Throw It Back? I Couldn’t, and I’m Glad I Didn’t

If someone wants to throw a ball back, that is their prerogative. But no one should be forced to throw a home run ball back if they don’t want to. I am wondering just how ugly it gets in Chicago if someone absolutely refuses to throw the ball back. Do the Chicago fanatics get physical and try to force the recipient to throw the ball back?

If this doesn't make you love baseball, nothing will.

Throwing a home run ball back is unquestionably the stupidest tradition in baseball. No one throws foul balls back - why throw a fair one back?

This absurd Wrigley tradition - as if that makes it official; the 'tradition' goes back to the mid-1960's - is now polluting the stands all over the place. Fans in Queens and the Bronx never paid attention to such idiocy until recent years.

What fools these mortals be.

It's funny that something that you can buy for yourself in a sporting goods store, or at the ballpark itself, takes on such "value" when it comes off an MLB field. Last season, I was at a Mets/Giants game in SF, sitting right by the visiting team dugout, and clearly rooting for the Mets. In the late innings, Ricky Bones, the Mets' bullpen coach, threw me a ball. There were no kids around who "lost out" on a ball, and the general consensus among the Giants fans sitting around us was that it was pretty cool that he did that. I have never caught a foul ball, homerun, etc., and I was as excited as an 8 year old to have that ball. (And I'm well over 8 years old). It's now proudly displayed in our family room. To those who think that Caleb is too old, or too jaded to treasure that ball, I say, not so fast.

I also hate the numbskulls who bully fans into throwing home run balls back onto the field. Do they think that the home run will not count if they throw it back?

Throwing the ball back is one of the dumbest traditions in baseball. Let me tell you what happens after the fact. The ball boy sitting down the line goes to retrieve it. He then hands it to a kid sitting nearby in the more expensive seats. The kid in the cheap seats is bullied into giving up a souvenir while the more privileged fan faces no such pressure. Hypocrisy at its finest. And when did we turn into mimicking what Cubs fans do anyway?

I too was at tuesday's game, saw Cain's George Brett impression. Over hundreds of Yankee games, I've never snagged a ball, but I've a couple of good stories. 1978; opening day, right field bleachers,homerun, Reggie bars: the guy sitting next to me dove into the moat dividing the blue and the concrete walls in front of our seats. He got the ball and the cops got him, I tried to pull him up but we lost out in wrestling with security. About 2 innings later he strutted back to his seat, with the ball, as the only adult chaperoning a bunch of kids, the police released him. 1999; September game, field level box off third, my 6 year old daughter's first game: arriving at our seats, my friend Geoff's adult daughter PJ discovered a bp ball under her seat. She gave it to Pam, pink ballcap, baseball, all smiles. Unless a souvenier ball has significant historical importance, give it too a kid. Even the kid in you knows, that's what they're for:)

For many years, I was known in and around Wrigley Field, as the "Bleacher Preacher". I used to reward fans who threw back opponents home run balls with a "Throw Back Award" A Citation that listed the name of the player and inning it was hit, so that they had something to show for their loyalty. Yet, If it was an important homer... I always tried to talk the fan into keeping it, like the last homer Pete Rose hit at Wrigley. Many of the regulars always kept an extra ball handy,(from batting practice) in case they caught the ball, and they would throw back the non-game ball.

Ironically one of my 10 Cub-fanmandments is "Do not kill umpires or throw objects on the field, except thy opponent's home run ball!" Many years ago, I caught a Keith Hernandez homer when he was with the Mets, and threw it back and rewarded myself with a citation! Sadly, I have been priced out of the friendly confines and no longer roam the cheap seats... (because there are none).

The only downside to the story is that it would have been nice if the kid he had given the ball to was one from a disadvantaged background (although I guess that pretty much would eliminate his family being able to afford Yankees tickets).
Felix Tejeda must be pretty well to do to be able to afford to fly him and his son to NYC solely for a ball game especially as they live in a city with its own major league team.
My father took me to plenty of games when I was a boy but I didn't make it to a game in a city where I didn't live until I was well into adulthood and attending an out of town professional conference.

Don' t kid yourself. A 14 year old kid won't be forever indebted for the ball. It's not like he caught it and it's not like he 's 5. He'll play with it until it rolls into the sewer.

i liked this story a whole lot.

Good job Billy Witz!

Good post Tom Holman!

I am 68. Been going to ball games since 1954.
I have never caught a fair ball or a foul ball .

Still remember 8/16/1988 when my 11 y.o. son caught a line drive foul on the fly in his glove. We were in the upper deck. He got an ovation from the "crowd" of 6000+ at the old CLE Municipal Stadium. He was so excited. I was impressed (it was top of the first) that he wanted to stay. He still has that ball.

About 8 seasons later he caught on off of the concrete behind the lower box seats at the new Jacobs Field.

I had a similar incident at Wrigley Field about 10 years ago. I was in the front row behind the dugout. A bouncing foul ball landed on top of the dugout and was slowly rolling towards the fans. I threw elbows to my left and right to make room and snagged the ball. I was so happy to have the ball, but when I looked to my left I realized that I had elbowed a boy about 8 years old. Numerous men's faces turned ugly and twisted and began shouting at me. With a big smile, I handed the ball to the boy - and cheers erupted. His dad bought me beer for the rest of the game.

Giving the home run ball to Felix? A priceless act of kindness and thoughtfulness.

Never ever throw back a ball, there is your memory, for you and your family, for years and years.

Good call. I love the Second City, but we're not Chicago and we don't need to be. The value you added by that simple gesture is, as Mr. Tejeda noted, priceless. Nice story.