See now, I don't have kids, but I side with the slob haters on this one. How can you refute MadMax's post? A four year old wanting a foul ball? Makes sense. A forty year old wanting a foul ball? Makes me want to cry.
exactly...it's just....for lack of a better word...dorky. i just don't understand it. have you never touched a baseball before?? they use a bunch of them in any one game....thousands in a year. they're not a big deal, really.
Actually, I would have tried to pick a fight with him, talking sarcastically about what a "real man" he was for taking that ball away from a little boy. I would have pushed his buttons, gotten him to throw the first punch and beat his ass to a pulp. Whenever I go to a Braves game with my buddies without my son, I always catch fouled-off balls and give them to kids. Why do I need 'em? To a child, it makes their day. And besides, I'm with Imadrummer. To dive like that and give the kid the ball would likely score you some points with the ladies. The coolest thing was the time my son and I had dugout seats and he made a perfect play on the foulball and got on the jumbotron. Being the little showman my son is when he heard the cheers, he bowed. Guess humility is hard when you're my offspring, because it's not exactly like you had a great example......
Except that you don't see what happened prior to the guy being in the kid's seat. All we see is him already over the seat, kicking the kid and assauting the mother and pinning the kid against the seats in front of him and pushing him out of the way with his fat ass when he's trying to get back to his mother. Once he did the stupid thing and got the ball, I'm with him that I wouldn't have given it up, either, since he is already the bad guy, might as well keep the souvenir. But I don't understand the need to attempt to hurt other people just to get a stupid Gary Matthews, Jr. foul ball. I'm pretty sure I could get Gary Matthews, Jr. on my softball team if I asked. But I can see how he could have instinctualy went for the ball, fell over the row of chairs, and being caught up in the thrill of it all, never have been conscious of the shooken up kid, till way after the fact. He wasn't going for the ball, either, until it was on the ground at the woman's feet. And then he dove for it. There wasn't momentum carrying him forward, he had to dive to get where the ball was. The only way he makes it to that position is by purposely jumping at that woman's legs, knowing that he's jumping at some lady's legs It would be a slightly different case if the guy was attempting to catch the ball as it was coming to him and got off-balance and just accidentally fell over. He didn't do that, though. He made a dive at some lady's legs, knocking a kid out of the way. If I do that at the local pool, for example, I'm going to jail. I'm not saying I would sue. Lets make that clear. But if this guy wanted to, he may have something. Truth is an absolute defense to defamation/slander suits. Nothing the reporters said was untrue. He made himself look like a fool. His only case would be against himself. He's just lucky he's not getting criminal charges filed against him.
And it has been noted that when the guy and his female companion left, they went up different aisles. I don't know if that means they didn't leave together or what. Diving at some strange woman's legs and kicking a kid to get a worthless Gary Matthews, Jr. foul ball isn't likely to impress your date. I've dated the same woman for about three years now. She'd break up with me if I did something like that. And I wouldn't blame her because who'd want to be with someone who places so little value for other people and so much value on something worthless?
mrpaige -- your signature is freaking hilarious!!! i love that!! and i even like Ethan Hawke...but that's just funny.
I haven't read this whole thread so I may be repeating some ideas but this story is an example how saturated the news market is. The guy fell over his seat trying to catch a fly ball. He landed against a kid. Who gives a flip. 20 years ago this wouldn't have been a blip on the radar. But with the saturation of news and sports stations on cable, anything out of the ordinary becomes an overblown story giving the chance for a bunch of loud mouths to get on their freakin high horses. The way this story got coverage was ridiculous, and people on television admonishing this guy for something so trivial is just an example of why there is too many of this idiots on the air.
He didn't fall. He jumped after the ball had landed. If he fell, I could probably excuse it. Still an idiot, but not a malacious one.
so b/c it has no intrinsic value, he's an ******* for doing what he did. but, if it was something like barry bond's 73rd home run, it would have been ok? basically, it all depends on how much the ball could be worth? geez. it's either wrong or right to do what he did regardless of whether it's a foul or homerun. make up your minds. can't have it both ways.
It wouldn't make any difference to me whether it was a Bonds home run ball or a Gary Matthews, Jr. foul ball, though I think if it was a ball that could be valuable, the guy probably wouldn't have waited until the ball landed before going for it AND I think more people could understand him not giving it to the kid after the fact if the ball had some actual monetary value (or even some actual sports value. I'd be more impressed with someone's autographed Thunder Joe Gunderson ball than a Gary Matthews, Jr. foul ball... and I'm not impressed at all at a Thunder Joe Gunderson autographed ball). But I wouldn't have gone for the ball either way, certainly not in the way that he did.
I like Ethan Hawke, too, to a degree, though I don't know that I want him to be the enduring legacy of my generation.
re-read my post...i simply said then i could understand putting a value on the ball that would make you dive for it and ask questions later. i never excused that, though. in fact, i said i wish people would worry more about respecting each other than they would about the value of a baseball. but i come back to my point....this ball is worthless...and i can't imagine freaking out like a giddy schoolgirl at a Justin Timberlake concert at the thought of catching it.
The kid and his family were just on Good Morning America, they flew them to New York. They just told the story, the one we already knew. Just because of a guy who just cared about a foul ball and no one else, this family is being treated pretty good.
OK, did anyone watch "Sportscenter" this morning? On the "Top Ten Plays of the Week", play #9 was more appaling to me than this alleged jerk at the Rangers game. A guy jumped up to catch a foul ball with his left hand while his BABY was in his right hand! Putting your own child at risk for a foul ball is beyond ludicrous. Yet this gets no publicity? How come? His actions were beyond those of the "Rangers jerk" b/c its his own freakin' kid! Instead, he got a rousing ovation by the people around him. Sickening.
/\ /\ /\ i'd like to read the justification for his actions. please tell us. why was that not deserving of ridicule?
I'd think putting somebody else's child in danger is worse than putting your own child in danger. Reason? Because if you cause harm to your child then YOU have to deal with it but if you do harm to somebody else's child YOU as well the child's parents/guardians have to deal with it as well. His actions may have been wrong, I didn't see the play but I don't think you can use this to justify what the Rangers idiot did.
I'm not using it to justify, I just want to know why HE got a standing ovation while the "Rangers jerk" was treated like an ass. I think the father was worse in this case... How could you put your own freakin' child in harm's way? Why no public outcry for this guy? Why is he celebrated for making the catch? His baby could have been plunked on the head and died. There was less chance that the dazed 6-year old would have died from the "Rangers jerk" Media hype pisses me off.
It was a cool one handed catch. He didn't plow over anyone to do it. He'll probably give the ball to his kid. And he didn't put his kid in any real danger to do it. THAT would be a cool ball to have. Along with your picture catching it.
Well the guy holding his kid did put the kid in danger but nothing happened and the Rangers idiot actually made contact, almost kicking the kid in the head/face. I'm sure if the child would've got hit with the ball more emphasis would've been put on if the child was alright and then they would have came down on the dad. The Rangers idiot made contact, gave no effort to see if the child was alright, then held up the ball like he did something great and then proceeded to be an ass about it.
