There's a thick line between being a ball player and being a fan—and that's what makes our appreciation for the game all that much stronger. No, we don't have that milky Ken Griffey Jr. swing. We aren't all Alex Gordon—we didn't sell our soul to Dr. Moreau to inherit the genetic horizontal leaping prowess of a jungle cat. Those skills belong to people who get paid millions of dollars to use them. And we're basically the ones paying them. But does that mean we should squander opportunity when it's skipping, gift-wrapped by Big Papi, straight for us in the stands? Hell no.In today's game between the Red Sox and the Indians, one bold fan was delighted to find David Ortiz's ground-rule double somewhere in the general vicinity of his shallow depth perception, and really went for it. Note his outstretched hands, as if to acknowledge, "I know that there's a ball somewhere around here." And when that gentleman locates it, he lets nothing stand between him and the sweet possibility of gripping that precious cowhide. But, alas, he miscalculated the bounce, and left his feet too early, only to dive headlong into a chair. Don't worry. He seemed to bounce back ok, if only dazed by the unsettling reminder that he isn't a pro ballplayer.Meanwhile, that ball would have had some real value attached to it: Big Papi was one triple short of hitting the cycle in the Red Sox's 5-2 win. He went 4-for-4 with a home run, had two doubles, and three RBIs. Showing Joe Fan why he's in the bleachers, and why Big Papi's at bat.
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