Nine of the craziest things people have ever done for baseball
Being a baseball fan can be a love affair. The irresistible pull of the game can make people do wildly unreasonable things that they can't even begin to rationalize. Whether it's driving all the way across the country to see all the ballparks, lying to your boss so you can skip work for Opening Day or dropping your life savings on a World Series ticket, folks have some pretty amazing stories about the insane lengths they've gone to for the game they love.
In search of more of these tales of devotion, I posed the following question to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.
What's the craziest thing you've ever done for baseball?
— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) February 12, 2019
The responses ranged from the concerning to the inspiring to the downright unbelievable. I went and sifted through all the submissions and here are the nine craziest things people sent in.
The Maddest MadBum Fan
In 2016, I travelled to see every one of Madison Bumgarner¡¯s 34 regular season starts in person.
— SNOTROCKET 40 (@Snotrocket40) February 13, 2019
It's one thing to see your favorite pitcher make every single home start. Impressive, but doable. Following Madison Bumgarner on the road all season is a jaw-dropping level of dedication.
The Sunflower Seed Collector
Collected Ripken and A-Rod¡¯s used sunflower seed shells during a run around the bases event after a Mariners game.
— Luke Freedman (@Luke_Freedman) February 13, 2019
My guy. Do you just have them in a jar somewhere now? This is also a two-birds, one-stone situation because not only did he get to collect used sunflower seeds from the two greatest shortstops in baseball history, but he also got to milk his time running the bases on the field.
The Blue Eyeball
¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be the blue eyeball.¡± pic.twitter.com/b6o0XuLLAQ
— Andrew Reynolds (@a_dot_reynolds) February 13, 2019
The world of in-between inning Minor League baseball promotions can be an unforgiving hellscape that will literally trample your eyeball at any moment. It's also a world of magical delight and heartwarming glee. Just depends on whether you're the dude in the eyeball suit or not.
The Actual Major League Pitcher
Pitched an entire season with a fastball that averaged 86.1 mph.
— dan haren (@ithrow88) February 13, 2019
Here's the craziest part: Despite having a heater barely faster than the speed limit in Texas, the 34-year-old was pretty good that year (2015) for the Marlins and Cubs, posting a 3.60 ERA in 187 1/3 innings with a 2.1 WAR.
The Best Negotiator Ever
I worked a clause into a work contract that said that Opening Day is a holiday that I couldn¡¯t work on, which came back to bite my boss in the ass when he scheduled a super important meeting on Opening Day.
— S. Boom (@MerkMill) February 12, 2019
People throw the word "genius" around a lot. You hear names like Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Kendrick Lamar. Whatever. Forget all that. This is true genius.
The Wedding Cake Fortune Teller
Convinced my wife add the Astros logo and ¡°2017 World Series Champs¡± to our wedding cake in December of 2013. 6 months before sports illustrated called it. pic.twitter.com/70uqxhcddI
— Prof. B Neal (@RealDealBNeal) February 13, 2019
Wedding cakes aren't a typical medium for super bold World Series predictions, but I'm a huge fan of this move. Also, get wrecked, Sports Illustrated.
The Stadium Sleeper
Lived alone inside a baseball stadium for the 2013 season with the Greeneville Astros in the Appy league.
— Johnny Stewart (@CanadianClubby) February 13, 2019
And I'd do it again.
As kids, we all dreamed about getting to live in a baseball stadium. This hero actually did it and lived to tell the tale.
The Journey of a Lifetime
last year I took a $55, hour long uber to watch a $5 astros/braves spring training game alone
— tricia? (@TriciaWasHere) February 12, 2019
Watching a baseball game alone is one of the coolest things you can do as a fan, but I can imagine the Uber driver saying, "Oh, are you meeting anyone at the game?" And then our friend Tricia here being like, "Uh, nah."
The Ultimate Tribute
Put my dads ashes in an Astros souvenir baseball and took him to games 3&4 pic.twitter.com/Tjmxk9aBMb
— bannie tabor (@banniet) February 12, 2019
