In 2015 my wife and I were expecting our first child and splurged on a partial season ticket plan at Camden Yards to catch a whole bunch of Orioles games before the baby arrived. I sat in our seats in section 82 (left field) during batting practice at the first game of our season tickets and watched the home runs rain down to kids and grown or otherwise. I didn't get any balls during batting practice, but it inspired me to bet three buddies $100 each that I would catch a home run that season. They gladly took me up on this wager because they are suckers and can't resist a gambool. I sent them taunting snap chats prior to first pitch showing how the ball was going to arc right to me. Well, you know how this turns out. In the first inning only 30 minutes after placing my bet, Chris Davis hit a 410-foot home run that landed in my bare hands and won what I consider the best bet I've ever made. I went nuts as you can imagine.
Here's the video of my catch: https://www.mlb.com/video/davis-solo-home-run/c-69237383?tid=6479266
Sure, Babe Ruth famously called hitting a home run, but I am not aware of anyone who called (and bet money) they would catch a home run at a sold out game and proceded to do it without leaving their seat.
I wrote a LinkedIn blog about catching the ball. A link to the blog and not-so-humble brag is here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/management-strategies-helped-me-catch-homerun-gahagan-cpa-cia-cfe/
Well, needless to say, I decided that an accomplishment as rare as this deserved a proper trophy to display the ball. It took me a few years, but I finally got around to making the trophy this past weekend. My vision was a barehanded version of the gold glove trophy. Thankfully, with trophykits.com and a little help from Amazon, I was able to put together something that came close to my vision. Many, many mistakes were made. For instance, I intended for the ball to sit in my hand, but my hamstring froze up while I doing the moulding process and I moved my fingers too close together. Thus, the ball has to sit on my golden fingertips instead of in my golden palm. I also bought the wrong size nameplate for the trophy. Measure once and cry twice, that's what my dad taught me. My mom doesn't let him use the tools.
Luckily, the end product looks pretty good and I'm happy with how it turned out.
For those that are curious I also made a short youtube video describing the trophy manufacturing process. Please ignore the spots in the video where I am in pain and my wife is laughing at me. My hamstring froze up because I was standing on a stool to get a better angle and it really hurt. It's basically why my fingers moved and the ball doesn't fit in my palm.
Now that I have some experience I might make own version of a poker trophy for my next big tournament. Maybe holding a barrel of chips or a fan of cards. We'll see. If I ever win a poker tournament I am going to be insufferable.
Here's the video of my catch: https://www.mlb.com/video/davis-solo-home-run/c-69237383?tid=6479266
Sure, Babe Ruth famously called hitting a home run, but I am not aware of anyone who called (and bet money) they would catch a home run at a sold out game and proceded to do it without leaving their seat.
I wrote a LinkedIn blog about catching the ball. A link to the blog and not-so-humble brag is here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/management-strategies-helped-me-catch-homerun-gahagan-cpa-cia-cfe/
Well, needless to say, I decided that an accomplishment as rare as this deserved a proper trophy to display the ball. It took me a few years, but I finally got around to making the trophy this past weekend. My vision was a barehanded version of the gold glove trophy. Thankfully, with trophykits.com and a little help from Amazon, I was able to put together something that came close to my vision. Many, many mistakes were made. For instance, I intended for the ball to sit in my hand, but my hamstring froze up while I doing the moulding process and I moved my fingers too close together. Thus, the ball has to sit on my golden fingertips instead of in my golden palm. I also bought the wrong size nameplate for the trophy. Measure once and cry twice, that's what my dad taught me. My mom doesn't let him use the tools.
Luckily, the end product looks pretty good and I'm happy with how it turned out.
For those that are curious I also made a short youtube video describing the trophy manufacturing process. Please ignore the spots in the video where I am in pain and my wife is laughing at me. My hamstring froze up because I was standing on a stool to get a better angle and it really hurt. It's basically why my fingers moved and the ball doesn't fit in my palm.
Now that I have some experience I might make own version of a poker trophy for my next big tournament. Maybe holding a barrel of chips or a fan of cards. We'll see. If I ever win a poker tournament I am going to be insufferable.
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