Hats Off to Batting Practice

After what seemed like an eternity (hey, without baseball seven days is an eternity), the Diamondback came back to town. With Mallorie in tow, I jumped in the car and headed to Bank One Ballpark to catch a game. The Diamondbacks are playing the San Diego Padres which means that maybe this series we will see Tony Gwynn on the field. He is a pretty cool guy and is great with the kids so we decided to go down for batting practice. While the Diamondbacks were up, Bernard Gilkey came to the plate. He lined a couple into left field while Mallorie and I stood along the wall at the foul line. The very next pitch was lined hard and headed straight for Mallorie. She was like a deer in headlights as she stood staring at her impending doom. I instinctly took off my hat and held it like a mitt hoping to stop the ball before it got to Mallorie. The ball whizzed by me and into my waiting hat. Unfortunately, my hat was no match for the ball. The bill separated from the hat with the ball still cradled inside. The hat gently landed in Mallorie's lap where she retrieved the ball and gave me back what was left of my hat. It looks like it is time to get a new hat.