Temp Post

How to Catch a Major League Baseball Foul Ball

I have two passions, ripping into packs of cards and watching movies. And while I love the big mainstream films hits like “Avatar,” “Date Night,” "Toy Story 3" and “Hot Tub Time Machine,” lately it seems my Netflix queue is filed with documentaries. “Food Inc.” changed the way I eat and just last night I saw “Official Rejection” an awesome documentary about filmmakers trying to get into film festivals like Sundance. Its got Bryan Singer, director of “X-Men,” Kevin Smith, director of “Clerks” to name a few.

But the best is when I can combine my two passions, Baseball films. James Earl Jones' speech in “Field of Dreams” is one of the best speeches of all time. “The Pride of the Yankees” is a great classic and “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” is my favorite baseball documentary.

I recently saw a mention of a new baseball documentary that is just starting on the festival circuit called “Ballhawks.” It’s narrated by Bill Murray and follows the Chicago Cubs Ballhawks. If you are unaware, these are the guys who stand on the streets of Chicago, just outside of Wrigley, waiting for batting practice and home run balls to be hit out of the park, at which point they make a mad dash to catch, scoop up, fall on top of and fight for the prized possessions or as they refer to them, “pearls.”

The veteran of the Ballhawks, Moe, has over 4400 balls. Yep… over 4400. Another Ballhawk, Rich, has close to 3,400 balls.

Currently, this film is mostly playing in the Chicago area and will have a screening on October 2nd at the Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival at Cooperstown. I hope this film gets released on DVD, because I’d love to see it.

The Ballhawks kind of remind me of Zack Hample. He wrote the book on getting balls, “How to Snag Major League Baseballs.” He has a complete system, including a rigged glove that can be lowered to the field, just like a lure on a fishing line, and scoop up balls. To date, he has 4643 baseballs. Most of them come from batting practice, but he's also caught plenty of home run balls include catches on two consecutive nights at Yankee Stadium.

I dream of catching a ball, but to date have not caught a single one. The calculated odds of catching a foul ball at a major league game are approximately 1 in 1200, better than the lottery, but not great. I can’t help but think that the Hemples of the world are decreasing my odds almost to the point where it will never happen.

Perhaps it’s my fault that I can’t bring myself to show up to a ball game with my glove, that I wont fight other fans during batting practice for a “marked practice” ball, or that I won’t go to the lengths that Charlie Sheen went to in his attempt at getting a ball. In the mid 90’s, the "Major League" and “Two and a Half Men” star bought out the left field bleachers in Anaheim, all 2,600 of them, for a night in hopes of catching a ball uncontested. Not a single ball landed out there that night and to this day, Sheen still hasn’t caught a ball.

Maybe I should go all out, just to get one ball and be done with it. Here are some of the tips I’ve picked up if you want to snag a ball.

1 – Have your baseball glove on at ALL TIMES.

2 – Get to the game as early as possible, when the gates first open to the public. That’s when batting practice is happening and you'll have the least amount of competition.

3 – During batting practice, head straight for the left field bleachers. This is where a majority of the baseballs are hit.

4 – If your stadium has low walls along foul territory, like Dodger Stadium, ready yourself to bend over the wall and scoop up any foul balls traveling along the wall.

5 – During the game, try to sit parallel to the left and right fielders or over the dugout and don’t be afraid to ask for the third out ball. Same applies for sitting next to the ball boy/girl in the outfield.

6 – Know your team. If it’s a mostly lefty-hitting team, try for seats near third base.

7 – If all that fails, buy a Major League Baseball, buy some Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud, cover the ball with the mud and put it on your shelf. No one needs to now the truth.

So has anyone out there caught a ball? Use the comments to share your stories.

2010 Topps Tribute Baseball Cards Dynasties & Rivalries Edition Box Break

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George Blanda dies at age 83

These cards are my oldest and newest cards of George Blanda, Topps 1969 and Topps 2009.  George Blanda passed away on Monday at the age of 83.  His was a quarterback and a kicker during his football career, which spanned 26 seasons, No one played longer or scored more points than Blanda.

