Have a ball at Petco Park

Fans try to catch a foul ball during a San Diego Padres against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park on May 29, 2017. (K.C. Alfred/Union-Tribune)

July 5, 2017 10:54 AM PT

Many fans seemingly go mad when a baseball comes into the stands at Petco Park.

“There’s something about a foul ball or a ball getting thrown up into the stands where it becomes a free-for-all,” Padres manager Andy Green said.

Adults elbow little kids out of the way. Fans tumble on top of the person in front of them. A guy returning from the concession stand tosses aside $40 worth of beers for a chance at a ball that sells for $17 on Amazon.com (or $36 in the Padres shop!?!), only to have it go off his hands and into the lap of someone just sitting there.

Read the full story behind foul balls and the most popular players to get asked for a ball between innings at sandiegouniontribune.com.

Health | Fitness

Kirk Kenney

Kirk Kenney joined The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1985, shortly after graduating from San Diego State, where he majored in business (real estate) and minored in journalism. He was born in Escondido and raised in La Mesa, where he attended Helix High School in the post-Bill Walton and pre-Reggie Bush era, and now lives in the North County community of Santaluz. Kirk has covered everything from the preps to the pros through the years and his primary beat is now SDSU football. He recalls with particular fondness the Chargers practicing at La Mesa’s Sunset Park in the early 1970s, the Padres reaching the 1984 and 1998 World Series and Torrey Pines hosting the 2008 U.S. Open. Kirk has made 10 trips to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series and recommends the event for everyone’s bucket list. Kirk has won numerous awards, mostly for bowling.