Game ball #7? Not this time.

For the first time in awhile I almost caught a game ball. It all started when my friend, Kelly McMahon, texted me that she was sitting in Section 112 of Wrigley Field and that she had the mitt I lent her on Opening Day. My buddy, Mike Holzman, and I decided that her seats were better than ours so we headed down in her direction. Her friend had been using my mitt, but once I arrived she gave the mitt back to me.

A few innings later, a towering foul ball was lifted in our direction. None of us thought the ball would land in our section. However, the ball started to fall in our direction. Next thing I knew we were waiting for it to land. Thud! The ball bounced of Kelly’s friend’s hand – the same guy who had been using my mitt until I took it back. Oops!

The ball bounced a few rows in front of us and that was the end of our foul ball chances. Now, the conversation of catching foul balls generally does not come up unless a ball falls on you. When asked, I said I had either caught or picked up 6 game balls before (5 coming from 1993-1996 and 1 in 2004). Everything thinks I am lucky, but I tell them it’s because I have been to too many games. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile.

As for the game, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 596th career home run, Joey Votto had a career high 5 RBI, Tom Arnold sang the 7th inning stretch and the Cubs lost. After the game I went home to work since I had been at the game all afternoon.