Cory Graves
This 10-Year-Old Rangers Fan Who Caught a Foul Ball on Saturday Has More Game Than You Ever Will.
For as long as there has been professional sports in this town, there have been dynamic, diehard fans that, over the years, have earned themselves nearly as much notoriety as the players on the field themselves — or, at the very least, become revered as staples in the scene.
For decades, we took honor in such folks such as Wilford “Crazy Ray” Jones' presence at Cowboys games and John “Zonk” Lanzillo beating his drum at Rangers games.
And, during Saturday's 4-2 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Park, 10-year-old Texas Rangers fan Austin Chaney — or “The Foul Ball Kid,” as various media outlets have begun to call him — made his case for being the next in that long line of famous fans.
In the video below, you can see Chaney appearing to catch a foul ball and immediately — and very suavely, we might add — turning and handing the thing to a swooning group of ladies sitting behind him. Thing is, if you watch carefully, you'll notice the junior conman smoothly pulling the old switcheroo just before the act and giving away a different ball — one he'd been holding onto all game long.
Sure, we admit that Chaney's a longshot to become the next Home Run Kid any time soon. His trick is probably one that can't be replicated on a nightly basis. And, even if it could be, it would become tiresome in short order.
Still, even though the Rangers' most famous fans haven't always been anointed with the most creative monikers — we're looking at you Net Man — it still seems like this kid deserved something a little more clever to ride out his last few moments in the sun with than the uber-generic Foul Ball Kid nickname he's been lazily given.
Here are but a few suggestions we just rattled off the top of our heads:
• Pick-Up Gamer
• The Foul Baller
• The Ladies' Fan
• The Smooth Criminal
• Lower Bowl Romeo
• Hidden Ball Trickster
• Chico Suave
• The Slime Ball Kid
• Foul Ball Faker
• The Half-Pint Hustler
Point is, just about anything is better than Foul Ball Kid. And this kid? Even if his mom swears he's not always this smooth, he's still pretty much the best.
