Baseball possibly bans ball-collecting freak...

Can't say I'd mind seeing this guy banned. Show a little class at the damn ballpark. I've never gotten a foul ball at a game, and yet somehow I manage to get through every day without one.

I've seen a no-hitter in person. I've seen a complete-game shutout in the playoffs. I was even in the stands for the very first major league game of one of my favorite players of all time, a future hall of famer who I won't name (I've told the story too many times. Would definitely out me to at least a few people). There are plenty of things you can take from a day at the ballpark other than a foul ball.

Most of the games I went to as a kid were with a friend of the family who had these great box seats behind home plate. But they were so close that any balls that made it over the screen fell well behind us.

One time I went with a buddy of mine. I stood up to watch a foul ball and took a step toward the aisle before seeing it would hit behind us. Damn thing took a couple of crazy bounces and landed right in my buddy's lap. He hadn't even turned to look back for it.

To this day, that story is more funny to me than anything.

 

One time during a spring training game (I was a wee lad), Al Bumbry of the Orioles asked me to get him a snow cone. I had a ball and told him I would if he got everyone to sign it, so I got a sweet Brooks Robinson autograph that way and Al Bumbry got a grape snow cone.

 

For next year's team, that'll be an even trade.

 

What's the deal with Rickey Henderson? My first ball was a BP home run by Henderson at Kauffman Stadium. Hit the seat directly behind me, fluttered in the air, easy catch. I later got a Juan Gonzalez BP homer, but the hit before, my buddy tried a barehand catch and failed. Since he paid for parking, I felt bad and gave him the ball. He has a Juan Gone ball and I have a Henderson ball.

 

Sad news everyone: there is no plan to ban Hample from Big League parks, so he is free to roam and maul innocent boys and girls to his delight. In light of this: PLEASE spread the word to any friends you might have on Major League teams to boycott this wack-job and not throw him any balls.

 

This is so disturbing that I had to post it twice:

 

Dude, seriously, did this guy fuck your mom or something?

And there are no shorts in baseball, either, tough guy.

 

Other then looking similar to Derek Jeter, I think this guy is awesome. I hope MLB is not this stupid to ban a fan of the game.

 

Try working with him for two years and constantly hear his rantings and ravings. I'll crack a smile when I learn of the day he comes back from a game empty-handed. And Mr. Indians (Big Dan?), this guy has admitted he wouldn't go to games if he couldn't get a ball. How 'bout let other people get a shot, huh? Either that or use all those balls to raise some charity money for a worthy cause?

PS - This picture is from a HR derby. I know well enough that you don't play ball in shorts. I'm not a White Sox fan or anything.

 

Dude, I'm doing you a favor: You might not like this guy, and your reasons for not liking him might be perfectly valid, but your endless harping about him on a message board makes you seem like a bitch.

 

I wasted 15 minutes reading this guy's Web site the other night. Between the ball collection, the 200-pound rubber band ball he built and the memorization of all three-letter words for Scrabble tournaments, I am fully expecting him to hole himself up in a Vegas motel, cover his hands with tissue paper and urinate into milk bottles. This guy is crazier than a shithouse rat.