"We would sit in the cancer center." Brewers Ballhawk remembers mother, catching his 30th home run (2024)

MILWAUKEE— Jake Starck has been a baseball fan since he was a child but calling him a fan today is a bit of an understatement.

Just in the last week alone, Jake has attended seven Milwaukee Brewers games.

Yes, that's a game every day of the week during the long stretch home-stand.

"Can I get a picture with you?" a Brewers fan asked Jake.

On the day he was scheduled for an interview with TMJ4, reporter Symone Woolridge told photojournalist Ariel Campos about the story they would be covering together.

She told him they would be interviewing a Brewers fan who has caught dozens of home runs.

On a rainy afternoon before game time, the two of them quickly learned there is no such thing as a walk or a rain check when you're not just talking about a Brewers Ballhawk.

"They're doing some kind of Brewers giveaway," Jake said to his friend, Ballhawk Nathan Klein.

"I'm going to start to jog a little."

While carrying a heavy camera, Ariel rushed to keep up with them.

Once everyone made it inside with their hearts pumping and clothes wet from the downpour, it was game time for Jake and Nathan.

Watch: Brewers Ballhawk attends hundreds of games.

Milwaukee Brewers Ballhawk shares his passion for baseball

"We may move even though there are more righties than lefties," Jake said while walking toward the stadium's stairs. "But we'll see what we can do. Let's go!"

They all ran up the flight of stairs for a better look. Jake and Nathan are Ballhawks.

They are dedicated fans who collect batting practice, pregame or game balls when they're hit over the fence.

From Barstool Sports to MLB.com and many other outlets across the country, Jake seizes the moment.

"You got to get lucky that it comes right to you sometimes."

He has caught 30 in-game home runs.

By the time he met with TMJ4, he had already caught his fourth home run in three weeks. One of them was Willy Adames' 126^thhome run.

"YELICH!," he yelled as the Brew Crew made their way out to the field to warm up.

"That was Christian Yelich, Sal, Jake Bauers. YO WILLY!"

Jake was holding a sign that read, "Willy, please sign your 126^thcareer home run from yesterday."

Adames saw Jake's sign and came over to do just that.

"What's up Willy? That was a smoke bomb, man. Can you put 126th home run?" he asked him.

Jake showed us the spot he stood in during every game when he first started coming back to American Family Field in 2015.

He has been a Ballhawk since 2018.

Attending 40 to 50 games a year, Jake has been to about 500 games over the last 10 years. 300 of those games have been as a Ballhawk at 30 different ballparks and 200 games have been spent with friends he has met along the way.

"We'll come in for batting practice like this. You see who is hitting and who is in the starting line up."

Jake remembers watching games with his mom when he was a little boy. These are moments he'll never forget.

"I would go with my mom to chemo when I was a kid, so we'd sit there in the cancer clinic. I would turn on Sports Center and I would see the top 10 plays."

Jake's mother battled breast cancer. Sadly, she passed away.

"She would go to do chemo and she would be there sicker than a dog, throwing up, and somebody would be told they'd be there for their first chemo treatment. She would go over to them, and she would comfort them," Jake said. "She would say you know, you can get through this, I fought through this my whole life. You have reasons to fight, you have reasons to go on. She was a beacon of hope for people who didn't have hope. She was just the nicest, most caring person you could ever think of. That was her."

Jake carries his mom's spirit and keeps her memories close to his heart.

He has a breast cancer tattoo on his arm and carries a pink baseball glove with her name.

"Jake is just one of the greatest guys l've ever met," his friend Nathan said. "He's helped me through personal problems, he's helped me learn how to do this, how to get autographs, he's always there for people."

Jake gives some of the baseballs away to kids in the stadium during games or practice. He also donates baseballs to local travel teams in need.

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