It was about six years ago that a video of a ball girl at a Fresno Grizzlies baseball game making an impossible catch in the left field corner was “leaked” and started going viral at an insane rate. The video, as it was revealed in the months following the leak, was part of a canceled Gatorade ad campaign created by Element 79 and directed by Baker Smith, and it was actually filmed at Chukchansi Park, where the Grizzlies play. However, despite the hopes and dreams of the hundreds of thousands of people who watched that video in the first few months that it was on YouTube, the ball girl didn’t make that jump. Instead, she was a stunt girl attached to cables, and some very impressive digital work was used to make it look like she showed up Fresno’s left fielder, who was actually a minor league infielder named Jake Wald just playing his role in a spectacular illusion.
So why the sudden trip down Memory of a Video You’ve Seen 1,000 Times Lane? Because like the Gillette ad featuring Evan Longoria making “an insane catch” that suddenly found its way back into your Facebook feeds last month, the acrobatic parkour ball girl has returned, too. This seems to happen at least once a year, if not more, so I’ve never paid much attention to it, because what’s the harm in letting people enjoy a commercial that they never got to see on TV? But this weekend, as it found its way into my Facebook feed yet again, I finally realized that not only do people still think this thing is real, but there are irresponsible a-holes out there using it to spark Internet gender flame wars.
One of the more recent culprits spreading this video for attention and the “ZOMG! WOW! WATCH THIS U GUYS!” is some “technopreneur” I’ve never heard of, but he is responsible for 274,956 people sharing it since April, and there are still people who think it’s real commenting on it as you read this. Naturally, because I had nothing better to do over my holiday weekend, I fell into a deep rabbit hole of the comments on this video, and I just… I just can’t believe this is happening, you guys. If these are your friends, or you have friends that are still sharing this video or others like it, tap them on the shoulder, point somewhere in the distance and shout, “Look at that!” and then delete their Facebook accounts.
In his defense, when called out on just how hilariously wrong he was, Jim did what any good Internet commenter does and ignored it as long as he could until one person kept calling him out and he typed a timid non-apology. Keep fighting the good fight, Jim.
Yes, those Triple-A ballplayers are simply paid too much and have no incentive to try. Especially the infielders pretending to be outfielders for a commercial shoot.
It counted as a quadruple grand slam perfect game.
Never even touched a boob, those losers.
I hope the stunt girl added this comment to her portfolio.
And if she does…
Don’t even get Judi started on TWO girls with green eyes. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!?!
Holy moly. Speaking of this Snopes breakdown that is accurate and true…
It is correct footage if by correct you mean digitally-enhanced.
I have. I read every comment just like this one, so I’ve seen roughly 3,000 rocket scientists.
Except it’s fake. It’s fake and I know it.
Look, jumping into a volcano can be as pleasant as eating a Choco Taco, but I’ll never know because my common sense makes me think it would instead suck. Just like trying to jump up an outfield wall makes me think I’d break a bunch of bones and probably rupture a nut.
Internet commenters gonna comment with stupid, meaningless phrases. Hey, let’s check in with Joseph Campagnolo again.
Something tells me this guy has a lot of opinions that he’d like to share with everyone, all the time.
Yes, this whole thing is just because I’m threatened by wall-climbing ball girls taking over my favorite sport.
Quite easy. I do it twice, nay thrice daily for craps and laughs.
Ball girls are actually encouraged to do this. They just don’t do it that often, because if she had dropped the ball, she would have been fed to lions during the seventh inning stretch.
That one made me laugh a lot.
It wasn’t stagged. No way that was stragged. I refuse to believe that was straggled. It couldn’t have been stragglered.
I bet he’s the dad that all of the other parents love standing next to at games.
Even if they did have those cool cameras, the women wouldn’t have been able to use them, AM I RIGHT FELLAS?
I’d call this dude a liar, but it’s CNN so it probably took up a whole day of news coverage.
Okay, you’re either a liar or you were so drunk that you didn’t see the wires.
F*ck you, Internet.
