Pressure is not making $20 million a season as an outfielder, while trying to justify the salary, but more like what Keith Hartley experience when he put his son and probably his marriage on the line for a foul ball.
Hartley managed to snag a foul ball while bottle-feeding his infant son during the second inning of Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field.
Hartley, was sitting in a box seat down the first base line when Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel hit a pop fly right to him and his 7-month-old son, Isaac.
“I’m just trying to protect him first,” Hartley said. “We have the seating configuration so my two friends were closer to the ball if a sharp foul ball came. We’d all kind of stand up and make a wall.
“This one was a little easier, a pop fly. Just kind of reaction. It just came to me.”
Asked if he was scared about the possibility of dropping the baby, Hartley says he just wanted to remain calm.
“No, baseball is not a new thing to me,” he said. “I didn’t want to hit the ledge and hit (first baseman Adrian Gonzalez). I wanted to make first contact, I think.”
Keith’s wife, Kari Hartley admitted she was “a little bit nervous” when she saw what was unfolding.
“I was a little bit scared that he was going to drop him,” she said. “Fortunately he held on tight to both the ball and Isaac.”
“He didn’t say anything,” Hartley said. “I think I turned around too quickly for him to interact with me. Hopefully he’s not too angry. He is on my fantasy team.”