Q: What do you do as a ball girl?
A: We get the foul balls and we give them to the fans. Our number one job is to keep the game moving fast. If the players had to go get every single foul ball, the game would be a lot longer. There’s some games I can get 12-15 balls, so we’re there to speed up the game. Then the other fun thing we get to do is run in the jackets for the relief pitchers.
Q: So you get to go into the bullpen?
A: Yep. I had a fan tell me once that he calculated that I probably ran in Trevor Hoffman’s jacket over 280 times.
Q: How did you get into this job?
A: We had tryouts. They hit us ground balls, fly balls. All of us have played softball in high school or college, and still play. I still play Over The Line. This is my 15th year as a ball girl. I started at Qualcomm.
Q: What’s it been like watching this team, throughout 15 years?
A: When I first came on it was 1998, when we went to the World Series against the Yankees, and it was a dream. My dad was a huge Yankees fan and we used to make jokes — “If the Padres ever played the Yankees in the World Series …” — and I swear it happened that year when I got the ball girl job. I have just seen the most amazing, fun teams.
Q: You sit in the same spot for each game you work … What kind of relationships do you form with the fans around you?
A: I call it my family reunion every year. I have been to weddings. I have seen their babies born. I have one kid I used to give foul balls to since he was little and now he was drafted. And sadly, I’ve been to a funeral for one of our fans. We have become such a family. We have a lady who brings us cookies to every game. Fans ask, “How are the kids?” They ask me about players and how so-and-so is feeling. But the number one thing I get is the request for balls.
Q: Once you get a foul ball, you can give it to anyone you want, so how do you decide?
A: It’s really hard. I hear things like, “Today is my birthday” and “It’s my first baseball game” or “I’m proposing to my girlfriend.” Mostly you try to give them to little kids. One time the cutest little kid came running down and I gave him the ball, and he turns around and has this big Dodger T-shirt. I got boo’d for three innings. I didn’t see the Dodgers shirt! I’m sorry.
Q: What do you love the most about the job?
A: It’s the fans. They’re so kind to me. But it’s also just being here. I grew up in Boston, Fenway Park, and I still get chills. They pay us, but we would all do it for free. Just to be down here, be on the field, and be part of this … I feel so lucky. Every day.
Q: What’s the toughest part of your job?
A: I think it’s when you see the shortstop and the left fielder running after you, trying to catch a foul ball, which direction to run. You look at them, see where they’re going. You never look at the ball. The last thing we ever want is to get on ESPN for is touching a fair ball. That’s our nightmare.
Q: You have some Top 10 plays on ESPN, actually …
A: I have three. One was a Sean Burroughs blooper, another was a David Eckstein line drive. But my favorite one was last year — a Justin Upton line drive. The very first one we saw, we all went out to eat after the game, and my friend points to the TV. I was on full-screen on the big screen TV. It’s definitely an honor. That was the day my son thought I was cool.
Q: You get to be such a part of the game. Is it an incredible feeling?
A: It’s a dream. A dream come true. I can’t wait to get to work. I’m nervous for every game.
