Category: Dailies

March 23, 2011

2011 BALLHAWKING DECLARATION

EVERYONE:

I declare that every single baseball I snag during the 2011 season (minus game home runs) will be given away to other fans in attendance on the day the ball is snagged.

Every single damn ball…

Cheers!
Nick “The Happy Youngster” Yohanek

April 19, 2010

4/9/10 @ Miller Park

Like a total *******, I forgot my camera…
I guess you all have to take my word for it.
I’ll warn you in advance, though…there’s not much to speak of.

This game was a last minute decision.
So, I went early and grabbed a seat on the Bullpen Patio in Friday’s Restaurant.

BP was pretty slow until Rickie Weeks stepped in. What happened next is sorta bizarre.
Weeks hits a long fly ball in my direction. I run to my right to put a play on it. I quickly realize that it is hit too far over my head. It appears as if it’s going to land in the Harley Deck above the Bullpen Patio. When I realize I don’t have a play, I cover my head in fear of the ricochet.
Wanna guess where the ball bounced? Yup…off the metal facing of the Harley Deck way above my head. Wanna guess where the ball bounced next? Yup…right off my head.
Damn…it really didn’t hurt but it sure was embarrassing. There was nothing I could do.
I was helpless on the play.

Eventually…
Ball #1 was hit into the netting above the bullpen by Brewers 3B Casey McGehee.
It rolled down to my table and stopped. Perfect! I quickly flung my glove trick over the railing and soon had it reeled in for my 1st ball of 2010.

The Cards soon came out to hit and it became increasingly crowded.
I played the top of the bleachers for the Holliday/Pujols/Ludwick group.
I love Tony LaRussa. He puts the three righty sluggers all in the same group. Almost as if to say, “here you go, fans…catch a ball or twenty.” Unfortunately, I only had a true play on one batted ball. Matt Holliday jacked one to the top of the left field bleachers where I ran over and made the play on the fly. Yup, it still felt good.

That was it on the day, people.
I didn’t ask for any baseballs and left with two.

I told you it was nothing much…

2010 BALLHAWKING STATS

2 total balls 4/09/10

1 batted baseball (caught on fly)

0 tossup baseballs

1 device baseball

2010 TOTAL BASEBALLS

4/5/10 = 0 baseballs
4/9/10 = 2 baseballs

April 4, 2010

4/5/10 @ Miller Park 2010 Opener

Well, the 2010 season is finally upon us.

After grabbing some breakfast, we took the walk down into “the valley.”

My 1st official (regular-season) view of Miller Park…

…peeking above the trees in the background.

A peaceful walk to the stadium…

…was about to get rowdy…

Do you see what the girl in the yellow is holding in her left hand?
Nothing like a little “brown-baggin” at 9 in the freakin’ morning.

Opening Day in Milwaukee is a total drunkfest. Actually, it deters many of Milwaukee’s best fans from attending. For fear of being puked on, annoyed or just harassed.

Not this fan…

…can you tell by the picture that I’m a tad over my playing weight?

Yeah, so I’ve gained 10 pounds over the long and cold Wisconsin winter. So what.
It’ll be gone by May.

Moving right along.

I took the following picture…

…because it shows two girls toting full cases of beer (the one on the left has it in her right hand/the one on the right has it propped up on her right shoulder).

I’m certain the cases weren’t full for much longer.

Here’s a great photo capturing the true spirit of teamwork…

…two girls sharing the load of a tightly-packed cooler.
My guess is: it wasn’t full of bottled water.

Do you see the guy (above) with the “CUBS SUCK” shirt?
Those things are everywhere. It doesn’t matter that the Cubs weren’t even playing here today.
It’s just the way it is around here.

Personally, I’ll never root against another team. I only root for my team.
It’s no secret I dislike the Chicago Cubs (see “CUBS SUCK” ball). But, I’ll leave that type of display for other fans.

On a serious note…

…this might turn out to be my favorite picture of 2010.
That, my friends…is what the old ballgame is all about.

Alright, enough of the serious stuff…

…more partying…

I told you Opening Day in Milwaukee is ridiculous.

When we reached the ballpark…

…the clock read 10:35 am.
The gates to the stadium were opening at 11:10am.

When we were making our way to the outfield side of the stadium, I ran into this guy with his homemade sign…

…and the other side…

…I’ll add nothing further.

The guys from the local sports talk radio show were broadcasting their show live…

…so, I stopped and said “hello” to my guy Sparky (seated far right with headset).

