BLS Roundtable: What would you demand for a home run ball?

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Catching any ball at a major-league game is quite the feat. Some fans attend thousands of games in a lifetime, and never come close to snagging a foul.

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While coming up with a foul ball is cool, and certainly something that should be praised, in the end, it doesn’t amount to all that much. You get to leave the park with a nice souvenir, or you give it to a small child and leave with good karma.

Catching a milestone home run ball is something entirely different. That ball has incredible value to the player who hit it. Because of this, a fan who comes up with a milestone hit can leave the park with a number of things. Want a signed bat, tickets to an upcoming game and a life-size cutout of your favorite player? Done.

Inspired by the Diamondbacks fan who traded a Corey Seager home run ball for a David Peralta autograph, we’ve asked our experts what they would demand had they been in a similar situation.

Are all the answers you’re about to read 100 percent serious? We can’t say. We encouraged our participants to be as wacky and outlandish as they wanted. Because, let’s be serious, when are they ever going to be in this situation in real-life?

WORLD SERIES TICKETS
This is a no-brainer. If I end up with a valuable home run ball, and let me tell you odds are it would have been one heck of a catch, I want four premium tickets right behind home plate to every home game the next time my team makes the World Series. Doesn’t matter if it happens the same year I get the ball or 20 years later. Whenever they make the World Series next, I get my four tickets and can do whatever I like with them. Use them myself, sell them, give them away. I’ll have in my possession what everyone in the city is dreaming they could have. If my team goes on to win the World Series, I expect to be on one of the floats. Good luck charm, right? However, If I was a Cubs fan, I might pick a different reward for that home run ball. Free hot dogs at Wrigley Field for life sounds nice. (Israel Fehr)

THE FULL PREGAME EXPERIENCE
As someone who’s never caught a ball at a major or minor league game, I might give a year’s salary just to experience that exhilaration. If it happened to be a milestone, I’d definitely feel like I won the lottery even though I wouldn’t necessarily look for the big payday. At least not as the first option. Instead, I’d go for the experience, including one round of batting practice, a full uniform and an opportunity to watch a game from the dugout. Not the Will Ferrell experience, though obviously that was pretty cool. Just a fan experiencing a raw but unique perspective of the game.

Among the payoffs initially considered but quickly dismissed: Matching tattoos with the player to commemorate the moment. Parking privileges in the players parking lot. Somehow getting Vin Scully to narrate my life. (Mark Townsend)

THE VIN SCULLY EXPERIENCE
I will admit to stealing from Mark here, but I don’t care. Nothing I came up with on my own is as good as spending a day with Vin Scully. Even if my catch happened at a non Dodgers game, I would still make this demand.

We would hang out, eat meals together and he would tell me all his great baseball stories. If it were a game day, I would go to the booth and watch him work. I have no doubt we would quickly become best friends. As the night was ending, I imagine he would read me a bedtime story. Or at least continue to tell me great baseball tales until I drifted off into a peaceful sleep. There are worse ways to spend a day. (Chris Cwik)

STRAIGHT CASH, HOMIE
Access and memorabilia are fun, but let’s be real here. There is one universal language that will broker any deal: cash money. Give me the greenbacks. Is that selfish? Greedy? Maybe. But I got kids to get through college and last I checked, baseball wasn’t a charity. The price could change, depending on who wanted the ball. If it was a rookie’s first homer, the kid probably doesn’t have a lot in the bank. If it’s A-Rod or Albert Pujols or Giancarlo Stanton or Bryce Harper, let’s start counting zeroes. It’s like the illustrious Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase once said: “Everybody’s Got a Price.” (Mike Oz)

JUST A HANDSHAKE … MAYBE
It really depends on the ball, the situation and/or the milestone. A rookie’s first career home run? Give it right back and say “Enjoy it, kid.” Or David Ortiz’s 500th home run the other night. That ball means a lot more to the player than to any fan, so he could have it back for the low, low price of a handshake and a different piece of memorabilia.

However, my generous nature would change if the stakes were raised. Let’s say, for instance, I had the ball Joe Carter hit to win the 1993 World Series for the Blue Jays. That ball would have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. That ball would stay with me forever, or at least until my ungrateful grandchildren pawned it.

Of course, there’s a much simpler solution to this hypothetical question. If you’re in a jam just think, What Would Zack Hample Do – and do the opposite. (Ian Denomme)

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