Friday, September 02, 2011

What Would You Do: The Errant Foul Ball (A Multiple-Choice Question)

Happy Labor Day weekend. So before you leave, here's a situation to consider. I'm curious to know how you would react, before i tell you what really happened.

Tuesday night, I went to the Padres @ Dodgers game and sat behind home plate on the field level. Early in the game, a foul ball clears the protective fence (pretty quickly) and arcs right back into the face of a poor kid, probably three or four years of age. The ball ricochets off the kids face and across the aisle to a guy just standing there.

Kid is wailing. His father immediately picks up the poor kid and cradles him in his arms as the red mark starts to appear.

Guy across the aisle with the ball is kind of flabbergasted. He didn't do anything to deflect the ball into the kid's face--he was across the aisle for pete's sake--and just sort of ended up with the foul ball after the errant bounce. The guy looks genuinely surprised to be in this situation in the first place.

Crowd is looking staring at the kid, and also staring at the adult.

Question 1: If you are the adult who has the ball, what would you do?

Question 2: If you are in the vicinity of the incident but not related to either party, what would you do?

I wasn't the one who caught the ball but I did end up involving myself in the situation. I'm eager to hear how you would have responded, however. Don't think about this too long; in the heat of the moment, what would you do?

20 comments:

Kyle Baker said...

1) Help gain the usher's attention in case the kid needs medical attention.

2) Join crowd chant to guy to give the foul ball to the kid.

Isn't this routine? What am I missing?

Kyle Baker said...

Oh, and then I'd go buy an over-priced beer.

cc: Sax

Keven C said...

Where are the multiple choices?

Fred's Brim said...

I am pretty sure you buy the kid a beer

Kyle Baker said...

Heh...right out of the Fred's Brim Guide to Parenting

Unknown said...

Convince usher to go find the boy a ball.

Kyle Baker said...

Yell "Wash yer hair, Timmeh!!!" repeatedly.

Neeebs (The Original) said...

Buy the kid some nachos.

Run up to get help.

Don't actually get help, but change seats to the other side of the foul line.

Come home and tell my daughter that I caught a ball for her.

QuadSevens said...

Give the kid the foul ball and wait for the dad to buy you a beer.

spank said...

I would:

Q1- Taunt the kid with the ball

Q2-Drink my beer and mind my own business.

Cliff Beefpile said...

1) Remove shirt, pound chest and yell so that everyone around is aware of my awesomeness. I just caught a foul ball that ricocheted off someone else's FACE fer fuck's sake!

2) Run over, smack the kid upside the head (the side that didn't get hit with the ball...I'm no child abuser, duh), and say, "look, kid, you don't catch it with your friggin' teeth. Here's how you do it." Then proceed to show him the proper way of catching a line-drive. It's the whole, 'give a man a fish or teach him how to fish argument'.

Kyle Baker said...

Well said, el montanero.

Kyle Baker said...

Labor Day WBT is UP! Thanks, Spank.

Bring it!!!

Fernie V said...

A. I would walk over and ask if the kid wanted the ball.

B. Make sure the kid is being handled properly and feel sorry for the guy with the ball.

That was my instant answer

A. I would turn around and give the ball to my kid. Hoppiing he will cry when we give it to the boy who's Dad cant catch. For our good deed hopefully we would be rewarded with a bat.

B. Tell the guy to keep the ball you are screwed either way.
B.

Fred's Brim said...

@DB he's not old enough to share a spliff in the Reserve Level bathroom

Alex Cora said...

Better question is what did Sax do? I bet he took the ball from the guy who "caught" it saying he was going to give it to the kid. Then he ran up the aisle and disappeared into the night screaming "I finally caught a foul ball! Scratch that off the bucket list!!!".

Dusty Baker's Toothpick said...

If I'm the guy who ended up with the ball, I hand it over to the kid, then I ask pops if needs any help. It's the right thing to do, right?

Dusty Baker's Toothpick said...

Was this the same dad who dropped his daughter to catch the foul ball earlier in the year?

http://youtu.be/4YlK4DlzNsc

Pistol Pete Reiser said...

Dusty's way-back-at-the-beginning post pretty much nails it.

Get medical attention if needed.

Chant/heckle the guy with the ball to cough it up for Christ's sake, kid deserves it.

Kyle Baker said...

@PPR

You left out the third part - beer order.