Here’s my 1st official view (looking through the glass) of the field in 2010…

…hooray for BP!

When I finally grabbed a spot in line…

…I ran into these three guys.
Pictured left to right: Ballhawk Matt, “The Maniac” and Ballhawk Casey.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. “The Maniac” is by far the Milwaukee Brewers #1 Fan.
It’s not even an argument.

When the gates opened, we went straight to our seats…
Normally, I would play lefty/righty and constantly be on the move.

Not today.

Here I am with yellow shirt and arms crossed…

…crossed arms are not a good sign.

I did not have a play on a single ball in BP. I didn’t ask for any baseballs, either. Hell, I barely moved from my seat.
No big deal…it’s never been about the BP ball.
It’s all about the game home runs (to each his/her own is what I say).

Unfortunately, none of those were hit to me either.

Brewers lost 5-3.

2010 BALLHAWKING STATS

0 total balls 4/05/10

0 batted baseballs

0 tossup baseballs

2010 TOTAL BASEBALLS

4/5/10 = 0 baseballs

December 17, 2009

Colby Rasmus

This past season, I managed to snag two (2) of Colby’s game jacks. For all the mathematicians out there, I own approx. 1/8 of his 16 career MLB dingers.

Well, last month I was able to get the two home run balls signed for my collection:

Colby signs career HR #5.

AND

Career HR #11.

He seemed genuinely interested in the home run baseballs.

That big guy in the green shirt (pictured above) asked me where I bought the game home runs from. I told him I didn’t buy them…I snagged them!

When I told Colby what career # each one was and which stadium they were hit in, he remembered the pitchers who served them up right off the top of his head.

One final pic…

Colby Rasmus was a nice kid. I’ll certainly be rooting for him.

“Happy”

October 4, 2009

9/30/09 @ Coors Field

This would be my 2nd and final game at Coors Field on this trip. Due to a family obligation, I would be flying out of Denver (on standby) early in the morning. I would be skipping the last game of the series because I *HAD* to get back to Milwaukee earlier than I originally planned.

As it turns out, this was going to be my last game of the 2009 season.
I absolutely had to end my season on a positive note…

Kenny and I arrived at the ballpark around 4:15pm and a small line had already formed by the Rockpile Gate. Shortly thereafter, our friend Don “The Rockpile Ranter” showed up with his son Hunter. I had read all of Don’s blog entries where he talked about his son. Finally, I was able to meet him. One cool little dude. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking straight, and failed to get a picture with Hunter.

We didn’t have to wait long and the gates to the stadium were open.

It also didn’t take me long to snag ball #1. It came off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki and I fielded it on a bounce off the warning track. It took a playable bounce unlike the Ryan Braun ground-rule double the day before.

That’s the only baseball I snagged during the Rockies portion of BP.
Soon, the Brewers took the field.

You could tell they were out of the pennant race…

…by looking at this picture.

It originally said: COFFEY IS A FA_
The author was Yovani Gallardo and he was referring to teammate Todd Coffey. Gallardo was trying to find a teammate who would give him a “G” to finish the sentence (those are his words, not mine).

Brewers reliever Carlos Villanueva walked over and began to hover over the missing letter. He acted as if he was going to fill it in.

Some people yelled, “do it!” Some yelled, “don’t do it!”

I think I yelled both.

Either way, Gallardo ended up scratching out the “A” and finishing FA_ with the following…

…might as well have a little fun, eh?

Eventually, I would snag ball #2 off the bat of Ryan Braun. The ball was snagged on the bounce after it managed to elude my glove. I say this because I’m pretty sure I should have caught it on the fly. For whatever reason, I didn’t play back toward the railing as far as I could have.

It’s kind of like an outfielder going back on a ball that’s on the warning track. He knows the wall is coming but jumps prematurely or doesn’t play as far back as he could out of fear that he will strike the wall. That’s what happened to me. But, I still ended up with the baseball.

My 3rd and final baseball of Batting Practice came via tossup from Brewers 3B Coach Brad Fischer. “Fisch” was walking toward one that had rolled down the left field line. I saw this and ran over to the “well” (the large grounds crew opening down the left field line). I held up my glove and flapped it once or twice. Mr. Fischer spotted the Brewers gear and gladly tossed it up.

BP was not as good as yesterday, but, the same held true-most baseballs would land up in the pavilion. The bottom row offers much room to roam, but, there just aren’t many front row jobs at Coors Field during BP. That considered, I *still* would not have changed a thing regarding my game plan.

Sadly, Batting Practice for my 2009 season came to an end with another 3 baseball performance.

