What is the acceptable age to still wear a glove to a game?
by jrsyeagle on May 14, 2009 9:31 AM EDT
15 comments
So, as many of you know, Chris Coghlan hit his first carrier homerun yesterday, which also accounted for his first 2 RBIs of his Major League carreer. Happiness was inspired by the Coghlan family and Marlins fans alike.
As a 23 year who attends more baseball games than I can afford, I could not help but notice the gentleman that caught the ball seemed noticably older than me. I played baseball for several years, have worked at stadiums, and am generally a fan of the game. Most importantly for this conversation, I do not bring a glove into the stadium.
As the game went on, sadly, the happiness dissapated like too many games this year, Jeremy Hermida continued to be terrible at life, and Nolasco continued to look, as Tommy would say, "uncomfortable on the mound."
I was in much less of a positive mood as Craig Minervini interviewed the friend of the fan who caught Chris' HR ball. Again, I was struck by his age, but this time more so by the fact that "ballhawking" is a past-time, and almost a job to him.
This interview was followed by Craig interview the "Happy Youngster" himself, who touted his "ball-hawking" abilities, and had very reasonable demands for trading over the ball. No foul there, however, his apparent age pushed my disappointment to anger when I found out how often he does such things.
So, I checked out his websites here and here. Much to my dismay, this fan brings multiple outfits to games, shows up before batting practice, is 29, married, and has 2 kids. His family shows up at the regular game time to meet up with him, though he does not let this interfere with his "ball-hawking" duties. He claims to give away meaningless balls, but has pictures on the blog, in empty stadiums after games with his pockets over-filled.
I do not understand how a grown man, with a wife and family, that is a police officer, a) does this but more imperatively, b) still brings a glove to a game.
So, fellow fishstripers (obviously I'm still stewing about the loss), I ask you... how old is "too old" to still bring a baseball glove to games? Do you thing the "happy youngster," who is not too young, is sane?
You know where I stand...
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to answer the questions
1) 13 – if you can’t barehand it after that you don’t deserve it
2) I find it a little creepy.
by brickell on May 14, 2009 10:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Thank you Brickell, I agree completely.
Plus, I think having to go into work with a broken hand for trying to barehand a line drive is a lot cooler than saying you caught it… but maybe that’s just me…
By the way, do you actually live in Brickell? I live right on the river…
by jrsyeagle on May 14, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
At more than twice the subject’s age and still bringing my glove to every game, and may I add not a souvenir or autograph collector, it seems impossible that some cannot understand the love affair that exists between the game and myself and so many others of my generation, and the sheer joy there is that the baseball god’s have allowed me one more chance to remember what it feels like to catch a high fly ball.
I only hope when I’m eighty I’m still able but if I’m at a game my glove will be too.
by UpperdeckFish on May 14, 2009 12:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
who cares?
i haven’t been to a baseball game in about 10 years, but even then i always heard people making fun of the older guys who brought their gloves to the game. i never really understood why, seeing as ALL THE PLAYERS ON THE FIELD WEAR GLOVES TOO! most of the time, they use those gloves to catch fly balls, much the same as the older guys bringing them to the stadium in hopes of doing the same thing. so, why should we care? the players don’t want to hurt themselves, and neither do the fans. so what.
by blaze1344 on May 14, 2009 2:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i agree.
I don’t like when people say you should enjoy the game a certain way, or that certain things are “cool” or “uncool.”
It’s one thing if the guy is trampling little kids, but he’s not. Who cares if the same person catches a bunch of baseballs?
by Fishcrazy on May 14, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Actually
He says often times that getting a game ball requires some pushing and shoving (though says he doesn’t “take people out”
I know this is just an opinion thing, but in my mind, it’s okay to bring a glove again once you have kids and your getting the ball to give them. I was at a game 2 weeks ago and got a ball that Cody tossed into the Fish Tank, and loved it and was extremely excited. I was in the 2nd row and can undertstand being in HR or serious foul ball territory and bring a glove, it’s not like I’m going to hate on you, but the fact that this guy is constantly switching clothes and sections to try to improve his chances is a little disturbing to me…
And Chris Coghlan’s remarks make me think he agrees…
by jrsyeagle on May 14, 2009 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
yeah that's a little much
switching clothes and fightin other people (especially if its kids) is just plain stupid. probably even pathetic. but as far as adults bringing gloves to a game, i don’t care. and i agree, this 23 game stretch is getting ridiculous.
by blaze1344 on May 14, 2009 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
By the way
I apologize to everyone for being cranky lately… this who 23 game stretch has really gotten to my mental health
by jrsyeagle on May 14, 2009 5:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
no need to generalize
I just read his big post on the situation, and I think there’s no need to generalize the discussion to the larger population: this specific guy is a douche.
