On estimate, a typical Major League Baseball game provides around 35 opportunities for fans in attendance to leave with a game used, officially licensed, Bud Selig signature-stamped, Rawlings baseball. Therefore, when averaging attendance to 30,895 fans (as it was in 2012), 30,860 presumably go home without a piece of the game.
With those numbers in mind, listen to these:
Since the 2010 season, I have caught – whether in the air directly off the bat, off a ricochet from another fan or seat, or a throw from a stadium employee – a total of twenty game balls, including eighteen home runs, one for every year of my life. Blasts from All-Stars such as center fielder Adam Jones, shortstop J.J. Hardy, catcher Matt Wieters, current Yankee Kevin Youkilis and future Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero sit on display in my house while historically important blasts, such as Wieters’ twentieth of 2011 (marking his first twenty home run season of his career), Red Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway’s first and Josh Hamilton’s second of four hit on May 8th of last year, claim me as their original owner.
I have appeared on Sportscenter’s Top Plays twice, including this time in 2011 when I was number 9. And yes, the “bro shades.”
The eighteen home runs, two ground-rule doubles and more than 500 batting practice balls stand not as a product of luck alone, but as the product of dedication to a sport, a team and a hobby.
Baltimore knows ball hawking almost as well as they know steamed crabs. For eleven years, Ed Reed patrolled the Ravens’ secondary, intercepting 61 passes, displaying a keen ability to always be where the ball is thrown. Such is the same for the hobby of ball hawking at baseball games. Plainly, ball hawking is the attempt to leave a baseball game with as many balls as possible, whether by catching them off the bat during batting practice or the game, or by receiving “toss-ups” from players, coaches, umpires, and stadium employees.
Even though many credit the power surge of the 1990’s and Waveland Avenue outside of Wrigley Field for the creation of ball hawking, the hobby has gone hand-in-hand with baseball since the beginning of the “live ball era.” Fans attended games during the careers of players such as Babe Ruth and Roger Maris in the hopes of catching a home run, with many knowing the rewards of catching milestone home runs. In 2013, we are long removed from the days when Ruth paid $10 to the fan that caught his 600th home run. Before the economic collapse, home run balls were being auctioned for millions. Currently, certain milestone balls are still sold for hundreds of thousands, with (thankfully) a trend beginning where the piece of history is returned to its rightful owner, its hitter, with little-to-no hassle.
Zack Hample and I talk ball hawking on the flag court.
However, many deeply involved in the hobby have turned the fun into a business. Arguably the most famous of the ‘hawks is Zack Hample, a 35-year old New York resident who has leveraged his stat-line of 6,459 total balls since 1993 (176 game balls, comprised of 153 foul balls, 22 game home runs and one ground-rule double) to author three books and appear in numerous publications and television shows. Hample is also able to charge people to attend a game with him and learn the art of ball hawking. His endeavors supply him with an income that allowed him to travel to every Major League stadium in 2011.
I have also transformed my passion for ball hawking into a bit of a business venture (but no, I’m not charging anyone to come to a game with me.)
In 2011, I had arguably one of the best ball hawking seasons in recent years. On the surface, I caught nine home runs (the most in the country according to mygameballs.com, a site for ‘hawks to display their baseballs and log their daily stats), a ground-rule double, and over a hundred batting practice balls. But, much like the statistics of the players, my season went beyond the numbers.
On August 9, already having caught three home runs during the season, I scooped up a Carlos Quentin home run, in the process beginning a streak that would catch the attention of local and national media, creating days of surreal experiences for me. I followed, on August 10, by catching a J.J. Hardy home run on the fly, and finished my streak on the 11th by grabbing an Alexei Ramirez blast. After the game, MASN noticed that one fan had caught a home run in three consecutive games. Later that night, ESPN showed my catches and featured me as number nine on that night’s Top Plays – every sports fan’s dream. In the following days, I fielded calls from MASN and ESPN to set-up interviews and saw my Twitter feed explode with Yahoo! Sports linking to my profile in a story that was featured on the front page of the site. I gave comments to reporters from the Baltimore Sun and MLB.com, had a Sun photographer snapping photos of me during a game, and invited a WJZ cameraman into my house. With numerous other bloggers and websites writing about my streak, I was as famous as a 17-year old could be for a day or two.
