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KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE FOUL BALL
April 8, 2009I've always been a sucker for catching foul balls, or trying to.
Whenever I go to a baseball game, I feel a compulsion to position myself where there is a reasonable chance of a foul ball coming my way.
OK, the photo attached here is blurry and difficult to decipher, but -- trust me -- that outstretched arm in the highlighted area is mine.
I was in the bleachers at an Atlanta Braves game about 8 years ago.
If you really scrutinize the photo you might detect my then 2-year old daughter McKensie tucked underneath my left arm, just inches away from the screaming line drive I was grabbing with my right hand, off the bat of St. Louis Cardinals player Bobby Bonilla.
Just seconds before I made this impressive catch (which obviously brought the crowd to its feet) I had assured my wife that if a foul ball came flying our way, I'd turn away from it and shield her and our baby daughter from danger.
Well, I forgot to do that, but fortunately I caught the ball.
But perhaps my most impressive grab of a foul ball came about five years later, also with my daughter close at hand, and putting her in a different kind of peril.
I was driving slowly along Jess Neely Drive, which runs directly next to Vanderbilt's baseball stadium, trying to decide if I should park and maybe take in a few innings of baseball.
As I moved along, with my daughter riding safely in her car seat, I suddenly spotted a foul ball soaring over the top of the bleachers, bouncing into the road.
Incredibly, as I approached the bouncing baseball, I opened the car door and -- with the car still moving -- was able to grab the ball with my left hand as it bounced near the car.
I never stopped the car.
I closed the door and kept driving.
My daughter didn't seem to comprehend the miraculous nature of the grab her daddy had just made.
Chances are she didn't see it.
Fortunately, neither did the authorities.
Trust me, it was a "foul ball snag" for the ages!
____________________
Click Here to send a comment to DanClick Here to return to Dan Miller's Notebook
Whenever I go to a baseball game, I feel a compulsion to position myself where there is a reasonable chance of a foul ball coming my way.
OK, the photo attached here is blurry and difficult to decipher, but -- trust me -- that outstretched arm in the highlighted area is mine.
I was in the bleachers at an Atlanta Braves game about 8 years ago.
If you really scrutinize the photo you might detect my then 2-year old daughter McKensie tucked underneath my left arm, just inches away from the screaming line drive I was grabbing with my right hand, off the bat of St. Louis Cardinals player Bobby Bonilla.
Just seconds before I made this impressive catch (which obviously brought the crowd to its feet) I had assured my wife that if a foul ball came flying our way, I'd turn away from it and shield her and our baby daughter from danger.
Well, I forgot to do that, but fortunately I caught the ball.
But perhaps my most impressive grab of a foul ball came about five years later, also with my daughter close at hand, and putting her in a different kind of peril.
I was driving slowly along Jess Neely Drive, which runs directly next to Vanderbilt's baseball stadium, trying to decide if I should park and maybe take in a few innings of baseball.
As I moved along, with my daughter riding safely in her car seat, I suddenly spotted a foul ball soaring over the top of the bleachers, bouncing into the road.
Incredibly, as I approached the bouncing baseball, I opened the car door and -- with the car still moving -- was able to grab the ball with my left hand as it bounced near the car.
I never stopped the car.
I closed the door and kept driving.
My daughter didn't seem to comprehend the miraculous nature of the grab her daddy had just made.
Chances are she didn't see it.
Fortunately, neither did the authorities.
Trust me, it was a "foul ball snag" for the ages!
____________________
Click Here to send a comment to DanClick Here to return to Dan Miller's Notebook
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