“Ball-Dude” Fumbles a Grounder, Umpire Catches a Mask

You know what they say, “You win some, you lose some.” On Monday night, one non-player on the field won one (an umpire) and another non-player lost one (a “ball-dude”).

Let’s take a look at an umpire, first, who caught Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon’s mask, after he tossed it up in the air looking for a pop-fly:

So nonchalant, so smooth, so cool: A+ work, right there. That umpire is undoubtedly the Fonzy of umpires. But not everyone has all the moves. Take, for example, the ball-boy (or, for age-related reasons, I’m guessing, the “ball-dude”) at the San Francisco Giants game, who biffed the ground ball you know he was waiting for all game:

That poor guy. Like I said, you just know that’s all he wanted while he was the ball-dude, for the Giants. I can just watch him, as the ball approaches, reliving his former Little League days, as the game-winning grounder rolls through his legs at short, just before he sees his name scheduled for right field the very next night. Don’t worry, kid, you’ll get ’em next time.