Ballhawk for a Living

Are you an IRO who recently lost his or her job because of a corporate downsizing?  An investment banker who was let go because deal flow has slowed considerably?  A hedge fund manager whose fund went belly up during the great stock market meltdown of 2008-2009?
 
All you need is a baseball glove and a ticket to your local stadium and you could soon be flush with cash (or baseball memorabilia worth a ton of cash).
 
Ballhawks travel the country’s baseball parks aiming to catch a milestone ball and then profit off of it.  Take Philip Ozersky, the man who caught Mark McGwire’s 70^th home run in 1998.  He sold the homerun ball at auction for $3 million. Or Zack Hample who says he has been to 46 stadiums, but who keeps most of the balls he’s caught for his personal collection. On the other hand, according to the Wall Street Journal, he charges ballhawks-in-training $500 to attend games with him and learn the tricks of the trade.  There are actually websites that help ballhawks stake their prey, with information such as which players are coming up on landmark home runs, the dimensions of the ballpark and information about the opposing pitcher.  Who knew?
 
So, whatever your current employment situation, have faith (and fun).  Go enjoy a game, a beer and a hotdog and you may just find yourself a new lucrative career.  Just don’t go to the new Citi Field in New York where the outfield bleacher seats will set you back as much as $70 per ticket.

— Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com