Kevin Van Valkenburg of the Baltimore Sun (right) and Avi Zaleon of MLB.com (left) interview me prior to the game on 8/12/11.
With my feats fading out of the internet spotlight the following month, I shagged another achievement that landed me in the view of the national media. On September 14, with another scarce Camden Yards crowd, I was able to dive on top of a Chris Davis opposite-field, line-drive home run in the fourth inning to record my seventh home run of the season. Innings later, with the Orioles batting for the last time in the bottom of the eighth, I made a clean, easy catch of a Matt Wieters home run (the first pitch thrown in the Major League career of Matt Moore and the 20th home run of the season for Wieters, his first 20-home run season).
After the catch and my subsequent negotiation with pitcher Jeremy Accardo who was attempting to get the ball back to Wieters, I was grabbed by a MASN employee who wanted me to appear on the postgame. Later that night, the coverage grew as I answered another call from ESPN, who featured me sixth on Top Plays. The next day I was once again plastered on Orioles.com and other sites, including CNN. After the season, I was talked about on shows such as Intentional Talk and featured on MLB Network’s Top Fan Moments of 2011 countdown.
My accomplishments in 2011 opened many doors for me both entrepreneurially and journalistically, landing me an endorsement with Dick’s Last Resort restaurant as well as making me a commodity for sports websites who wanted my unique perspective (and hopefully my writing skills, too).
On 9/14/11, I added to my amazing season by catching two home runs in one game.
However, without a rainy afternoon during the 2010 season, there would not have been a record-breaking 2011 campaign for me – no accomplishments, no opened doors. After being able to attend Orioles games without parental supervision during the 2008 season, I began seeking autographs. Void of hyperbole: I used to arrive at the stadium at noon for 7:05 games in an attempt to get autographs from players as they showed-up for the game. Inside the stadium I would stand behind home plate, trying to get more autographs from the visiting players. After the game, I waited outside for those players to leave. Sometimes I did not get home until 11 or 12, just to do it again the next day.
As you can imagine, rain is tough for autographing – your items get wet and players prefer the dry clubhouse. With the rain not beginning until batting practice started, some Orioles were able to take a few swings before the downpour scared them to the clubhouse and gates opened for fans, leaving batted balls to lay scattered in the seats. With receiving autographs all but impossible that day, I made a dash to left field to look for some of those “Easter Eggs.” Ultimately, I found a few balls, most of which were commemorative baseballs from the Twins’ inaugural season at Target Field. Weeks later, I made a clean catch of an Adam Rosales home run during a game. The adrenaline rush was incomparable, insurmountable. I was hooked.
Now deeply addicted to catching home runs and dedicated to the success of Eutaw Street Report, I have decided to spice up the experience for everyone in 2013. During the offseason, I purchased a (admittedly cheap) helmet camera, much like we saw fellow ball hawk Reed wearing during the Ravens’ Super Bowl victory parade. The hope is to capture every opportunity I have to snag a game home run so readers can see what it’s like “through my eyes.”
My 2011 season opened many doors for me, including an endorsement by Dick’s Last Resort for the 2012 season. Here I am posing with Josh Hamilton’s second of four home runs hit on May 8.
To give you a taste, I made a trip to Camden Yards this weekend to buy some tickets. While there, I made a stop on Eutaw Street to see the newly installed plaques for the home runs that landed there in 2012. I brought along with me two home runs that landed on Eutaw last season that I was able to snag, both on the same day.
It was my first day wearing my helmet camera, so bear with the video. Some shots are out of frame, but my home run catches later in the season should not be.
Enjoy:
