District Boy Snags First Nationals Park Foul Ball
Young DC-Area Ballhawk Gets 2nd Career Game Ball on a Willie Harris Foul Ball
by Alan Schuster, September 14, 2009On September 13 of last season Washington DC Ballhawk Aaron King, AKA District Boy, snagged his first ever foul ball at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Last week, 3 days prior to the anniversary of the milestone snag, he snagged another one, this time at his home ballpark, Nationals Park. King's story is a lot like that of Greg Barasch, who snagged a foul ball at Nationals Park just 5 days earlier. Both ballhawks don't usually go for foul balls, both were positioned with the intention of going for third out toss-ups, and most interestingly, both were on the receiving end of a foul ball from Nationals outfielder Willie Harris. "It was the 8th inning and I had just moved from the first-base side to the third-base side for the sole purpose of making it easier to get to the dugout when the game ended," King said. That's when Harris sent a ball flying in his direction. "I jumped out of my seat immediately and, thinking it was going over my head, headed up the steps," King said. "However, when I looked back up, I saw it was actually headed right to where I was sitting. I raced back down the aisle and managed to grab the ball from under a seat as soon it landed." The foul ball was part of a solid 8-ball night for King, upping his 6th place season total to 167. Along with Mannywood and DHaltom, King is inching toward 200 with a few short weeks left in the season. "200 for the year is what I'm aiming for but it's not going to be easy," King said. "I've been in a snagging slump lately and the Nationals are just starting a road-trip. The attendance figures will be on my side though so I just have to hope that I don't get too much homework during this last homestand." Check out District Boy's complete collection on his Member Page.