Well, at least some of what appears in that video actually happened. And at some point in the ballgame, Tacoma's Brent Johnson came to the plate against Victor Santos and lofted a deep fly ball down the left-field line. What didn't happen at least not in real life is the catch itself.
The ball girl was a stunt woman, working on behalf of an advertising production agency that was filming a Gatorade ad. However, this particular campaign was scrapped before the commercial could make it to the airwaves.
The ad was leaked online instead, where it quickly became a viral video sensation. I think what helped the video find an audience is that it's really hard to tell that it was a commercial. With the logos removed and no voiceovers, it really does look like unedited game footage. The first 12 seconds is actual game footage from the April 17 contest, and Grizzlies announcer Doug Greenwald played a part in the ruse by later recording an authentic-sounding play-by-play call of the ball girl's acrobatics.
Wald, who is actually an infielder, stars in the clip as a somewhat humiliated left fielder who passively watches the ball girl's heroics from several feet away. He is currently a member of the Connecticut Defenders and regular readers of this site might also recognize him as one half of the mock-country duo Stache and Hawk. For the Grizzlies, the question is how to cash in on their fleeting moment as YouTube sensations. The bottom line is that there's no such thing as bad exposure.
Behind the scenes of the Fresno ball girl video. Chukchansi Park provides setting for recent Web phenomenon. By Benjamin Hill. June 25, If you regularly peruse the World Wide Web, there is a good chance you have seen the "Ball girl Makes Incredible Catch" video making the rounds over the past couple of days.
