I beat the rush and got to Miller Park nice and early tonight, and sitting in the still empty press box, I’ve had some time to think. About baseball, of course.
Within a few feet in either direction of me are 10 ominous looking holes, dimples and marks of where foul balls have struck the press box wall right behind my permanent OnMilwaukee.com seat. The closest, positioned right behind my heart, is marked "5/25/11 Michael Morse vs. Greinke." One behind my right ear simply says "Unknown." Any one of these balls would’ve caused me serious injury, and it’s a reminder not to keep your nose buried in your laptop when the ball is in play.
Speaking of laptops, I had one foul ball clang off my titanium MacBook Air a few years ago. I’m pretty sure any other laptop would’ve shattered, but the only damage was a little dent and a scuff.
I got off lucky.
I’m still a little annoyed that I didn’t catch that ball, actually. Instead of trying to catch it, I covered the my laptop as best as I could and the ball spun off my hands. People booed. I shrugged.
I’m the fan who always brings a glove to the game ... as a fan, anyway.
In the hundreds (maybe?) of Brewers games I’ve attended, I’ve still only caught one legitimate regular season foul ball. It was around 1994 at County Stadium, an easy pop up right to me in the third base lower grandstands, courtesy of Aussie David Nilson. A kid in front of me collided with me to make the play – or maybe it was the other way around – and his mom was angry that I wouldn’t give him the souvenir. I told her that at 20, I was much older than this child, and he would have more time in his life to catch one. Maybe not my finest fan moment.
I did catch an 2002 All Star Game Home Run Derby batting practice ball in the auxiliary press box in the right field bleachers, and I’ve snagged many Spring Training foul balls in Maryvale. I’ve come close on many other regular season occasions, but my lifetime total of caught foul balls stands at one.
Sadly, I no longer possess any of the mementos. Like a dummy, I’ve lost them all.
Have you ever caught a Major League foul ball? Or more than one? And do you still have them? It’s a pretty special moment, I must say. I’m not sure I’ll ever do it again.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
