Chad Pergram recalls scoring 3 baseballs at Riverfront Stadium in 1978

I’m no Ted Williams.

But I could see the rotating, red seams on the scuffed-up baseball utilized for batting practice twirling towards me in sluggish movement. Every strand gyrated, certain for the very first row "blue" seats on the reduce amount of Cincinnati’s outdated Riverfront Stadium.

Granted, the ball was not coming at a nine-12 months-outdated me at the similar clip as a 96-mph fastball which Williams could have faced from Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians. It was not dipping like a slider from the palm of Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees. The "Splendid Splinter" was regarded for this kind of keen eyesight that he could choose up the revolution of the ball approaching the plate.

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Outfielder Ted Williams, of the Boston Red Sox, poses for an action portrait in the course of a Spring Schooling in March, 1950 in Sarasota, Florida.  (Diamond Visuals/Getty Images)

There is a cause Williams is the previous hitter to crack .400 for a time: .406 in 1941.

But this ball was not a fastball dealt from the pitcher’s mound.

This was a sly, no-search, underhanded toss from the field stage AstroTurf to the very first row of seats – exactly exactly where the stands cut at a sharp angle to run parallel to the right industry line.

And the furtive fling wasn’t even coming from a Important League hurler.

It was coming from Joseph "Stretch" Suba, the longtime (and legendary) bullpen catcher of the Houston Astros.

The working day was September 12, 1978. The Reds would go on to defeat the Astros 4-3 that night time. The activity was most effective recognised for Champ Summers (terrific title) of the Reds touching up Astros’ pitcher Mark Lemongello (bigger title) for the 1st property run by the property workforce into the correct industry "pink seats" – the mammoth upper deck at Riverfront Stadium.

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Bullpen catcher Joseph Extend Suba of the Houston Astros throws a pitch in the course of batting apply prior to a video game on September 11, 2011 in opposition to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. (Diamond Visuals)

But to a nine-year-previous baseball lover, the Reds victory and Summers’ prodigious jack was an afterthought.

Never in advance of had a foul ball, house operate or any Big League ball at any time arrive shut to me at Riverfront Stadium. And still here I was with my best buddy Jamie, leaning above the rail, hectoring Suba for a ball.

We weren’t even sure how to say his title. But "SUBA" was emblazoned on the back again of the Astros’ radical, orange, purple and blue "tequila sunrise" uniform – full with a variety on the suitable pants leg.

Suba wasn’t in the program. I experienced in no way listened to of him. But it was September. I questioned if he might have been a late-season get in touch with-up from the Astros’ AAA affiliate in Charleston.

They used to good massive leaguers for tossing balls into the stands. These transgressions most likely didn’t put much of a dent in the paycheck of stars like Pete Rose of the Reds or Bob Watson of the Astros. But it was probably a different calculus for a bullpen catcher to cough up a ball to a couple of badgering little ones.

And out of the blue, at just the correct instant, apparently when the "batting exercise ball law enforcement" weren’t searching, Suba – flipped a ball upwards toward the appears of our voices.

Suba under no circumstances glanced our way. He hardly ever acknowledged us. He stared towards the plate, a catcher’s mitt folded towards his midsection as Enos Cabell, Bruce Bochy and Terry Puhl took their cuts in the batting cage.

The ball appeared like it was all Jamie’s. Jamie was taller than me and in a far better posture to make the catch. I remember Jamie pressing the foundation of his palms with each other, fingers extended, just waiting to clasp it.

But definitely I was not going to allow Jamie to get that ball over me.

A comprehensive overview of Riverfront Stadium during a Cincinnati Reds Main League Baseball recreation circa 1991 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  (Focus on Sport/Getty Visuals)

I snapped my ideal arm in entrance Jamie’s outstretched arms, snagging the ball just over the dim Riverfront Stadium railing. I pulled it in to my upper body like a soccer goalkeeper.

I had a Big League ball.

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My dad who took us to the video game was a stickler for manners. He manufactured guaranteed I thanked Mr. Suba – and termed him "Mr. Suba." Suba gestured with a nod of his head as batting practice continued.

But we weren’t accomplished.

Hockey may have the hat trick.

But we secured a holy trinity that night. A trifecta of baseballs from batting follow and the match. A trifecta worthy of close by River Downs.

For the duration of the activity, the left-handed hitting Jose Cruz of the Astros arrived to the plate. Cruz strike .315 that year. Cruz would carry his left leg as a pitch approached the plate – uncoiling his bat with the ferocity of a cobra attacking a mongoose. Cruz scalded a shot down the correct industry line. He stroked the ball with these types of velocity its hissing minimize as a result of the moist September air, veering into foul territory.

My father was a great ballplayer in his working day. He nevertheless performed in an around-40 league at that position. He brought with him to the activity a MacGregor-manufacturer, Lee Could very first baseman’s glove. Stitched into the pocket of the glove have been the words and phrases "The Large Dipper." But that celestial moniker did not do this glove justice. This matter was like a "black hole." Everything that went into that glove hardly ever escaped.

A gentleman walked down the aisle powering us, toting a tray littered with brats smothered relish, a crock of popcorn and two Hudepohl beers. Cruz’s frozen rope was heading specifically for this guy, ambling down the aisle.

But Father flashed the Massive Dipper, backhanding Cruz’s violent line generate.

He in all probability saved the man’s daily life.

And the Hudepohls.

A lazy pop fly arrived our path later on in the sport. It caromed all around the seats like a pinball in advance of rolling down the aisle towards us. We scooped up that just one, too.

3 fans. Three balls.

Boy, Jamie and I would have stories to notify in Mrs. Turner’s fourth grade course the up coming morning. We had only been followers for a couple of quick yrs. But we experienced never ever regarded any individual who bought a ball at a activity – allow by itself 3.

"Stretch" Suba wasn’t Joe Morgan or Johnny Bench or a person of the cogs in the Big Purple Device. But it turns out he was a fabled figure in Astros lore. Suba labored as Houston’s bullpen catcher for an astonishing 36 decades.

Just before batting observe was around, I hollered yet again at Suba. I asked if he would indication the ball. I guess no one was searching at that stage. I handed Suba a black ink pen and he signed it. Given that he wasn’t mentioned in the program, I believed he scribbled his identify as "Steve" Suba. For many years just after that, my Dad and I would at times spot Suba on Reds Tv set broadcasts from Houston, warming up Astros pitchers in the bullpen.

"There is "Steve" Suba, we’d say," hardly ever acknowledging he signed his title as "Stretch." We just couldn’t make out his penmanship.

It took us several years to figure out Suba’s authentic name.

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Which only extra to the lore of our "three ball evening."