Among the chatter of fans and crack of a bat is the diving and leaping antics of those lesser known uniform-clad athletes shagging balls at professional baseball games – ball boys and girls.
When Mia Villa wasn't attending classes or training with the cross country team this summer and fall, she was chasing after foul balls and cheering on her beloved White Sox as an official ball girl.
It wasn't until 2021 that Villa attended her first professional baseball game. Her front row seat positioned her close to the ball boy, and they started chatting. Next thing she knew, Villa was applying for the same paid job. "On the application, they asked if I played baseball or softball, and I said yes," she said.
Villa played softball from seventh grade until her sophomore year in high school but ultimately focused on running cross country due to an injury. She still has the chops to play, though, because she dives for foul balls and even had a highlight for one of her catches on TV.
Among the nine ball "boys and girls," she is one of two women and is the youngest. Some of her coworkers are in their 30s, but they love the game and the team either way. They each dress like a player on the White Sox with "Ball Girl" or "Ball Boy" lettered on the back, which Villa said she loves.
Each ball girl/boy gets to choose if they want to work the left or right field side of the park. Based on her school and cross country schedule, Villa was able to work several games this past season. "I like first base because I get to see the different away teams. I'll work there until I'm super old," she said.
She's allowed to give foul balls to fans and is happy to be a role model for little girls at the game. "A mom asked me for a ball and said her daughter was inspired by me," she said.
Sometimes Villa has even received props for her work from some of the players. "I worked the game we played the Mets and made a really good catch. The ball bounced off the wall and back in the direction it came toward me. I extended my arm and caught it. One of the players, Francisco Lindor, looked at me and gave props from a distance. It was pretty cool," she said. "I worked the Crosstown Series, and every time they finished, Patrick Wisdom [Cubs player] threw the warm-up ball to me."
Although she was discouraged by how the team played this year, Villa still remained hopeful and loved her job. She runs to her spot every inning and has documented the experience thanks to her mom.
"I have a ball girl journal. My parents go to games. The first one, my mom wrote who the balls were from and how many I caught. I now have every game written down, and I can look back on it," she said. "The most balls I've caught from players or from fouls in a game was 22 on the third base side."