Last night Robin and I were at Tropicana Field for the Rays v. Oakland A's. It was not a good night for the Rays. They lost 7-2. Today wasn't any better with another loss to Oakland, 7-3. The Rays go into the All-Star Break with a two-game losing streak.
Last night things went sour when Matt Garza gave up a two run homer to Rajai Davis into the left field seats. We were sitting in left center and the ball landed in the seats in left field near the baseline. I couldn't see the fan who caught the ball. What I do know is that the fan who caught the A's home run ball refused to throw it back onto the field. This tradition began in Wrigley Field as far as I know. The fan at Tropicana Field last night refused to throw the ball back onto the field.
Last night, the Tampa Bay crowd-- like the crowds in Chicago--booed the fan pressuring left field fan to give up the ball. Left field fan could not be persuaded to do so. Following the first homer by the A's, Mark Ellis then hit a single. Ray's manager, Joe Maddon, pulled Garza and brought in Randy Choate. Ray's relief pitcher, Choate, had an amazing 1.23 ERA going into last night's game. He faced his former minor league team mate, Adam Kennedy, who hit the
second home run of the game. Kennedy's homer went into the seats in right field. Unlike left field fan, right field fan did what the Rays fans wanted. Right field fan threw the ball back onto the field and got a big cheer from the Tampa Bay fans.
What would you do? If you were rooting for the home team when the visiting team hit a homer, and, you caught the ball, would you throw it back? I'm taking an unofficial poll during this All-Star break. You can participate in the poll by clicking comments below and voting: Yes, I would throw it back. Or, no, I would hold on to my souvenir even if it was hit by the visiting team.
