Even in the Autumn the San Francisco Giants Are Partial to Senior Citizens Who Shag Fouls

SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Giants have fielded their top talent for the Major League Baseball playoffs this week, but even some of their most elite have made errors.
There was, for example, veteran George Zarzana's blooper in Sunday's opener in the National League Championship Series. Mr. Zarzana suited up for the game against the St. Louis Cardinals, jogged confidently onto the field and settled into his position.

While most baseball clubs use ballboys or ballgirls to shag foul balls, the San Francisco Giants use balldudes and balldudettes, whose average age is over 50. WSJ's Jim Carlton reports from AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Then he promptly fell off the stool.
Mr. Zarzana's position was next to the dugout behind first base, and he would be called a ball boy if he were a little younger. At age 72, he last played baseball when Jimmy Carter was president, and that makes him a balldude in Giants parlance.
He is in good company in this club. Most Major League teams field the familiar teenage ball boys and ball girls to shag fouls outside the outfield foul lines. The Giants are partial to a cadre of foul-chasers mostly over the age of 60. Read More.