From beginning to end, background to present day, his story reads like that of a loser with a ridiculously inflated sense of entitlement. Dressing up in opposing team gear to get a bunch of BP balls? Loser. Comparing what he does to dealing drugs so as to legitimize it? Loser. Saying he gave two balls away so as to make him seem like a great guy? Loser. And the worst of them all: continually using the phrase “what is [the ball] worth to you?” and thus essentially holding it for ransom as if being some guy whose life revolves around catching baseballs is in any way comparable to someone who just realized the culmination of a lifetime of work.
Honestly, I find the entire monetizing of memorabilia ridiculous. There’s a reason it’s called memorabilia: the value lies in the memory. If you want to keep the ball and have a story to tell, great. But buying someone else’s stuff doesn’t include transference of those memories. I could buy Maris’ 61 ball, but that doesn’t make me any closer to it. I could buy 756 and what would it get me? A physical impetus for recalling the memories of Bonds, that season, that home run? Wow, awesome; or I could just, you know, recall those same exact memories anyway.
The ball means something to Coghlan. It may or may not mean anything to the guy. Like I said, keep it and have a story, or give it to Coghlan. The idea that because it’s worth something to Coghlan means it has value that you should be compensated for is stupid. That the compensation he asked for, the piece that became the sticking point, had absolutely no relation to the ball just underscores that point. What value is there in being given a Hanley bat? If it’s monetary, then just come out and admit: I do this for money, for selling stuff to a secondary market. If it’s not monetary, then what is it? “Oh that? That’s a real Hanley Ramirez bat that I got because… well, because I caught this other guy’s ball. Some real great memories, me and that bat, like the time I wrote down that I wanted it, or that time a clubhouse employee gave it to me… I really cherish that thing.” Please. Personalized Coghlan bat makes perfect sense: trading a specific thing that has value to Coghlan for a different thing that represents the same memory you’d get from the ball yet doesn’t have any value to Coghlan. Coghlan gets a handheld manifestation of his life’s work; guy gets same memories he would have from the ball. Everybody wins. The Hanley bat is nothing but capitalizing on being some guy. Either admit it or shut up.
Marlins Stadium: When It's Raining, The Roof Will Happen!
by dan 2.0 on May 15, 2009 4:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
define: owned
Marlins Stadium: When It's Raining, The Roof Will Happen!
by dan 2.0 on May 18, 2009 9:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I had no idea he was that bad.
I thought the issue was that he was just “uncool” for bringing a glove to games and catching a lot of balls.
Nonetheless, I really don’t think this guy’s a rarity. Don’t many or most people try to exact small ransoms for players for catching milestones? Remember all the breathless stories about how a McGwire/Sosa/Bonds milestone ball would be a freakin’ Golden Ticket for whomever caught it?
I’ve grown so used to people asking for bats, tickets, etc., in exchange for surrendering a caught ball that I didn’t even think anything of it when it was mentioned after Coghlan’s homer. Sure, they may not ask a player to get someone else’s autograph, but it’s not like they’re turning over the balls in exchange for a handshake and goodwill.
by Fishcrazy on May 19, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It seems like
Most of the other people that do this, that have at least posted on his website, will typically ask for a bat/ & ball in the situation. Nobody that has stuck up for him that shares the hobby mentions that they’ve tried to exact autographs and equipment out of other players whose memorabilia has greater value though.
Apparently it isn’t the first time this kid has done this though… it’s interesting.
I never was calling him “uncool” though. Everyone is entitled to do what they want, when they want, how they want as a hobby. Okay, maybe I was a little bit, but the gist of the fanpost was that it was uncool to hold the ball for ransom. Do I think his hobby is uncool? No, not really, everyone likes getting a foul ball or home run. I think his methods are not cool though, especially for a 29 year old cop that has 2 kids but wants the stuff for himself. I think I’d just rather see a kid have a better shot at getting those memories.
I was at the game Sunday, at was all the kid in front of me was asking for all game (he was in the 1st row of 127). Hermida tossed a ball into our section after warming up between innings-nowhere near our row though-and someone I’d guess in their late 20s with a glove jumped up caught it and kept it.. which is his right. I just doubt the ball made that adults day nearly as much as it would the kid in front of me, or any other kid in the stadium…
Maybe it’s just a viewpoint I got from working at stadiums summer after summer and seeing how hard kids beg and plead for baseballs, most of the time to be left unsatisfied…
by jrsyeagle on May 19, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
balls
I still have the ball some single A Osceola Astro tossed to me when I was 7or 8. I was so excited that I stuck around after the game to get him to sign it. I remember him getting some good natured jabs for that from the other players. I have no idea who it was or if he ever made anything of himself, but he made a little kid very happy that night.
Anyway, that’s my story. It was a long time after that I finally went to a game again. At that point it never occured to me to either bring a glove or stand around begging for balls. A guy in front of me caught a HR ball once, but that’s as close as I’ve ever gotten to getting a game ball. How often does it occur that you need to bring a glove?
by brickell on May 19, 2009 4:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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