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You Earned It
2003-07-21 08:57
Jocular were the St. Louis Cardinal fans that sat in the next aisle. And jockle they did after one of them caught a foul ball off a Redbird bat in the second inning with a single bare hand. At first, an unaffiliated guy nearby started yelling for the fan to throw the ball back - until realizing that the Cardinal fan would want to keep a ball from one of his boys. Then, a guy from within the St. Louis Fan Clan exhorted this fan, who had made a terrific catch, to give the ball to a kid. In fact, he started an entire cheer that gained bipartisan Dodger/Cardinal fan participation - "Give it to a kid!" I can't say that I understand the Oliver Twist element here at all. While it's cool to get any ball that was actually used in a major-league game, the value of catching the ball yourself trumps all associated values. Plus, a "kid" has the rest of his or her life to get a ball. Who knows if a grown man will ever get another shot at one? The guy kept his ball, and I was glad. Five innings later, a foul ball came to the stands - in almost the exact same spot - and our new friend who had campaigned for the ball giveaway before was the guy who caught it now. The crowd immediately rose up to see if he would live up to his politics. And he did. He even eschewed a middle-aged kid (that would be a teenager) and found a true tyke. More power to him, I guess. But for me, no amount of cheers or jeers will pry that treasure from my hands.
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