Baby in one hand, ball in the other: Dad costs Cubs an out with catch

Tom Gatto

Baby in one hand, ball in the other: Dad costs Cubs an out with catch image

Don't get us wrong; this is a really sweet grab by a dad who brought his baby boy to Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, he loses fan points for reaching into the field of play and snatching the ball from Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

The umpires didn't immediately rule fan interference even though the violation was clear. The Dodgers had to use their replay challenge. The boys in New York set things right and the batter, Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel, was called out.

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The dad, Keith Hartley, said he was just trying to protect his 7-month-old son, Isaac. He started having flashbacks to the 2003 NLCS.

"I was hoping it wouldn't be like a Bartman-type situation," he said, according to The Associated Press . "Some of my friends texted me, 'You're the anti-Bartman.' I said no, it's kind of the same situation."

Oh, yeah: Cue the Bartman jokes:

Gonzalez, who did not pull a Moises Alou, joked about Hartley's hands.

Gonzalez, though, was glad stadium security didn't eject the Hartley clan.

"I don't think fans should get ejected if they don't go on the field. I think they've got every right to stick their hand out. I wouldn't have wanted to see him get thrown out," Gonzalez said, per the AP.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was impressed even though the grab hurt his team.

"That was outstanding," Maddon said, per the AP, after the Cubs' 1-0, 10-inning victory. "You worry about the baby, of course. But he looked like he had it under control."

Hartley appreciated the shoutout.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.