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a normal human reaction
I guess this isn't really an umpiring point, but I need to vent and since the subject is being discussed here...
I keep hearing this poor guy villified for trying to catch the ball. And someone's even adding to it by saying "others around him were trying to get away from it".
Take 10 people, put them into a confined area, and drop a baseball on them from, say, the top of a 10 story building. Then watch what they do. I'd wager that they will all, in some way, try to defend themselves. Some will try to get the heck out of the way, and some will no doubt try to catch the ball. They won't know if the ball is going to land on them, or the person next to them, or on no one. They're looking up into the sky, trying to track a baseball, and won't even know if they're leaning out over the rail or back away from the rail. They will just react as best they can.
Realize that these people don't catch popups for a living on a daily basis. It has nothing to do with who you're a fan of, or even if there's a game going on. I seriously doubt the guy even realized that Alou was in the immediate vicinity...he was looking at the ball! Do you think Alou shouted "ball, ball" or "I've got it" to let the guy know he was going to catch it and that he should back off?
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Thanks,
Jim
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