Have you ever caught a home run ball at an MLB park?

bmp1971 · Apr 25, 2016

This guy got two in one game, from the same player! And both opposite field shots by Goldschmidt:

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/11493214/v623218783/?game_pk=447134

corockies · Apr 25, 2016

I caught a Ryan Klesko HR ball back in the 90's at a Rockies game. Gave it to a kid sitting by me in the stands.

DaClyde · Apr 25, 2016

I've never wanted to sit that far away from the plate to have the opportunity.

bmp1971 · Apr 25, 2016

A friend of mine in high school nearly caught the Gorman Thomas home run off Clemens in the 1986 game where Clemens fanned 20 Mariners. He was in the front row of the center field bleachers, which is a phenomenal place to watch a game at Fenway. I believe the ball hit his hands (no glove) and fell down in the seating area and someone else grabbed it. That would have been a nice ball to have-- just for the fact that was a record-breaking game, which the Sox ended up winning.

That game can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WTM3YBzfxw

The closest I ever came to getting a ball at a game was in foul territory along the left-field line at Fenway as a kid. One batter repeatedly hit foul balls to my seating area, with a ball caught the row behind me and a row or two in front of me by the same hitter in the same AB. I had my glove with me and was ready for it-- just wasn't meant to be though. It's funny, looking back, how much I wanted to get a ball like that.

Yanks2151 · Apr 25, 2016

I never caught a homerun ball or a foul ball for that matter. What did come to mind when I read the thread title was at the beginning of the 1996 World Series game two Luis Polonia (then with the Braves) and John Smoltz we're having a long toss in the outfield at Yankee Stadium. Some guys were yelling at Polonia in Spanish to throw them the ball and he did in fact throw the ball and I caught it. It was a batting practice ball not a World Series ball. It was cool because back then it was a national league ball. I think today the only say Official Major League ball.

bmp1971 · Apr 25, 2016

corockies said:
I caught a Ryan Klesko HR ball back in the 90's at a Rockies game. Gave it to a kid sitting by me in the stands.

Congrats!

Yanks2151 said:
I never caught a homerun ball or a foul ball for that matter. What did come to mind when I read the thread title was at the beginning of the 1996 World Series game two Luis Polonia (then with the Braves) and John Smoltz we're having a long toss in the outfield at Yankee Stadium. Some guys were yelling at Polonia in Spanish to throw them the ball and he did in fact throw the ball and I caught it. It was a batting practice ball not a World Series ball. It was cool because back then it was a national league ball. I think today the only say Official Major League ball.

Cool story. I bet the guys who were yelling for the ball were pissed you got it?

Juanlasttime · Apr 25, 2016

My uncle caught a foul ball off the bat of Greg "the bull" Ludzinski in the late 70s and gave me the ball... We were sitting in the upper deck at the old "Vet"... I think I still have the ball somewhere in storage...

Yanks2151 · Apr 25, 2016

bmp1971 said:
Congrats!

Cool story. I bet the guys who were yelling for the ball were pissed you got it?

It's pretty crazy that you mention that. I thought I wouldn't fill this thread up talking about that day and how pissed those guys were but I truly feel like Polonia through a second ball to stop the "stand off" I had with the most vocal guy in the crowd. He gave me the most grief but ended up getting the 2nd ball thrown so the situation deescalated.

Super Mario · Apr 25, 2016

I caught a foul ball sitting directly behind home plate at US Cellular in Chicago at the third home game of the 2005 season.

death2redemptions · Apr 25, 2016

That guy needs to buy a lottery ticket because the odds of that happening must be astronomical.

rob167 · Apr 25, 2016

Never caught a homerun ball during a game, but several years ago (late 90's) I caught a batting practice homerun at Wrigley...not sure who hit it, but the Cub pitchers shagging left field told me "good catch"...at my first ever game at Wrigley (1997), Ferguson Jenkins, who was the pitching coach at the time, threw me a batting practice ball and even signed it for me...at a Triple-A game in Des Moines when Kerry Wood was making a rehab appearance, I caught a foul ball. He didn't hit it (not sure who did?), but he had pitched the ball...been a LONG time since I've even been close...

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death2redemptions · Apr 25, 2016

And to answer the question, no I have never caught a HR ball before. In fact, I've never caught a ball at all.

Lancemountain · Apr 25, 2016

I caught dimebag Darrell's pick and Nick Mason's drumstick but no HR balls.

AnthonyCorona · Apr 25, 2016

Lancemountain said:
I caught dimebag Darrell's pick and Nick Mason's drumstick but no HR balls.

Winner!

MrMet · Apr 25, 2016

HR ball, no, but like [MENTION=10970]Yanks2151[/MENTION] I have a ball thrown to me story.

We were down in Virginia for a friends wedding and the brides father and brother are big Mets fans, like me, so we decided to catch a Norfolk Tides game. Unfortunately they were in Richmond playing the Richmond Braves, but it was close enough so we went. Jose Mesa (RIP) pitched and after he came out of the game I saw him giving some balls to people in the first couple rows of the stands. Being the loudmouth I am, I stood up and screamed "Jose! Pelota por favor". He looked at me and disappeared. I thought oh $hit, I thought I said "ball please" in Spanish, did I insult him by accident? He popped back out of the dugout shortly with a new bucket of balls, phew! I could see him looking for me so I stood up and he threw me a perfect strike. Unfortunately he has since passed so I'll never be able to get it signed, but it was still cool.
I've gotten other balls from players at minor league games since, but that was my first, and a story I'll always remember.

Hendersonfan · Apr 25, 2016

Been close, but no cigar.

ASTROBURN · Apr 26, 2016

Got a foul ball last year. All i had to do was stand and put my glove out. It just fell right in.

smapdi · Apr 26, 2016

I caught David Hulse's lone homer in 1994. The Ballpark at Arlington just opened and my friend and I went up for Yankee game. We were a few rows up from the field in the right field porch. Top of the first, Mattingly hit one that went right over us and landed 6 or 8 rows behind us. We had been talking all day about how homer friendly the park was supposed to be, especially the somewhat short RF porch with the low wall. Then in the bottom of the inning David Hulse hit one. It was right on a line to us, but I thought it would also pass over us. We stood up and I could see the arc dropping sharply so I just reached my hand up and caught it with my thumb and first two fingers. It didn't hurt, just dropped right into my fingers. I remember thinking it would pop out of my fingers or the crowd would fall on me or something, but nothing happened. Just a long, quiet moment of disbelief while the ball was just sitting there pinched between my fingers, then the roar of the crowd.

BiggioBrooks755 · Apr 26, 2016

I got a couple of foul balls from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers...a couple signed by Cameron Garfield and Hunter Morris

Never been close to a HR or foul ball at MLB though

ChasHawk · Apr 26, 2016

Been to over 100 games at Wrigley, and have never caught a ball of any kind.

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