Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: Fans Engage in Pathetic Pursuit of Home Run Ball

They really wanted that ball, huh?

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They really wanted that ball, huh?

Catching a home run ball is one of the coolest things you can do as a fan at a baseball game. I mean catching it—on the fly, standing in front of your seat, maybe even without a glove. Picking a ball up out of a crevice is decidedly less cool, but don’t tell that to these two fans in Seattle. 

Brett Gardner lifted a three-run homer just over the wall to give the Yankees a 5–0 lead in the third inning over the Mariners last night. The ball scraped over the top of the wall so narrowly that it landed in a gap between the stands and the fence. That’s when a woman in Mariners gear and a guy in a Yankees jersey engaged in a protracted battle to emerge with the baseball. 

The Mariners fan clearly sits in these seats often and came prepared with a mechanical claw, while the jorts guy decided to just plunge over the barrier and wedge himself into the gap. 

The video above doesn’t include it but the broadcast also showed the Yankees fan excitedly texting after his victory. No doubt the man was proud to have emerged with the ball, but it’s a lot less impressive when the ball had stopped moving. Even if the ball is still rolling, that’s a pretty decent story to tell people. But “I picked up a baseball” isn’t nearly as interesting as “I corralled a baseball.”

Yelich claps back

Brewers star Christian Yelich decision to pose for ESPN’s Body Issue had one woman clutching her pearls and asking him to think about THE CHILDREN, so Yelich told her to cool her jets on Twitter. 

The tweet went viral, but Yelich took it a step further with his walk-up music for last night’s game. 

Christian Yelich walks up to Roxanne in the first inning. Bravo. pic.twitter.com/QpTPGRI66N

— Andrew Wagner (@ByAndrewWagner) August 27, 2019

Soccer fans are another breed

Hardcore fans of Serbian soccer club Red Star Belgrade sparked a minor international incident by parking an actual tank outside their stadium. The tank was used during the war that broke up the former Yugoslavia and its presence was particularly upsetting to Croatians. 

One group of Croats took a lighthearted approach, though. Fans of Dinamo Zagreb responded by parking a run-down tractor outside their stadium. 

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Around the sports world

New Mexico might use as many as FOUR quarterbacks in its first game. ... The umpire who called the Wimbledon men’s final got fired for talking to the media. ... A routine hit in the Super Bowl had devastating consequences for Rob Gronkowski. ... The owners of the Royals are trying to sell the team for $1 billion. 

Early Name of the Year contender

Aaron Judge’s 100th homer was a monster one

Who needs Khalil Mack when you can rush the passer yourself?

Kyrgios remains the best

Vikings fans know the feeling

Kentucky’s starting QB honors a Wildcat great

Per team spox, Kentucky QB Terry Wilson will honor former UK QB Jared Lorenzen by wearing these custom-painted cleats during pregame activities for this Saturday's season opener. Will not be worn during game. pic.twitter.com/qq6B5MkTue

— Uni Watch (@UniWatch) August 27, 2019

Being an influencer pays better than fighting for UFC

Antonio Brown is burning all the bridges

Let’s see Michael Phelps do this

St. Joe’s has an awesome new court

Minor leaguers get creative with the trophy, too

Hawaii’s coach has no chill

Mahalo pic.twitter.com/qzofXwx4wU

— Nick Rolovich (@NickRolovich) August 25, 2019

Not sports

Eva Longoria is directing a movie about the origin of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which actually seems smarter than it sounds. ... A new species of leech with three jaws and 59 teeth was discovered outside D.C.

Mr. Robot is coming back

How a guy survived three days on the bottom of the ocean

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.