Red Sox fan plays through equipment malfunction, snags foul ball with ripped hat

Attempting to catch a foul ball is a high-risk, high-reward proposition -- for every befriending of Miguel Cabrera , there's a soaking your entire section in beer. It's a venture only for the bold, for those who push aside any notion of fear or shame and say "Yes, this souvenir will be mine." 

Red Sox fan Bobby Burke is such a man. During Tuesday's game against the Rays at Fenway, he saw a foul ball coming his way and grabbed the only thing available to him -- his hat, of course. But then his story took a near-tragic twist. For, if this season has taught us anything, it's that hats are not designed for catching baseballs, and just as Burke was bound for glory, the cap started to give. 

Bobby Burke would not be denied, however. Somehow, some way, he managed to make the grab, though his hat was ... not so lucky: 

In addition to showing great perseverance in the face of shoddy hat craftsmanship, Burke also might actually have ESPN or something: "Two seconds before that guy came up to bat I said, 'I'm going to catch a foul ball tonight,'" Burke said.

One swing later, and he had his souvenir -- even if he had to trade in a piece of his wardrobe to get it.

"It was a great catch, but now I need a new hat," Burke joked. Take heart though, Bobby -- at least it wasn't a Yankees hat.