It didn’t take long Sunday for a broadcast clip of a male Chicago Cubs fan swiping a baseball meant for a little boy to go viral. The Twittersphere was outraged by the apparent audaciousness of an adult ballhawk.
But it also didn’t take long for the actual truth to be when it was determined the man had already helped that kid, and a couple of others, get balls earlier in the game.
When going to a baseball game, DON'T be this guy.
— Cut4 (@Cut4)
I spoke with people from the Cubs. The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helped the little boy get a ball earlier. The young man has a game used ball and a Javy Baez ball. All is well. Guy is A-OK so let it go people.
— David Kaplan (@thekapman)
Still, even those late-to-emerge facts didn’t change the minds of many couch critics who saw disappointment in the kid’s face when the ball, tossed to him in the front row by Chicago first-base coach Will Venable, ended up in the hands of the man’s gleeful wife.
The kid ended up — in addition to the ball purportedly fetched for him earlier in the game by the would-be villain — but the internet debate raged on: What is the proper etiquette for ballhawking?
It’s a multifaceted question that I took into the Rockies’ clubhouse Tuesday ahead of the homestand opener against Houston at Coors Field.
“It’s increased,” manager Bud Black said. “Ballhawking for me now (means) every inning. If the first baseman comes in and has the ball, he throws it up to the fans. It can be brutal. It can be dangerous. It can be warfare. There can be injuries.”
Black said that with a half-smile, his statements part hyperbole and part ugly truth. The rise of the competitive ballhawk — specifically, grown men intent on collecting as many foul balls, home runs and end-of-inning throwaways as possible — is on consistent display at games throughout the major leagues.
Zack Hample, the most has collected more than 10,000 balls and written multiple books on the subject. The 40-year-old has also who say undermine the fun for others, namely kids trying to reel in their first ball.
Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino, well-versed in Hample’s resume and the overall ballhawking trend, believes there’s a fine line to be walked as an adult who’s trying to take home a sphere souvenir.
“If you’re taking balls away from kids — I don’t like that, and that’s my main concern about ballhawking,” Ottavino said. “Other than that, if (Hample) wants to get there at stadiums and do all the statistical research to catch balls, I’ve got no problem with it.”
Black also reminisced about the best ballhawking he has seen in his decades-long career as a player and coach.
“There was nothing better than at Candlestick Park when a home run would be hit to left field, and you’d see people jump out of the bleachers and then run to retrieve the ball because there was a big space between the outfield wall in San Francisco and where the stands where,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rockies were consistent in their answers about who they prefer end up with the balls they toss into the stands.
“I look for young kids, boys and girls,” Trevor Story said. “And if we’re on the road, that’s easy — I look for Rockies fans.”
That sort of player mind-set benefits kids like Brayden Sherred, in town visiting from Albuquerque. Down on the field watching batting practice Tuesday, the 9-year-old scoped out his favorite player, Charlie Blackmon, as hordes of fans had already gathered along the outfield lines and in the left-field bleachers, camping out for a ball.
Sherred has received a couple of balls, but he has never caught a foul ball or a home run. He knows the competition — both man and child alike — makes it tough to do so.
“Catching a ball would be at the top of the list,” Sherred said. “But I’d definitely need to use my mitt.”
Footnotes. Story reacted to being named the Rockies’ 2018 selection for the Hustle & Heart Award, noting “those are the things that I pride myself on, and I know it’s a big deal to win this award.” … The shortstop also talked about the journal he has kept over the course of his professional career that has helped him stabilize at the plate this season as a first-time all-star. “It’s important to write down the stuff I’m feeling when I’m going bad, and also when it’s going good. It’s just little things to look back on. This game’s hard, and you’re not always going to be doing great, so I just write things down to let myself come back to that if I’m not feeling good.” … The Rockies reinstating southpaw Harrison Musgrave (4.76 ERA) from the disabled list. With the move, fellow left-hander Chris Rusin (6.81) was sent to the 10-day disabled list with left plantar fasciitis… Right-handed starter German Marquez, on paternity leave in Venezuela, welcomed his son into the world on Tuesday,
Looking ahead
Astros RHP Charlie Morton (11-2, 2.96 ERA) at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (8-7, 5.44), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM; 850 AM
Amid the best season of his veteran career — and coming off his first all-star appearance — Morton faces a Colorado lineup that’s chewed him up in the past, hitting a collective .301 (25-for-83) with three homers against the right-hander. That doesn’t include the bomb Trevor Story hit off him during the recent All-Star Game, and Morton owns a 7.84 ERA in his previous two starts at Coors Field. Meanwhile, Gray looks to carry over the momentum from his July 14 start in Seattle, his first outing since being recalled from Triple-A, in which he allowed just one run over 7.1 innings. The Astros have seen little of Gray, with only eight total at-bats against him.
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Athletics LHP Sean Manaea (9-6, 3.38 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (8-6, 3.28), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Saturday: Athletics LHP Brett Anderson (1-2, 6.08) at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-3, 5.55), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Sunday: Athletics RHP Frankie Montas (5-2, 3.35) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (8-8, 5.00), 1:10 p.m. ATTRM
