Ball Hawks

It’s all about the kids when it comes to baseballs

If you land a flying souvenir, hand it to a child, even if you’re a Karen.

BY ED CONDRAN

The Phillies Karen story will not leave the news cycle. It’s time to move on. The story has run its course. What the still unidentified woman did wasn’t right, but her actions weren’t a capital crime.

There are rumors that Phillies Karen lost her job. The word is that the hot Halloween costume will be the Phillies Karen. Enough already. Drew Feltwell, who was kind enough to hand over the ball to Phillies Karen, has said to leave her alone. Good for him. No one died over the Phillies Karen incident. It’s over. Feltwell’s son Lincoln has a signed Harrison Bader bat and other items as consolation. Yes, Phillies Karen committed an error.

But I’ve witnessed much worse behavior than what Phillies Karen exhibited. Baseballs and other game-used items alter the states of many fans. The Phillies used to toss game used items into the stands after concluding their final game of the season at Citizens Bank Park. However, that fan appreciation tradition ended in 2015 after what occurred.

It was a fun scene after the Phillies completed their forgettable season with a game versus the Miami Marlins. My older son, Eddie, then 13, caught a pair of Aaron Altherr’s batting gloves tossed into the stands by the lanky outfielder. My son Milo, then 10, grabbed Carlos Ruiz’ batting gloves, which were stitched with the catcher’s nickname, Chooch.

Moments later Aaron Nola, who is now third all-time on the Phillies all-time strikeout list, locked eyes with Milo as the rubber-armed hurler took off his rookie game jersey. Nola tossed the cream-colored shirt at Milo, who caught it. However, just as my son landed the prized item, a middle-aged fan snatched it from Milo; there was a brief battle but ultimately the portly aficionado won out.

However, Milo didn’t give up easily; he fell but encircled the creep’s legs and squeezed. The jerk was tackled. After he hit the ground he kicked at Milo’s face. Milo grabbed at the jersey and pulled a button off, but the man fled.

Moments later iconic Phillies slugger Ryan Howard tossed his jersey to a little girl, who was about 5-years old. A middle-aged woman ran over and pulled the jersey from the young lady and ran off.

A number of adult male fans had no problem knocking children down or pushing women aside for the thrill of scoring free memorabilia. No wonder the Phillies pulled the plug on what was once such a joyous event.

That afternoon featured much worse behavior than what happened when the home run ball slugged by Bader was taken from Lincoln Feltwell in South Florida.

When I informed the Phillies about Milo’s misery, they sent him a Nola jersey, which the club’s longest tenured player signed for my son. The Phillies did all that they could for my son and made the wise choice to stop their players from tossing gear into a crowd desperate for memorabilia.

Adults forget that it’s just a baseball. Prior to a Mets-Phillies game in 1985, Metropolitan reliever Randy Myers was warming up and a ball thrown over his head bounced toward me off Veterans Stadium’s unforgiving turf and I caught it. “Can you toss that back to me,” Myers said. I immediately complied and he continued with the warmup. A Phillies fan went borderline apoplectic. “What’s wrong with you,” he said. “Why did you give the ball back to him? You should have run away with the ball!”

I explained that Myers was getting ready for a game and there was only so much time to warm up. “Not only should you have run off with the ball, you also don’t do a Met any favors,” screamed the out-of-control fan.

I ignored him and five minutes later, Myers jogged over and thanked me while tossing me the ball.

One of my few skills is catching foul balls off the bat. I’ve gloved 18 foul balls due to where my season tickets are, which is 13th row at third base.

However, the difference between now and a generation ago is that the desire to score a baseball is much greater – and so is the cost for memorabilia. The prices for game used balls are now in the triple digits but people pay for them if they can’t catch them in the stands.

The players no longer toss gear into the crowd but despite all of the netting, balls continue to drop into the crowd.

One of my few skills is catching foul balls off the bat. I’ve gloved 18 foul balls due to where my season tickets are, which is 13th row at third base.

