Nice gesture by a fan

[camarokids]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

I don't disagree with your statement, but (and I have said this before) I do believe that PARENTS are raising their children to feel entitled. What I mean by that is that I have been going to baseball games for as long as I can remember and in the last few years, it has gotten really bad when an ADULT catches a foul ball or home run ball and is pressured by the fans (usually PARENTS) to give up the ball to a child (usually their's!).

I've been to well over 1,000 baseball games (not including Spring Training and Minor League) and in that time I have never had a bat come near me, I have retrieved ONE (1) Home Run ball and TWO (2) Foul Balls. In batting practice I have gotten maybe 50 balls over the years (just over a ball a year for the last 40 years) and NONE of those were 'given' to me when I was younger because I was a kid.

As I have explained to many players when getting autographs when they say 'I only sign for kids'... don't forget who paid for that $30, $40 etc $ box seat that the kids are sitting in. Many players respect that and then do sign.

But the autograph issue goes hand in hand with this issue - the 'entitlement' state of mind.

When graphing, I get to the park when the gates open, go get a spot on the wall and wait. It never fails how magically, just as the players show up, some PARENTS say. "Hey, you need to let the kids get up there. You guys should move for my child. Etc Etc Etc."

I'm sorry, lack of planning on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine.

Sorry for the rant, but my take is this:

You caught it it's yours. You keep it, I'm fine with that. You want to give it away, I'm fine with that too.

But when people play the 'remember the kids' card, that irks the living you know what out of me.

And for the record, I am a PARENT and I never played the BS for my son.

- Smitty

Very well said Smitty! That is what I was trying to say!

I remember in 1999 at The Trop, I was in the front row waiting for BP to end and the players to come off the field to sign auto's. Some lady says to me to let the kids in. I said you need to get here early to get in the front row. I wasn't about to move for a kid or anyone. I did scoot over a few inches, as far as I could, to try an make some room.

Quite a few times a parent would say to let the kids in. I would say "get here early". After awhile I would just ignore them!

I think it was great for the guy to give the Hambone bat to the kid. But it irks the hell out of me about the other kid who ran up trying to get the bat and he succeeded.

[camarokids]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

The messed up thing is, let's say it's your favorite player, and you catch the bat. Next thing you know a kid runs up to you asking for it. Of course you don't give it to him. The next thing you know the entire stadium is booing you and you end up on the front page of yahoo....

Then you do an interview and give your side! Or flip everyone off!

[Klattsy]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

I'm sorry, lack of planning on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine.

Sorry for the rant, but my take is this:

You caught it it's yours. You keep it, I'm fine with that. You want to give it away, I'm fine with that too.

- Smitty

I agree with Smitty, when I watch the games on TV, I see kids run straight over to whoever caught the ball and just stick a hand out. It disgusts me. I also see kids here leaning over fences calling out for balls like its an entitlement, not a gift.

I wonder what would happen if (when!) I visit the states to watch a ball game, and I catch a foul ball, I would want to keep that souvenir as a memory of my trip. I don't want to be called out on national TV about it. Although I would not act like a douche and pose for photos while a crying kid was next to me.

Having said that, at the games here in Australia, I don't run around the park to chase a foul ball. However I must admit I am jealous when the kids get the HR balls

Mark.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Smitty:

That's the same thing I've said to pushy parents at both Chicago parks who think that I should just up and leave halfway into BP to let their kids up front. The problem is far more prevelant at Cubs games than at the Cell. Heck, one female senior citizen usher who recently retire from her job at Wrigley Field used to try and push the adults around and chase them so the kids could take their spots. She never tried that with me, but she succeeded with most of the fans she attempted to browbeat.

Dave Miedema

[cjclong]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

I think everyone here agrees that if a person, be they child or adult, catches a ball or gets a bat its theirs and they can do with it what they want. And that is just the point. A Baltimore fan got a Hamilton bat and, on his own with no pressure, gave it to a young boy who was a Hamilton fan. The first few posts were that is really nice, which it was. Then we started getting posts on why did he do that ,and the kid didn't really want it and would rather have an ice cream. The idea then becomes that the fan, instead of being a nice guy, was a dumb shmuck because he didn't keep the bat for himself. Let me say right now, I don't have any kids and I have no use for pushy kids and/or pushy parents. But I also have no use for when people run down someone who does something nice. Sometimes a person gets more pleasure out of doing something nice for someone else just because they want to and those acts make this place a better world.

[frikativ54]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

But I also have no use for when people run down someone who does something nice. Sometimes a person gets more pleasure out of doing something nice for someone else just because they want to and those acts make this place a better world.

+1. This is exactly how I feel.

[coxfan]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

When a person gets an artifact from a game ( which is what a g-u ball or bat is), it should be entirely his/her right what to do with it. At the South Carolina Gamecocks' stadium, ball-hawking has increased dramatically since the Gamecocks' two straight national titles. And with over 7,000 fans per game, it's getting impossible to get a ball; whenever a foul comes out, there's already a mob waiting for it before it lands!

But there's no "give it to the kids" or "throw it back" nonsense. Probably half the adults who get a foul keep it, and nobody hassles them. I hope that doesn't change. But this Hamilton bat increased a lot in value with Hamilton's record-setting performance shortly thereafter in the same series. I hope the giver doesn't now regret giving it; and I hope the receiver of the bat values and keeps it.

[cjclong]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Once again, nobody on this thread , including me who started it, has said that a person who catches a ball, bat, etc. has any obligation to give it to anyone else. In fact, I said that being a Hamilton fan, I would have kept the bat. The facts were clear, an Orioles fan caught the Hamilton bat and, without anybody pressure from anyone, gave it to a boy who was a Hamilton fan. Very nice thing to do, end of story. Except then we started getting stuff about how stupid the guy was to give it away and gee, now maybe the bat is worth a fortune and the guy may be sorry he gave it away. This now seems to go under the heading of no good deed goes unpunished. The man was briefly interviewed afterward and he appeared knowledgable about baseball and a very nice man and I suspect the pleasure it gave him to give the bat to the kid was worth more to him than any money he could have get for the bat. As I said, I would have kept the bat, but that does not keep me from appreciating the kindness of a man who made a young boy happy, unlike some of the people writing in here who for some reason can't stand to hear or see someone doing something nice for someone else.

[camarokids]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

I don't think anyone called the guy stupid. It is a great thing to give things to people to make them happy. It makes you feel good.

When my son was in preschool they were talking about baseball. So I took my pink bats in to school to show them. I also gave every boy in the class a game used baseball. I was two balls short so I went home and grabbed two more and came back.

I enjoy doing good for others. I have been told quite often I am a generous person. Which is just the way I am.

What I do not enjoy is seeing and hearing of some people expecting things to be given to them. Or the thinking that they are more deserving than you!

[coxfan]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Any kindness, even a simple compliment, can plant a positive seed and be remembered for years. I'm sure everyone hear also agrees that the sense of entitlement with baseball artifacts is wrong, and doesn't seem to have parallel in other forms of entertaiment.

[frikativ54]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

I also gave every boy in the class a game used baseball.

Just guys???

[camarokids]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Just guys???

Yes just the boys. The girls had no interest, I am not sure why.

[frikativ54]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Yes just the boys. The girls had no interest, I am not sure why.

Oh, okay.

[cjclong]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Hope we can just all agree it was a nice gesture.

[camarokids]

Re: Nice gesture by a fan

Hope we can just all agree it was a nice gesture.

It was definitely a nice gesture! A very generous thing to do!

Karma, I bet it will come back to the guy that gave the bat away (in a good way).