, I like to get tickets for seats in different spots around the park just to change it up a bit. Last week my wife and I got tickets for the first row of section 169, which is along the third base line. We arrived about 45 minutes early, as we always do. I expected that there would be several kids standing there trying to get autographs, so we swung by the team shop and the beer stand before heading down about 15-20 minutes before first pitch. I was baffled by the number of people standing there trying to get autographs. What I was even more baffled by was the fact that most of them were grown men with backpacks full of stuff. The usher walked us to our seats, and kindly asked the group of 5-6 men that were standing there to move to there seats. All of them quickly obliged, except for one guy who felt the need to throw a 3 year old-esque temper tantrum about it. He first went off on the usher, and then he directed his unwarranted anger toward me. The (super professional) usher stayed calm and continued to explain to the guy that he needed to go to his seat. He wasn't having it, so she calmly walked up the stairs and retrieved a couple friendly Cleveland police officers who escorted him to the front gate.

Anyways, after we got settled in, there were still quite a few people standing in the section next to ours trying to get autographs. Francisco Lindor walked over and began to sign items for people. I watched 2 grown men get autographs, reach into their backpacks, grab another item, and climb there way further down the line to crowd in front of kids, so that they may collect another signature. Some of the rudest, most un-adult behavior I've ever witnessed. I think that a lot of these kids who beg for balls, and other items the entire game, were probably conceived by people like those guys.

I actually really enjoyed the view, and teasing my wife about foul balls coming at her, but I will likely never sit there again.

[TBM]

Don't get me wrong. I wish every kid had the opportunity to get a ball. Heck I wish I had the opportunity to get a ball when I was a kid. I have been to less than 50 MLB games in my 42 years because of the distance to travel and as a kid between the ages of 5 and 18 I probably got to go to 7 or 8. So I never had the opportunity to get much.

I am glad that my kid has gotten some balls from various games (little sucker has gotten more in just a couple years than I have in my life time). He has gotten almost 10 between MLB BP and MiLB games in the last 3 years. Two of those were in April when we managed to snag them during the first Royals BP I was able to take him to. Our dream is to catch or snag a HR ball. Not going for a MLB ball there just a PCL ball from a Storm Chasers player (Royals AAA team). We sit out in the berm for every game we go to just for a small chance at that.

So sorry to all the other kids out there but any ball I get will go to me or my kid. To all the adults out there, quit trying to shame someone into giving a ball to a kid. Some of us have never gotten one ourselves and I'll be darned if I give my first one away. Try this instead, ask the parents of the kid carrying around 6 balls to share with the other kids!

[Juicyfruit66]

So true about the kids who expect to get all sorts of swag just by going down to field level and begging, totally learned behaviour from their collector/ seller dads. I think catching a ball that's hit or snagging bp ones are cool, but getting them cause ur short and cute, not so much. Isn't that the fun part? Telling ur kid to be ready cause we may catch one?

[Popinjaysnamesir]

I've stopped giving balls I catch to kids. I find them to have no appreciation and often greedy about it. Instead I find people who can't get one for themselves. Older people really seem to appreciate it.

Besides, everyone who has caught a ball remembers their first. Catching it yourself is a much better memory than begging some old guy for it.

[Abzk01]

Back in 1994 my older stepsister took me to a game at Three Rivers Stadium. A complete stranger tossed me a ball (not sure if it was practice used etc) and said hey there's a player over there go try and get an autograph. My stepsister took forever to try and find a pen in her purse (or at least what seemed like forever to a 10 year old kid) and by the time she did, that player was swarmed.

A little unknown player from the Montreal Expos walked past me, smiled, pointed at the ball and signed it for me and walked away and no one really noticed. I had no clue who he was at the time. I started following that players career and always hoped he did well.

In 2015, that player was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. His name is Pedro Martinez. I still have the ball as it's my only piece of baseball memorabilia.

[sox83cubs84]

I've stopped giving balls I catch to kids. I find them to have no appreciation and often greedy about it. Instead I find people who can't get one for themselves. Older people really seem to appreciate it.

Besides, everyone who has caught a ball remembers their first. Catching it yourself is a much better memory than begging some old guy for it.

If I DO choose to give away a BP ball I catch or retrieve, kids are my last choice. I prefer, in order from most to third most, US military personnel, handicapped people and seniors. I haven't gotten much the last few years (heck, I've only been to one game this year and am still waiting to get on the board), but I hope to make one or two people in the above categories happy before season's end.

Dave M.