My first MLB ball

So here’s a picture of my first MLB baseball that I caught at a Blue Jays game.  This ball represents something I never thought would happen to me.  Catching a ball to me is as good as winning the lottery because it’s something I will always remember and cherish.  Of course growing up in Toronto during the 90’s made me a baseball fan and being able to catch a ball was always a dream of mine.  Well this dream finally became reality on July 7^th, 2013, aka JP Arencibia bobblehead day.

I’ve always considered myself unlucky when it came to things like this.  I mean from the games I have gone to in the past, I would always see someone else catch a ball a few rows down, but never me.  So I figured I might as well give up on even hoping of catching a ball.  Then my day finally came and it felt like it was meant to be.  I was sitting in leftfield and the stadium was full of people.  There was also a very tall guy in the next row across that I figured would probably get a ball if he jumped.  My only advantages were that I was sitting near the steps and that the people in front of me hadn’t arrived yet.

Then suddenly it happened in the top of the first inning: the Twins player was at bat and as he hit the ball foul, I could see it heading towards leftfield.  It all happened in slow motion and the ball looked like it would fly past me, but then it suddenly curved and everyone around me raised their hands to grab it.  It then dropped and landed in the empty seat in front of me.  I looked around and saw that no one was going to grab it, and then I looked at it in the folded-up seat.  I was literally in shock for a few seconds, until I heard my friend’s voice telling me to grab it.  Without even thinking I grabbed it and raised it up high and started yelling with delight.

This felt like it lasted for a while, as everyone around me clapped.  I then sat down, and it all came to me, as I realised that I finally caught a ball.  Alright, I didn’t actually catch it in the air, but it was as good as it gets for someone with little luck as me (literally landing at my feet).  Catching a major league ball feels a million times better than paying for a ball that someone else caught, so to me this is now one of my most prised possessions.  Now every time I see this ball and hold it in my hands it serves as another reminder of why I love baseball.