My cousin's family unexpectedly came to town yesterday so we took them to the M's/Tigers game. We bought some bleacher seats and got there early enough to catch both teams' batting practices. Claire brought her glove; she really wanted to catch a fly ball. So I took the kids down to the front row of right field so they could try to catch a practice ball. Bryant and my cousin's two older kids stood out there with us for a while. And then they decided to get dinner rather than wait. It was uncomfortably warm out there. Claire, however, wanted to wait. So she waited and waited and waited...the Detroit player didn't throw many balls up in the stands and only 2-3 fly balls came to our section, all of which were caught by other people. I told Claire to call out to the Detroit player very loudly any time a ball came near. I was hoping he'd toss one up to her in the front row. But she felt too shy to yell at him. So she kept saying, "Over here" in a very mild voice, not loud and demanding like other people he saw first.

Finally after waiting a long time, Claire said she was hungry and didn't want to try anymore. She seemed dejected. I saw there were only 2 more Detroit batters, so I convinced her to wait it out. In the meantime, a large group of college-aged guys standing near us also took off, complaining about the sun and heat and that "no one was hitting it here". So it was just Claire and me and four other guys who stayed, along with a few little kids in the front row. Finally, another fly ball came out our way but the Detroit player caught it. He looked up at the stands to see who he might throw it to. He tossed it near Claire's glove. But his toss was short. The ball fell into the gap between the right field wall and the seats. Claire was disappointed. The next ball came to the same fielder and he tossed it farther towards Claire. But this time it went over her head and into the crowd towards our left. I saw it bounce off two kids' gloves, off a chair, and then onto the cement risers. Another guy standing near by went for it at the same time I did.

I beat him to it. :)

I grabbed it and tossed it to Claire. Claire was very happy. She looked at the ball in her glove and smiled big at me. The guy who didn't get the ball came over and asked to see it. Claire gave him a suspicious look. He laughed and said he wouldn't take it. Another guy came over and asked to see it too. Claire handed it over to both guys. And when she got it back, she clutched this grass-stained practice ball all the way to our seats.

When we got back to where the rest of the family sat, we looked at them and announced that we got a ball. Claire proudly held it up for all to see. Bryant and the Beast Dad both wanted to hold it. The older cousins couldn't believe it. Claire was quite pleased that she waited even when everyone else left. I felt quite pleased that I snagged it before that guy did. :)

So very happy...