Lucky fan is twice in the right spot---this is one lucky guy!!

Oct. 9, 2005, 11:52PM
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Lucky fan is twice in the right spot

By LEE CEARNAL
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle



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<HR SIZE=3>[font=verdana, Arial, Helvetica, ms sans-serif][size=-1]"I never caught one in a game before."
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[font=verdana, Arial, Helvetica, ms sans-serif][size=-2]— SHAUN DEAN, Lucky fan who caught 2 balls in history-making game [/size][/font]<HR></TD><TD align=right width=100> [font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=-2]<CENTER>Altman</CENTER>[/size][/font]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Chris Burke's homer might not have been the only history-maker in Sunday's 18-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves. The fan who caught it — Shaun Dean of Porter — also caught Lance Berkman's grand slam shot in the eighth.

Dean, 25, was sitting in the second row of the Crawford boxes. A client had given tickets to Joslin Construction, where he is comptroller.

"I never caught one in a game before," he said.

But with one out in the eighth, with the bases loaded and the Astros down 6-1, Berkman hit his line drive. Fortunately, Dean was wearing a glove.

"It came right at me," he said, "I just reached over and caught it."

Later — about three hours — Burke came to the plate with two out in the 18th. When he connected, the drive was not on as direct a line as Berkman's but Dean said "it was all just a blur ... (it) came more toward my father-in-law, and he just leaned over and I reached down and caught it."

Soon afterward, "an usher came down and talked to me." He told Dean that the Astros normally offer cash and other considerations to fans who return special home-run balls to the players who hit them.

He said he probably would give the ball to Burke, since the homer made history, for the club and for Major League Baseball, since it ended the longest playoff game ever.

On the way out of the park, Dean was an instant celebrity.

"Everyone was congratulating me, patting me on the back," he said. "I had several people say I should buy a lottery ticket or go to Vegas."

HOW MUCH $$ is a ball like that worth?

Dante said:

HOW MUCH $$ is a ball like that worth?

Click to expand...

to Burke - PRICELESS

on the open market - would be shocked if it got 4 figures

if that were me - i'd trade in the ball for stuff like signed by Clemens and maybe Biggio and/or Bagwell - get stuff from at least 2 guys going to Cooperstown

Oct. 11, 2005, 8:40AM


Brett Coomer / Chronicle
"Without the home runs, these baseballs would mean nothing," says Shaun Dean. "They hit them. I just caught them. I've got no interest in cashing in."


For fan, sharing memories beats cashing in on catches
By DALE LEZON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES


Three-year-old Tyler Dean came close to having a piece of baseball history in his bedroom. But his father thought better of it. The Astros and the Baseball Hall of Fame are glad Shaun Dean did.

In exchange for handing over two historic home-run baseballs Dean caught in the Astros' nail-biting victory against Atlanta on Sunday, team officials will give him four box seats to Saturday's game against St. Louis and invite him to the Astros' workout Friday, said Astros spokesman Todd Fedewa.

The team also has some surprises it didn't want to reveal to the media, Fedewa said.

Dean caught Chris Burke's game-winning home run in the bottom of the 18th inning of the National League Division Series game against the Braves at Minute Maid Park. Ten innings earlier, he caught Lance Berkman's record-setting grand slam.

A lifelong Astros fan, the 25-year-old Porter resident said he would have put them on a shelf in Tyler's room. Now, he'll present them to a representative of the Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday.

"It's cool to be able to give them back," Dean said. "It's awesome."

Burke's homer ended the longest playoff game in history. It also was the sixth series-ending homer in a postseason tilt. Berkman's grand slam was the second of the game; it was the first time two have been hit in the same postseason game. The Braves' Adam LaRoche hit the first grand slam in the third inning.

"We're grateful he was willing to share these baseballs with the Astros' fans and all baseball fans," Fedewa said.


Expensive souvenirs
Returning the balls seems unusual in an era when some fans have tried to profit from having been in the right place at the right time.

Two fans sued each other because they both claimed to have caught Barry Bonds' record-setting 73rd home run in the outfield stands in 2001. The judge ordered the men to sell the ball and split the proceeds. Each received $225,000.

Mark McGwire's 70th home-run baseball, hit in 1998, that broke the single-season home-run record of 61 set in 1961 by former New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris, was sold for nearly $3 million.

Burke's home-run ball will likely bring no more than $5,000, and Berkman's is probably valued at between $500 and $1,000, said Kent Sessions, owner of Headline Sports, a sports memorabilia company that sells items regularly on the Internet.

Determining the dollar value of either baseball is difficult, said Ted Nelkin, owner of HLT&T, a sports memorabilia store in Houston. Outside the Bayou City, the baseballs may have little, if any, monetary significance, Nelkin added.

"It really is a big deal for the Astros and their history," he said.

The home runs may be footnotes in baseball history, but Dean felt they belonged to the players who hit them. After he caught the home runs, he said, an Astros worker told him the club usually liked to collect such historic baseballs and he left his name and telephone number with officials at the stadium after the game.


Accepting immediately
Astros officials called him Monday morning with their offer for him to return the baseballs. He accepted immediately, he said.

"Without the home runs, these baseballs would mean nothing," Dean said. "They hit them. I just caught them. I've got no interest in cashing in."

One human behavior expert said Dean's desire to connect with the team is common. People often have very selfish motives, but they also have social ones, said Alan Fiske, professor of anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles.

People often feel connected to a group — or other people — and willingly behave in ways that benefit others, Fiske said. Dean appeared to identify with the Astros and baseball, Fiske said, and put aside selfish gain from the baseballs for the betterment of the team and sport. He connected with them by returning the baseballs.

"He clearly cares about the team and baseball," Fiske said. "I think it's a lovely example that people have a lot of motives and concerns for others."

News about the catches spread quickly. Local television stations interviewed Dean, and he said he's scheduled to be a guest on an ESPN sports show this morning.

A second baseman and outfielder on his high school baseball team, Dean often went to Astros games with his father, Richard Dean, and his brother, Chris Dean. He plans to continue that family tradition with Tyler.

"I love baseball, " Dean said. "I was raised watching it, and I just love the game."