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I Finally Got A Baseball

An obsession resolved. But does it "count?"

Ron Claiborne

Apr 18
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Mission: Accomplished?

I wrote last summer about my lifelong quest to get a baseball from a game (home run or foul ball or just a ball thrown into the stands by a player).

It finally happened on Easter Sunday at a home game between the Yankees' triple A minor league team, the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Railriders, and the visiting Norfolk Tide (the Baltimore Orioles’ triple A team).

My friend Josh and I were strategically seated on the left field side of the stands, prime territory for foul balls sliced off by left handed batters. There were not many more than 100 fans in attendance which I assessed was good for me. It would mean not having to fight a frenetic mob for a ball that landed in the stands.

Sure enough in the 5th inning, a Tide batter chipped at a pitch and sent it flying straight toward me. I rose. Here it was, closing fast. A little high and to my right but easily within my reach. I stuck out my right hand. The ball smacked my thumb as I tried to close my hand around it, then it caromed off to the left, landing on the ground in the empty row in front of ours. Josh moved to get it but I immediately reckoned that if he got to it first and gave it to me, it wouldn’t really be “mine.” It would be a humiliating act of charity. So I cut Josh off, leaned down and snatched it.

I examined the treasure I held. It was scuffed up and bore a mysterious blue stain. No matter. I had done it.

But, just as Roger Maris’s 61 home runs were at first assigned an asterisk,* the authenticity of my foul ball for my purposes was soon called into question. My friend, Bill, to whom I texted a photo of the prize replied with congratulations, but added: “I guess you still need one from the big leagues cool as it is to have one from Scranton.”

I guess the quest continues.

Photo credit: me

* Maris hit his 61 home runs in 162 games. Babe Ruth hit 60 in a 154-game season, initially earning Maris an asterisk in the record books. It was later removed and was recognized as the record.

The original article:

https://secondacts.bulletin.com/149359720602824/?source=copy_cta

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Comments
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15 Comments

  • David Kerley
    Writes Full Throttle
    Excellent. I have a couple. But I hold the ball with the writing right side up when I take a picture. But... you were excited.
    • 3w
    • Author
      Ron Claiborne
      Ouch! Yeah. I wasn't thinking clearly. But now that I've had a taste of glory. I want more.
      • 3w
  • Jane Wells
    Writes Wells $treet
    This counts. You fought for it. Cut someone off. Mission accomplished.
    • 3w
    • Author
      Ron Claiborne
      I think my friend, Josh, was a little startled at my aggression despite having earlier called my goal an "obsession." Now, he has seen what obsession can do to a person. It isn't always pretty.
      • 3w
  • Lori Elmore Ryle
    Very cool Ron! Congrats!!
    • 3w
  • Wendell Cotton
    If you remember Mom and Dad and I were at Dodger Stadium on a regular basis in the 60s. We never came close to a foul ball but I was always ready. Fast forward to Turner Field in 2008. I’m down the left field line in the second deck with a good line of…
    See more
    • 3w
  • Thomas Finley
    Hey Ron, next time you’re in , let me know so we can reconnect, ok. BTW, my 11 yr old g-daughter snagged a ball last Friday @ a RR’s game. She’s available for tips! 😎
    • 3w
    • Author
      Ron Claiborne
      Ouch!
      • 3w
    View 1 more reply
  • Tom Lubart
    so you had an easter miracle .. mazel tov. your quest for a major league ball can continue, but you've more than scratched the surface.
    • 3w
    • Author
      Ron Claiborne
      It was just an appetizer, Tom. Ready for the main course ... in the Bronx
      • 3w
    View 1 more reply
  • Karen Brown
    Yes!! I am so excited for you! I remember your story well. This is long overdue but I am confident this is not your last! Next time Yankee Stadium!
    • 3w
    • Author
      Ron Claiborne
      So it counts? (p[lease say yes)
      • 3w
    View 1 more reply
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