TORONTO – Anyone who’s been to a ballgame knows the length some fans will go to to snag a ball.
Sure, on the surface it’s the same as any other baseball you can buy by the bag at any sports store. But there’s just something about catching a foul (or in this case, home run) ball that makes you feel like you’re part of the game.
There’s also something about catching a ball that causes (presumably) rational people to abandon all common sense: whether it’s using your beer as a catcher’s mitt, throwing a tantrum over a missed ball, or even catching a pop up with a baby strapped to your chest.
On that last note, we present to you the L.A. Angels fan who tried to catch a ball while carrying his young daughter – and very nearly sent both of them tumbling over a railing.
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During Monday’s game between the L.A. Angels of Anaheim and the Chicago White Sox, Angels All-Star Albert Pujols cranked his 32nd home run deep into left field.
The ball lands just in front of the fan bleachers in left field – and Angels fan Eli Strickland decides to make a play for the ball, lunging over the railing with his young daughter still in his arms.
Cameras captured the precarious moment Eli and his daughter very nearly took a nasty spill over the railing. Luckily, Strickland’s paternal instincts eventually took over from his inner sports fan, and he’s able to pull himself back from the brink.
Then, a moment of either sad or deserving karma (depending on your point of view) as the ball boy runs over to the foul ball – and promptly pitches it to another fan.
Don’t worry though, the Stricklands were not denied their memorabilia. In between innings, apparently tickled by Dad’s near-miss with disaster, the Angels broadcast team send a staffer down to give the family a ball of their own.
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