An Open Letter to MLB.com

You remember our buddy Tim Anderson, right?

Sure you do.  He was that cat at Camden Yards who caught home run balls on three consecutive nights in August.
Yeah, you read that right…three consecutive nights!  And then, later in the season, snagged another pair in the same night.

Have you ever heard of such a feat?  Well, the folks at MLB.com must have because they forgot to include the young ballhawk’s accomplishment for this year’s Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards (GIBBYs).

Here is Tim Anderson’s “Open Letter” to the folks at MLB.com.

To Whom It May Concern at MLB.com:

I’m not vain.  It’s impossible; I’m an Orioles fan.

But when I visited Orioles.com this evening, stumbled across the voting for the GIBBYs and began voting, I was fully expecting to vote for myself for the “Must C Fan Moment of the Year”.

I was sincerely disappointed.

Personally, I feel as if my accomplishments as a fan in 2011 outrank most of the so-called accomplishments by the fans nominated by MLB.com for the Fan Moment of the Year Award.

You’re telling me that the guy who dropped his daughter at a Dodgers game to then ultimately drop a ball that was lobbed underhand to him was a good fan moment in baseball this season?

I want a second opinion; ask his daughter.

How about that other Dodgers fan who caught her foul ball in her ice cream? The ball was deflected by her boyfriend who only offered protection by sticking his bare hand out. Be a man, use your body.

By the way, the Dodgers thank you for buying a concession.

Then there’s that kid who gave his baseball away to the other kid who dropped it at a Diamondbacks game. He was quite obviously pressured into giving the ball to the crying kid by a stadium employee. Peer pressure strikes again.

Where are these kids’ morals?

And that guy who gave his sunglasses to Prince Fielder? C’mon!

I once gave a homeless man a quarter leaving an Orioles game. Were there cameras there? Nope! And “fans” don’t wear collared shirts to baseball games and sit in the front row behind home plate.

If this were “Rich Guy Moments of the Year,” then, by all means, deliver that trophy to his office overlooking the Rocky Mountains.

Now, that Rangers fan who caught a screaming foul ball down the first baseline with ease while chatting away on his cell phone (that’s his official title these days, right?) really gets on my nerves. I’m all for acting like you’ve been there before, but judging by that cell phone in your had and those earbuds dangling on your chest, I think you’re confused as to where you are in the first place.

This a baseball game, not the office.

He’s that guy that sits behind you at the games, chatting away on his cell phone about John at work. You came to watch the American League Champion Rangers and instead, you know what Frank does for a living, where he works and how big of a “jackass” John is.

And look closely at his attire. That’s right, he has his iPod Nano clipped to the right leg of his shorts. He can’t even watch a baseball game without Kenny Chesney in his ear.

Steve Bartman anyone?

I’m not bitter, MLB.com. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes.

I’m sure ESPN is a little more diligent with those ESPY nominations.

Sincerely,
Tim Anderson
Orioles Fan

Let’s help Anderson and see if we can get MLB.com to right this wrong.