Barbara Hahn had a bit of a viral moment when she was serving as a ball dudette during the Giants’ tilt against the Padres at Oracle Park on May 5.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Hahn jogged out to right field to retrieve a foul ball off the bat of Bryce Eldridge, but she ended up taking a spill on her way back to her seat. Hahn quickly dusted herself off and brushed off the moment with a smile, though the clip of her faceplanting later made the rounds on social media and elicited a wave of mean-spirited responses.
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“I fell when I was a ball dude,” Hahn said. “I actually slipped on the lawn, tracking down a ball, and it went viral. It just went viral because they made it funny, right? They kept making me fall again and again on TikTok. I know it was so embarrassing. In my brain, I'm thinking, ‘Man, I hope no one saw it.’ Then of course, it went viral.”
Hahn’s brush with internet fame ultimately had a happy ending, though. A longtime math teacher at Alta Loma Middle School in South San Francisco, Hahn was quickly recognized by her current and former students, many of whom jumped in to defend her in the comments. The heightened social media activity caught the attention of Major League Baseball, which further uplifted Hahn by naming her a finalist for the 2026 All-Star Ball Crew.
“It’s the craziest thing,” Hahn said. “I didn't do anything. The kids did it for me.
“They said stuff like, ‘Oh, she's the best math teacher I ever had,’ and all these things. I guess MLB called [Giants Community Fund executive director] Sue Petersen and wanted to know who I was because I got so many comments, so many likes and so many views. That's how this happened. It wasn't because of anything great that I did. I just fell.”
Hahn is one of six female finalists on the All-Star Ball Crew ballot this year. Two winners -- one from the American League and one from the National League -- will be announced once voting closes on Tuesday and will earn the opportunity to serve as ball girls during the 2026 All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 14.
“I read that I was competing against women,” Hahn said. “Me personally, even if I don’t win, I’ve already won. I want a girl to get there.”
Hahn would have preferred to be picked for making a highlight-reel play, but she’s been a good sport about the nature of her selection.
“I keep saying, ‘You can't show some of the good plays I made? This is what you have to show?’” Hahn joked. “I think MLB just tried to make it funny.”
A native of Monterey, Calif., Hahn is a diehard Giants fan who grew up attending games at Candlestick Park, where she enjoyed seeking out autographs from star players like John Montefusco and Jack Clark as a kid. She has served as a Giants ball dudette for the past five years and shares the pastime with her two daughters, Randee and Dawnee, and her sister Beverly.
Hahn typically gets to work as an Oracle Park ball dudette for about three games per year, giving her a front-row seat to some thrilling Giants wins in recent years, most notably Patrick Bailey’s walk-off inside-the-park home run against the Phillies on July 8, 2025.
Still, Hahn said her favorite part of being a ball dudette is getting the opportunity to interact with young fans down the foul lines.
“Honestly, I love making the day of a kid when I hand them the ball,” Hahn said. “That's the best part. Just the look on their faces like, ‘Ah, I made their day! This is so great.’”