Major League Baseball

Giants ballgirl nearly gets in way

Published Aug. 20, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The job of the ballboy or ballgirl seems so simple. Sit on a stool during baseball games with a glove, make small talk with the folks in the front row and wait to grab foul balls that come their way.

The most important thing to remember, of course, is not to interfere with play.

That’s the biggest thing to remember. Yet, that is just so darn hard for several of these ballpark employees to remember. All too often we see overzealous ball-humans make plays on balls that are actually fair and in play, leading to awkward moments for all involved, particularly the people with oversized gloves and full uniforms sitting on the stools.

A ballgirl in San Francisco set a new precedent Monday night during the Red Sox-Giants game.

In the ninth inning, Sox shortstop Stephen Drew hit a lazy flyball down the left-field line into foul territory. Standard operating procedure in this scenario for ball-people is to get off their stool (perhaps grabbing the stool and taking it with them), get the heck out of the way and allow the professional athletes do their job.

This ballgirl was having none of that, though. She wanted to catch the ball. Fortunately for the Giants, third baseman Joaquin Arias was still able to make a play. He tracked it down and grabbed the foul ball to record the out. Disaster averted.