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When youre sitting in Section 416 at Wrigley Field, you had better pay special attention to the game when a left-handed batter is up.Thats not just because National League MVP candidate Anthony Rizzo is the sort of player whose every plate appearance is worth watching. No, its a matter of personal safety -- and souvenirs.Left-handed batters send foul balls screaming into Section 416, as well as the seats to either side and behind it. Balls carom off concrete, ricochet off girders and bounce off the hands of inept fans or the heads of people not watching the game.The joy of the foul ball, obviously, is in the adrenaline rush and the physical connection to the game. Not as great as a home run ball, but way better than a batting practice ball or a ball tossed into the stands at the end of an inning. A foul ball almost -- almost -- makes the fan who fields it part of the game itself.Fans recognize this, and so we cheer when someone makes a clean catch in the stands, or boo when someone muffs one -- especially if they are in the front row and the ball falls down to the lower deck.But since left-handed batters are a minority of players, most of my season-ticket partners have never even gotten close to a foul ball. That doesnt stop us from having some serious opinions about foul-ball etiquette, though.Azz has one rule: If youre old enough to have a drivers license, youre too old to bring a glove to the game.But if you do get a ball bare-handed, what next? Are you morally obligated to give it to a kid?Thats the Country Doctors position: Its a freaking ball, give it to a kid!The Big Bun brings a bit more nuance, but ends up in the same place:If its your first foul ball, you get to keep it. If its not your first foul ball, its your responsibility to find the nearest kid and give that kid the ball, but only if the kid isnt wearing a hat or jersey from the opposing team and their parents havent been jerks during the game. You shouldnt expect to get anything in return. This isnt about getting a free beer. Its about being a decent human being and making some 6-year-old kids year.Me, Im suspicious of this whole kid idea. Teach has a slightly sinister take on that. He writes, One of the primary reasons I had kids was so that if I finally got blessed by the baseball gods with a foul ball, I would be able to dodge the ire of the crowd by giving it to a kid -- but then immediately take it back on the car ride home. Looking back, it might have been easier to take a page from the bleacher bums: bring a dummy ball with you to the game, and if you catch a foul, keep it, and give a kid the dummy ball.Im not going to ask what Mrs. Teach thinks about this.My own history with foul balls is pretty sparse. Back in 2003 -- early in the Sunday night Yankees game that Joe Borowski saved by picking a pinch runner off first base for the final out -- a foul ball bounced over from 417, past several grasping fans, and landed in my friend Kathys lap.But she hadnt grasped the ball and held it aloft, the gesture that claims the prize. So I grabbed it. Naturally, I handed it back to her; shes a Yankees fan, and her crush Jorge Posada had stroked that particular foul ball. She also mightve clocked me if I hadnt.In the 12-plus seasons since, many foul balls had come in my general direction, but never had I been really close -- heart-pounding, adrenaline-spiking close -- until the Pirates game on June 17. In the first inning, Jake Arrieta threw a fastball to No. 2 batter Gregory Polanco, who fought it off and sent it up to 416.The ball was coming right to me on a high arc, a lofty popup. All I had to do was keep my eye on the ball and ...I didnt. I looked away, stumbled slightly to my right, and knocked beer all over Stockfish. The ball caromed between him and Azz, and some pedestrian in the aisle picked it up. He got cheers, I got boos.My guilt over the spilt beer was balanced by Stockfish having earlier nicknamed me Ringworm Lardner in honor of this column. But I did the right thing and gave him most of my beer (which he had bought anyway). Then I endured a well-deserved verbal lashing for having blown a freaking gift. In fact, Ive been hearing about it ever since.Then came the White Sox game on July 28. Adam Eaton led off against John Lackey?and sent a screamer above 416, into the stairs leading up to the 500-level seats behind me and to my right.The Big Bun -- who had those seats that night, along with our pal Champ -- was late (thanks to a slow CTA bus, Champ claimed). These empty seats let me do a Fosbury Flop over the railing to play the carom. I plucked the prize away from a guy jumping down from above.I grasped the ball and held it high. My first major league foul ball after 44 years of attending games. There were no kids in the vicinity, although a White Sox fan in front of me made a play for it. But she was too old to wear a glove, so that was that.Im averse to giving foul balls to kids, in part because Im heartless and in part because of events at the Arizona Fall League last October.I got a foul ball there, but thats no great accomplishment. With 500 people in the park, if you want one you have to go to the vast effort of standing up, walking over, and picking it up.Pregame, Id met and chatted with an autograph hound, a guy who had two umpire-pockets full of balls, and a book full of minor league baseball cards. He bragged about getting Kris Bryants signature back in 2014. He also had a boy with him, I presumed his son, maybe 4 years old. All this kid wanted to do was run around and mess with things, and when the Autograph Hound wasnt on the railing waving his pen at players, he was chasing after his wandering offspring.About five seconds after I snagged my official AFL ball in the eighth inning, this lad appeared in front of me. He put on an expression like one of those velvet portraits of a big-eyed Victorian street urchin, his hands held out together in an unmistakable wordless gesture: Im a kid. Give me that foul ball! Please.I told him, No, this one is for my inner child, and he smiled and scampered off instantly. I got a dirty look from the Autograph Hound, but to heck with him. I mean, did I even know this boy was his child? He mightve rented the kid from some Foul Ball Fagin, as a sentimental ploy to increase his odds of amassing more balls for prospects to sign.But if the baseball gods bless me with a second foul ball -- this year or ever -- Ill follow the advice of the Big Bun and the Country Doctor and make some kids year.Unless its a foul ball hit by a Cub. I dont have one of those. Yet.Hydro Flask Black Friday Sale . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Swell Cyber Monday Sale . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. http://www.waterbottleblackfriday.com/ . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Hydro Flask Cyber Monday Swell Cyber Monday .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6.TROY, Ala. -- Brandon Silvers threw two touchdown tosses in the fourth quarter as Troy held off Georgia State 31-21 in Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday.Georgia State scored to close within 10 and was driving midway through the final quarter when Junior Gnonkonde sacked Conner Manning, causing a fumble. Troys Baron Poole fell on the loose ball to stop the Panthers.Silvers threw for 235 yards with one interception. Deondre Douglas grabbed six passes for 97 yards and one touchdown and Jordan Chunnn rushed for 91 yards and a score.ddddddddddddTroy (5-1 3-0 Sun Belt), which opened conference play 3-0 for the first time since 2010, was trailing 14-6 midway in the third quarter. The Trojans pulled away to a 31-14 lead with 9:14 left in the game.Manning hit Ari Werts on a 14-yard scoring play to close the gap before the Troy defense stopped Georgia State (1-5, 1-2).[url=http://www.authenticws] ' ' '