Ball Boys

A number of years ago my son (who was out of college then) and I made an annual trip to Baltimore for Orioles games. We’d leave on a Friday morning and catch a game in Camden Yards that night, then one on Saturday and then drive back to Raleigh after a day game on Sunday.

One year we were there for a series with Detroit and during the Sunday game we were perched in centerfield.

Somewhere about the sixth inning Granderson, the Tiger’s centerfielder, got into one and hit a line shot into the centerfield bleachers that landed right between us and a rather large college kid.

We all hit the cement and wrestled for the ball. When the tussle ended the college kid was holding up his souvenir baseball.

That night we drove the 300 plus miles, five hour drive back to Raleigh where it was our habit to spend the night in Matt’s condo.

No sooner than we’d arrived on that Sunday night, while Matt checked his computer, I flipped on the TV.  ESPN came up showing the highlights of that Sunday’s game and suddenly there we were wrestling that kid for the Granderson homerun ball.

“Matt, get in here we’re on ESPN wrestling for that ball!”

Matt, obviously NOT impressed, just said, “Good!”  and went back to checking the computer for his Fantasy Baseball results for the day.

The next morning, I got up early and went to work and when I walked into my office my phone was ringing. It was Matt, “Dad, hey I just turned on the TV and ESPN reran that shot of us fighting for the ball again. We are so f-ing fat!”