Nice gesture by a fan

[jppopma]

While I often take the daddy role in these arguments and will readily admit that I am now at the games just for my kids, I do feel that there is too much pressure to let kids get away with everything.

I for one will get front row seats to take my kids to the game and give them a chance to interact with the players (if they get anything, that's just a bonus). Even with my two kids there at the game with me, I am often made to look like the bad guy for not allowing 10 other kids (sometimes with parents too) to come and push my family out of the way and want to stand right in front of us and our seats. It gets pretty obnoxious and I can't blame anyone for being jaded toward those brats.

My kids are taught respect in talking with these players. Also that if they want a ball or something, that daddy will not ask for them and that they have to use manners and accept not getting one. It's really not hard for them to figure out and they are only 5 and 2. While they do pretty decent getting balls, I know that the games they enjoy and remember are ones where they get a bunch of high fives or sit and talk to a player for 20 minutes about who watches their dogs when they are out of town (yes, major serious concerns of a then 4 year old).

Back to the pressure to the kidless fans, who are we, the other fans, or announcers to tell them what they need to do with that ball or bat? How does anyone know what their plans are with it? Everyone immediately thinks that they are keeping it for themselves or planning to sell it. What if they have a kid, nephew(or niece Frik), or grandkid who is a super fan but not at the game with them....and they plan to take it home for someone alot more special that someone they don't even know.

[cjclong]

jppopma. It was absolutely clear that NO ONE pressured or tried to force the Orioles fan to give the bat to anyone. TOTALLY ON HIS OWN he decided to give the bat to a young boy who he knew to be a Josh Hamilton fan. That was very kind of him. It was something nice he did on his own and would have been the same story if the Orioles fan had given the bat to an 80 year old man who was a Hamilton fan. Look, I'm a Hamilton fan. If I had caught the bat the I would have kept it. If a kid had asked me for it I would have told him I was keeping the bat. So why do you, and other people keep writing in with what seems to be objections or reasons the guy shouldn't have given the bat to the kid. If a man had caught a bat or ball and some kid had come up and whinned about the man not giving it to him then you would have a reason to write about kids demanding a ball. That did not happen here. What I see is that every time there is a story about someone doing something nice for another person , and not just in the sprots world, there is always some person who writes in and gives some reason why the person who did the kind act shouldn't have done it. And I'm tired of it and that's why I won't let go of this. It was nice story about a man who did an act of kindess and that's all that needed to be said!

[jppopma]

cjclong: My post was in reply to the overall trend of things at the stadiums and in reference to many of the other post. Please accept my apologies for raining on your Kumbaya party about the niceness of this guy.

[cjclong]

No apology needed. Actually I agree with you and the others who believe many kids have a sense of entitlement and are allowed to act in a rude manner with no supervision and sometimes the encouragement of their parents .And I truly appreciate parents who teach their kids to be polite, its often all too rare. I just felt that topic ought to be in a separate thread (but I have to admit I'm sure I've gotten off topic in threads myself). What did bother me was people who came up with reasons why the man shouldn't do something nice for someone. Its been a long time since I was a kid and I remember to this day times that people went out their way to be kind to me and it reminds me that its good to do nice things for others (although I admit I don't do those things myself nearly as often as I might.) People often complain, and with good reason ,about some who act entitled to things. But the other side of the coin is people who adopt the idea, "I've got mine, the heck with you." I just felt there was something mean spirited about people coming up with essentially bogus reasons about why the genteman shouldn't have given the bat to the boy.

[spartanservitto]

Parents used to yell at me when I was in high school, me and my friends would go down almost every day to get autographs after our jobs. It always made me mad, we sacrifice ourselves, buy tickets on minimum wage jobs in order to meet our favorite players.... And now I'm getting lectured by someone who has more than enough money to go to a pro shop and buy their kid an autograph because they work a 9 to 5 salary job , and I'm supposed to let their child in when I've been their for 2 hours. I have no problem making room, and I also have no problem getting out of the way after I get mine ( i did it for josh Hamilton), but what bothers me is because I am in my mo twenties I'm not allowed to enjoy my favorite players and want to enjoy receiving a piece of memorabilia.

-Tony

[spartanservitto]

I also feel sick sometimes thinking what happens to this stuff these kids receive. I remember seeing a video of a kid swinging a Ryan Zimmerman bat around, banging it on seats etc. I guess I was always different and saw the value and history of items even at a young age.

-Tony

[EurekaDave]

OK. What about this? Suppose the adult kept the bat and then bought another souvenir for the kid.

Eureka Dave

[cjclong]

Two things .First, The gentleman who gave the bat the bat to the boy wasn't obligated to give him anything. He did it out of the goodness of his heart. No need to buy him anything. Second, It looked like the youngster was old enough to appreciate the bat. But if he wanted to swing it, a big so what? Its not Babe Ruth's 60th home run or Jeter's 3,000 hit bat. It's just a game bat of which there are dozens that was tossed into the stands. If appreciating it is the test now if an adult catches a bat are we going to do a check and see if he truly appreciates the significance of the bat and if he doesn't take it away and give it to a fan who knows more about bats? Just another manufactured reason not to give it to the kid.

[camarokids]

No apology needed. Actually I agree with you and the others who believe many kids have a sense of entitlement and are allowed to act in a rude manner with no supervision and sometimes the encouragement of their parents .And I truly appreciate parents who teach their kids to be polite, its often all too rare.

\You should see the kids at our little league park. They run around and disrespect the property. Throwing rocks on the fields and the roof of the clubhouse. Running on fields that have painted for the next game. Throwing trash on the ground. Their parents let them run around with reckless abandon. I did have a sandbox built in the offseason to help them find constructive stuff to do and not destroy the place. Has not helped totally.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program !

[ncbadges]

I can't believe this thread is still going....lol


ncb