He began his career in 1949 with the Chicago Bears and ended it with the Oakland Raiders at the age of 48, just before the 1976 season.

Blanda was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981,

As a quarterback, Blanda had 1,911 completions out of 4,007 passes for 26,920 yards, 236 touchdowns.  In one game, he threw seven touchdown passes, a feat only four other quarterbacks have equaled.

Blanda was the original “long range field goal kicker”, knocking in 50+ yard field goals, which was unusual for his time. He kicked 335 field goals and 943 extra points, which is more than anyone else in football history.

I keep my 1969 Blanda with my Joe Namath, Gale Sayers, Johnny Unitas and Dick Butkus cards and looking back at Blanda’s numbers, it is clear why he belongs there.  I doubt we will ever see anyone play 25 seasons or until the age of 48 again, and certainly not with the kind of diversity to be able to take on the positions of Quarterback and Kicker.

Our Contest Is Officially Closed

That's it, no more entries.  All that's left is to pick a winner.  We'll draw for that winner and announce who it is after Monday Night Football.  Enjoy the game and good luck to all.

Last Chance To Win $225 Worth of Cards

Just a reminder, there are only 3 hours left to enter our contest for the 30+ card set valued at over $225.  Follow this link to learn how to enter.

How The Prize Set Came To Be.

YOU STILL HAVE UNTIL MONDAY TO ENTER TO WIN THIS SET, JUST FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR THE DETAILS.

Putting together the set for this contest was fun for me.   I love the idea of a common thread to a series of cards.  So let me explain how it was formed.

Originally, I was only going to take the comments that were based on incidents where “mental errors” or “lapses in judgment” came into play, but I realized that a common error can be just as devastating. 

Being “inspired,” I decided to use all of the comments to form this set, include a few more of my own.  So this set is truly a measure of your participation.  Here are the incidents that lead to the formation of the set.  Each of them links to an article about the play.

Chris Nelson steals home as Nick Masset winds up for his pitch.

Johnny Evers reverses the outcome of a game by tagging second base that Fred Merkle never touched, later dubbed “Merkle’s Boner.”

Milton Bradley throws a ball in the stands after catching what was only the second out of the inning. Larry Walker did the same thing several years prior.

Alex Rodriguez hits an easy out to Luis Castillo, who drops it.  Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira score on the play that changes the outcome of the game.

Mookie Wilson hit an easy ground ball that goes between Bill Buckner’s legs to score the winning run.

Travis Fryman bunts a ball to advance Enrique Wilson and gets to first as the ball hits him in the back.  Chuck Knoblauch argues for an interference call as Wilson rounds the bases and scores.

Pete Stoyanovich has his last second blocked.  Instead of letting the ball sit and the clock run out, Leon Lett tries to down the ball, misses, the Dolphins recover and Stoyanovich gets to kick the winning field goal.  In another incident, Leon Lett starts to celebrate a TD before he crosses the goal line.  Don Bebee knocks the ball out of his hand before he can score. 

DeSean Jackson does the same thing, but doesn’t need someone to knock the ball out of his hands, he does it all by himself.

Paul LoDuca catches Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew in a double play at the plate. Manager Willie Randolph recalled it happen to his team during his playing days as Carlton Fisk caught Bobby Meacham and Dale Berra in a double play at the plate.

Moises Alou goes up to catch what should be the second out of the inning but is prevented by Steve Bartman.  I couldn’t find a card for Steve Bartman, so I substituted a first issue of the Bartman comics.

During the 2006 World Series, Joel Zumaya overthrows a routine ground ball to Brandon Inge.

Jose Canseco lets a ball bounce off his head, over the fence for a homerun.

Torii Hunter dives for a liner off Mark Kotsay and misses.  Kotsay scores on an inside-the-park home run.

Eli Manning escapes a potential sack by two Patriots and throws to David Tyree who makes a miracle catch.

So there you go.  I hope you all like the set.  I threw in the 1960 Johnny Evers cause I thought it was a neat card.  

Good luck to all.  I hope to do more of these in the future.  Once again, you still have until Monday to enter if you haven't already, just follow this link.