Baseballs Hit Into The Stands

Well, there's not much chance of those situations happening anymore.

Nowadays every stadium has netting that strings all the way down the lines to the foul poles, so it's virtually impossible for a line-drive to go screaming into the stands.

I understand the new mandate, and I actually grudgingly agree with it, but it sure takes away the pure glory of the view in the lower decks.

I hate watching the game through a net or screen. Fortunately I've always been more of an upper deck type of fan at baseball games, but I would always splurge once or twice a year and get a seat right on the field near a dugout. I hadn't sat down low since they put in the nets, but I did it once this year and the netting definitely made a difference, so I won't be sitting down low much if ever from now on.

BTW, Mr. Crab, that WAS you I saw at the Castro Theater a few weeks back at the Residents show, wasn't it? It's hard to tell these days with the masks, but I'm pretty sure we passed each other on the stairs and I made some lame comment about zoning.

That was a great show.

Carry on.

Dig it! 

You went to Crosley Field -?--   Lucky  !

I caught two in the same inning at Candlestick in 1985- upper deck. Almost no one up there and Kurt Bevaqua of the Padres was kind enough to hit 2 up to me. I snagged the first one as it was ready to bounce back down to the lower deck- I reached over the rail and grabbed and got a tasty hand from fans below. The second one landed at my feet and I gave it to the kid who came running over.

Some Came Running.

1996 with my (then) kid.

Bernie Williams foul ball went straight back to bounce off the bottom of the TV broadcast booth.

I caught it cleanly on the rebound. Gave it to the kid, and some pro photographers in the Cannon corporate box next to our seats took the kid's pic and e-mailed it to us.

That picture hanging on my wall and the ball in a plastic bag w the stub  .

Just went to a Yankees game with thirty-some year old him last month

It's a bit blurry, but that's me at the very end of last night's Giants/Dodgers game, against the brick wall reaching for the foul ball with my right hand. It juuust got over that other guy's left hand, and I got it.

A grasp for fame.

I got one a couple yrs ago at Oracle(on Jerry Day) before the nets were extended. Reached behind my seat as it bounced by and snagged it up.    Kuiper said "I think he pulled that one out of his beard".  Krukow "I think he did."  Gave it to a friend who was dying of cancer.  I think his son has it now.

When we were kids, mid 70s, my brother caught a foul ball at a giants vs pirates at candlestick. My uncle was so jealous. Vida blue pitched it. 
Years later I caught one at a braves vs marlins game. Yunel Escobar hit it. I also caught one at a minor league game in Salt Lake City. They were the Buzz at the time. Georgia Tech sued them and the changed their mascot and name. I enjoy they minor league games, they seem to be trying just a bit harder. 

When i was around 12 years old,  i saw a kid take a lined shot right to the forehead. The ball ricocheted about 20 ft straight up in the air, kid was a limp noodle. An usher carried the unconscious kid away. Tony Pena, the hitter, was visibly shaken.

Same game... Willie Stargell, pirate first base coach, tossed me a foul ball.

At a Cubs game against the Pirates at Wrigley Field in the 80s, I had some nice seats a few rows behind the dugout on the first base side. I don't recall who the batter for the Pirates was, but there was a broken bat single that launched the top half of the bat into the stands a couple of rows behind me, where it smacked an older woman right in the face and bloodied her nose pretty good.

I never caught a ball hit into the stands, but I never got smacked by a bat either.

Years ago at Yankee Stadium, we had box seats on the third base side and I went for cokes. Walking back with a coke in each hand, Horace Clark hits a foul ball. Pretty helpless with my hands full and these things happen so quickly. Not sure if it bounced first, but the ball hits my forearm near my elbow and rolls down off my wrist and to the floor where it rolls under the box seats and some guy in his seat reaches down for the ball and gets it, while I have two cold cokes on my chest and a soaked shirt from the rush of fans trying to get it. After hearing the previous story from Mark, now I wonder if the cameraman got that and the announcers laughed.     

Farm team games are fun in the beer garden left field down the line. Lot's of foul balls, and drunk ball chasers.  They are like Mardi Gras beads , worth a million dollars till the game is over.

Great thread.

Utahjim, your mention of the Salt Lake Buzz (now the Salt Lake Bees after the lawsuit) brought back memories of the Salt Lake Trappers winning the championship in 1987 and watching Bill Murray going up and down the edge of the stands holding the trophy and letting the fans see it close up and touch it. Murray was so great. Speaking of great, Frank Layden, former coach of the Utah Jazz, used to lead "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" from the stands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuXNV9HTVJ0

The Trappers were known for their 29 game winning streak. A couple of buddies drove up to Billings to see #30, but their drive home was not as joyous. 

It's a beautiful ballpark with stunning views of the Wasatch Mountains. The Bees are now the Triple A affiliate of the LA Angels. Cool to see a game there. 

Here's from Wikipedia:

The Salt Lake City Trappers were an independent Pioneer League minor league baseball team, based in Salt Lake City from 1985 to 1992. The ownership group included actor Bill Murray, who held a five percent stake in the team with Richard Knopf. The Trappers played their home games at Derks Field, located at the present-day site of Smith's Ballpark. The team is best known for winning 29 consecutive games in 1987 to establish an all-time record for all of professional baseball. The media frenzy surrounding "The Streak" gained national attention for the team - including a feature article in Sports Illustrated magazine. Memorabilia from the '87 squad is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

...and Clarke has an "e". 

Hockey pucks in the stands can also be dangerous...

Went to Derks in the 1980's -- wasn't that impressed with it  (The GULLS)  -  well before it was modernized.

I met Frank Layden at one of my softball games at Cottonwood Complex- his son was playing on the other team. He was sitting with his wife before we took the field and I said Hey Coach how you doing... shook his hand  ......all smiles -what a great guy.

Not to get off topic, but Frank's a great baseball fan and often goes to Arizona for spring training. At least he used to. Not sure about his current health. Frank's the absolute best. An amazing man.

Frank was good friends with Herman Franks. He invited me to his home for lunch sometime. I should call him now that I'm retired. He's been incredibly generous in a charity thing I was doing. 

When the Jazz were stinking things up and fans were sparse years ago, the story goes a fan asked "Hey Frank, when's the game start tonight?"  Frank replied "What time can you be there?"  

Klondike, I STILL call it Derks Field. Screw those corporate names. 

Saw Bryce Harper play A ball his first year... one game. 

He was 1-3 with a strike out and a hard hit, opposite field, line drive, home run. Hit a grass hill, it didn't bounce, nor roll...ball was buried in the hill.