Greg Van Niel’s four-foul-ball day goes viral, helps coolness cred with daughter
Greg Van Niel shows off his haul to media Monday at Progressive Field.
Greg Van Niel is worldwide. Like, Bulgaria worldwide.
Van Niel told reporters Monday at Progressive Field that a friend in Bulgaria contacted him Sunday night, after Van Niel became an instant Internet celebrity after catching four foul balls during the Indians 6-4 win over Kansas City at Progressive Field.
“I don’t even think they know what a foul ball is there,” Van Niel said.
Chances are he’s known far beyond Bulgaria. After TribeVibe tracked down Van Niel late during Sunday’s game, he quickly morphed from a longtime Cleveland Indians Season Ticket Holder, Cleveland Heights resident and Progressive Insurance employee to a famous Tribe Season Ticket Holder with luck on his side.
The first came on a Lonnie Chisenhall liner, as Van Niel caught it with what he described as the same mitt he’s been carrying since the 1970s.
“People cheered, so it was a decent catch,” he said.
No. 2 was a popup by KC’s Alex Gordon that Van Niel said he thought might hit him in the head as he and his brother wrestled over it. “I thought, ‘Wow, two in one game?’”
The third came off the bat of Michael Bourn, and it hit off the façade. He had to go over two empty seats and landed in a now-infamous basket of cheese fries.
No. 4 – as the video shows – was the least acrobatic of the bunch, off the bat of Michael Brantley. Already with three, he tossed it to another fan – local attorney Dan Lindner – who joined Van Niel on Monday at the ballpark with his son, Chad.
Lindner gave Van Niel the fourth ball back, and in exchange got a Brantley signed ball.
“(Van Niel’s) first was a nice grab. The second one was nice,” Lindner said. “The third was a great grab. When he threw (the fourth one), I made a great grab too – but SportsCenter never catches that one!”
Van Niel, meanwhile, has been in high demand, thus the media gathering at Progressive Field. A group of about 20 media members attended, and Van Niel made multiple appearances on ESPN and also on CBC.
Was he nervous about appearing on national broadcasts?
“It’s bizarre,” he said. “My wife and daughter were watching it while I was upstairs doing the interview on phone. If some other guy had gotten four, I probably would have watched it. But because it’s me, it’s weird.”
Does his daughter think he’s any cooler now?
“I couldn’t be any cooler than I already was,” he said jokingly. “My daughter is ecstatic; she’s amazed that I’m not bouncing off the walls and nervous about all this stuff. She took the clipping to nature camp to show everyone.”
He said the closest he’d ever been to a foul ball was in Detroit at an Indians game, but to no avail. And for the record, he wanted to defend one aspect of his afternoon.
“There’s a lot of controversy about whether guys over 13 should bring your mitt,” Van Niel said. “I’m bringing my mitt. The ball’s coming back at me at 90mph. My wife is an occupational therapist. She sits at the game and (after guys try to barehand the ball) she says, ‘that guy needs therapy, that guy needs therapy.’ Without the mitt, wouldn’t have caught the first three.
–TribeVibe contributor Joel Hammond
