Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.
The day was April 19, 1996. It was to be one of the most unusual days in baseball history. The day was not unusual for anything that happened on the field, it was unusual for what happened in the stands- in two different stadiums.
Every baseball fan (at least the guy fans) dreams of catching a home run ball hit into the stands. But actor Charlie Sheen tried harder than most.
Charlie, a huge and devout baseball fan, actually spent $6,537.50 to help him achieve his goal. The Detroit Tigers were playing the California Angels and Charlie was there at Anaheim Stadium. He had spent the money to purchase 2,615 seats in the outfield to increase his chances of catching a home run ball.
“I didn't want to crawl over the paying public,” said Sheen afterward. “I wanted to avoid the violence,” he added.
Well, he did achieve that goal, but unfortunately, no home run balls were hit his way and Charlie went home empty-handed. And $6,537.50 poorer.
On that very same day, another famous person did catch a foul ball. Ex-president Jimmy Carter.
Carter's catch took place at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium. The hometown Braves were playing the San Diego Padres.
Carter caught a foul ball hit by Padres third baseman Ken Caminiti. He caught the ball near the third base dugout, making a bare-handed catch. Carter received a standing ovation after making the catch.
“He showed good hands" said Braves catcher Javy Lopez.
Carter thus became the first-ever ex-U.S. president to catch a foul ball at a major league game. (George H. H. Bush had caught a foul ball as a kid at Yankee Stadium.)
Oddly, every U.S. president since William Howard Taft in 1910 has thrown out the first pitch of the baseball season during his presidency, save one. Who was it?
You guessed it- Jimmy Carter. However, Carter made up for that by tossing many baseballs in the years since he left office in 1981.