I even trumped Babe Ruth’s called shot on my birthday in 2007. I predicted that I would catch a foul ball that sunny afternoon since then San Francisco Giants phenom Tim Lincecum, who was throwing flame during his rookie season, would fire a ball that either the Phillies Jimmy Rollins or Shane Victorino couldn’t get around on.

During the third inning the former didn’t quite get all of a Lincecum fastball. The high fly ball came right at me and I gloved it.  During that period I caught a number of balls in front of another season ticket holder who sat right behind me.

On the day the Phillies clinched the division title, September 30, 2007, Victorino hit a fly ball my way. The angry fan was punching me in the back, while another Phillies aficionado shoved me. If it were a football game, flags would have been tossed – but I made the catch much to the chagrin of the irate dude behind me.

Most folks have no idea what happens in the stands since the cameras stay on the field. It’s a shame some fans ruin it for everyone.

Before netting protected fans from the dugout down the baseline, my sons ran amok catching baseballs at the end of the inning. For the uninitiated, when an inning ends, a player who possesses the game ball after the last out was recorded jogs toward the dugout, spots a fan and tosses a ball their way. It helps if the aficionado is clad in that team’s jersey or sports their cap.

My kids possess hundreds of game balls since they cracked the code. After my son Eddie caught his fourth ball in four innings behind the Milwaukee Brewers dugout, a fan encouraged him to give a ball to a little guy, who perhaps never touched a ball. Eddie did so in the fifth inning. “Hey kid,” Eddie said to a starry-eyed child. “Would you like a ball?”

“No way,” the kid exclaimed. “I’ve never gotten a ball. Not even close.”

Eddie tossed the ball to the kid.

“Now you’re being a good guy,” the man who suggested the action said. “You’ll feel better about what you just did.”

It was a nice scene, but the unfortunate reality is that Eddie tossed the ball to Milo, who never broke character as the boy who never brought home a souvenir ball.

While at Wrigley Field during a Cubs-Cardinals classic, a Cubbie tossed the ball to Milo – who was 11 at the time – after he ran down to the dugout after the first inning concluded. “Don’t come down here again or I’ll eject you,” an usher said.

The next inning Milo came down and caught another ball after the inning. “All right,” the usher said. “I’m ejecting you.”

I came to the rescue but Milo didn’t need much help. I asked the usher what was wrong. He explained that he was ejecting Milo since he was warned, but my son said, “Great. Eject me. My dad writes for Deadspin. The headline tomorrow will be, ‘Kid gets thrown out of Wrigley for being a fan.’ So much for the ‘Friendly Confines.’

Milo wasn’t ejected but the usher explained that he has to be stern since a fan once stole a cap off of a Dodgers catcher’s head while he sat in the bullpen, which butts up against the left field wall just off of Steve Bartman territory.

But that incident happened years ago in 2000. A Cubs fan who was an adult committed the crime, not a child. The point is that Major League Baseball needs kids as fans. Don’t yell at children who crash the dugout for a ball and don’t take a ball away from a child. The baseball base is aging. The home run balls and the foul balls should go to the kids, who will sleep with the souvenirs under their pillow. When Milo or Eddie catch a foul ball now it always goes to a child. The look of astonishment on the children’s faces as they touch a ball that moments ago was in play, is worth the price of admission.

Maybe if someone gave Phillies Karen a game used ball when she was young, the incident with the Feltwells never happens.

Adults have a responsibility to let children soak up baseball and hopefully become devoted to the national pastime. At a certain point in life, the stewards of baseball, must pass on our love of the unique game.

Phillies Karen may not understand that but she might get it now – since every day since she demanded that ball that bounced toward her but never gloved, she’s been in the news. C.C. Sabathia and Robert Griffin III have recently chimed in about Phillies Karen.

Someday the memory of Phillies Karen will pass, but hopefully those that recall what she did will instinctively know that the game is all about the children and their wide smiles after scoring a ball, which hopefully leads to a lifetime appreciation of the national pastime.