I didn't have time to fully state a case for/against the Happy Youngster and his quest for batted balls at Miller Park.

       Youngster is a self-proclaimed "ball hawker"  who collects batting practice spheres as well as in-game clouts.   

      He caught one Tuesday night hit by a Florida Marlin rookie.     Youngster let the team know he had it, and what it would take to get it: two bats, one from the player who hit it and another from Marlins star Hanley Ramirez.      The team balked, Youngster worked his way through the Florida organizational chart the rest of the night and before finally handing over the horsehide.        He got a bat from the player who hit it, as well as a promise for tickets in Miami when the Brewers play there.       Youngster also got accused of holding the ball for "ransom", as the player put it.

       Ouch.    The Youngster wasn't too happy about that.

       It's not ransom by definition, but the player struck a nerve by holding up a mirror and showing Youngster what he's doing.          When asked by the Big Unit, Bill Michaels, if he ever thought of giving up the ball, Youngster reacted as if he didn't realize it was a yes-or-no proposition.     Instead, he hemmed and hawed about "negotiations" while admitting that he always intended to reunite the player with said ball.

       The Marlins could've given him the bats and been done with it.     And, there are many who side with the Youngster, who say what's a couple of autographed sticks to a huge corporation or it's millionaire ballplayers.     It makes me wonder what these folks are doing at games if they have such animosity toward the guys they're watching or the clubs they're supporting.      The ball, they say, is an opportunity and the chance to negotiate for it an entitlement.      It's your chance to get back at the man, they say, so go for it!

       Here's where we are as a sporting public, people: there isn't a split between the fan and the athlete.      There's a chasm.

       Fans see players and everything they touch or wear as a an investment opportunity in the rare event the guy actually goes on to have a meaningful/historic career.      That's why grown men hang outside hotels with book upon book of rookie baseball cards, hoping they'll cash in some day with the next autographed Honus Wagner.       It's why teams sell game-used jerseys and cracked bats.      

       Yes, I think it's strange that a grown man with a wife and kids spends nights ball-hawking.      Grown men shouldn't bring their mitt to a big league stadium unless they're playing shortstop.            And, if they DO make a bare-handed snag of a game ball, it should immediately be given to his offspring or, if he has none, to the nearest appreciative child.       Adults who knock kids out of the way to get to said balls should be banned for the season from the ball park, and for life if the kid cries.        The hand that holds the glove should be grasping a beer once the person in question turns 21.

       In my world, the ball in question Tuesday night would've ended up in the hands of a kid--maybe even one of the Youngster's very own.      And, the kid would have the choice to keep it, give it back, or hold out for swag.      On my planet, the child would've said, "Let's give it back" and the team would've made a meeting happen.      The player would've shaken the kid's hand while handing over, unsolicited, all manner of cool stuff, just because it would be the right thing to do.

       Yeah, right.     In my world, there's still a kid handing Mean Joe Greene a Coke, too.