I needed to release some depression with nature…

…so, I stuck my head in the trees located in the beautiful batter’s eye.

After the sadness subsided, I met up with these two Rockies superfans…

…Ballhawk Dan and his daughter Emily.

As you may recall, I met Dan & Emily back at the 2009 Home Run Derby in St. Louis, MO. Emily has attended over 300 Colorado Rockies games to date…wow.
Dan is a veteran ballhawk who has snagged 41 game home runs on the fly and an additional 33 by other means. Very impressive.

After
more wandering around, I spotted the fan pictured below…

…wearing the blue jeans, black cap, sunglasses and toting the black backpack.

Being a loyal blog-reader of fellow ballhawk Zack Hample, I recognized him as the guy who shoved Zack going for a BP baseball that was hit into a tunnel back on 6/17/08. Because of that fateful moment, Zack tabbed the guy as “pure evil.”

Having looked pure evil in the eyes many times over the years, I wanted to see if this guy lived up to the billing.

His name is Douglas and he’s a season-ticket holder in the front row at Coors Field. He’s attended games in 50 different MLB stadiums including a few World Series and All-Star games. His baseball-related resume goes on and on…
I know this because I ended up sitting next to him the entire game. Actually, he turned out to be a pretty decent guy (the fact that he did NOT shove me into a wall probably had something to do with this perception).

My view during the game…

…again, was simply awesome.

Coors Field reminds me a lot of old Milwaukee County Stadium. A gigantic front-row aisle to run for game home runs, an open well down the left field line and an overall fun atmosphere were just a few of the similarities.
I truly loved Milwaukee County Stadium and miss it dearly.

Just when I was beginning to love Coors Field
…I started to love it a whole helluva lot more.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Brewers slugger Prince Fielder stepped to the plate.
Prince has been pretty damn good to me over the years. I’d snagged three (3) of his game home runs at Miller Park (career #61, #67 & #97).

Make it four…

…Prince Fielder’s 158th career jack.

My 54th career game home run snagged during actual MLB regular season games.
In addition, I collected the coveted “Clean Catch Pin” in the process for making it a clean snag.

WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHT

Did you see the tip of the cap to Rockies CF Carlos Gonzalez? It occurs at 17 seconds during the video highlight. Carlos was staring at me, so, I tipped my cap to him.

Here’s Usher Bob (in purple coat), the gentleman who awarded me with the clean catch pin…

…with “Big Tom” (in white cowboy hat) looking on.

Here’s where the Fielder jack was snagged…

…marked by the red “X.”

Check out where Prince made contact with the ball…

…holy hell, look at how flat that side of the baseball is!

Prince is a stud. Plain and simple. I’m going to hate watching him in a Red Sox uniform.

Did you notice by the pictures how everyone was dressed at this game?? The temperatures were in the low 50’s with a 25 mph wind. It’s safe to say-I froze my asss off wearing shorts and The Happy Youngster shirt.

The picture below warmed the Rockies faithful up a bit…

…showing the Marlins had defeated the Braves bringing the Rockies magic-number to clinch down to 2.

I was shivering so badly, I thought about leaving. But, I couldn’t when there was an outside chance I could snag 2 game home runs in a single game for the 5th time in my snagging career. I had done it on 5/29/99 (both on fly), 9/29/99 Game 2 (both on live bounce), 5/16/00 (both on fly) and 4/12/01 (one on fly/1 player tossup).

But, it wasn’t meant to be.
I was thrilled to end my 2009 snagging season with a bang.

After the game, I proudly posed with my newest prized possessions…

…the Prince Fielder home run ball & the Clean Catch Pin.

Today’s snags…

372 baseballs (including 7 game home runs) later…and my snagging season was over.

FINAL 2009 BALLHAWKING STATS

4 total balls 9/30/09

3 batted baseballs (including Prince Fielder’s game home run)

1 tossup baseball

ATTENDANCE: 41,465

2009 TOTAL BASEBALLS

4/7/09   = 5   baseballs
4/8/09 = 10 baseballs
4/9/09   = 10 baseballs
4/10/09 = 3   baseballs
4/11/09 = 5   baseballs
4/12/09 = 5   baseballs
4/13/09 = 11 baseballs
4/14/09 = 6   baseballs
4/21/09 = 5   baseballs
4/27/09 = 15 baseballs
4/28/09 = 9   baseballs
4/30/09 = 4   baseballs
5/01/09 = 7   baseballs
5/02/09 = 4   baseballs
5/08/09 = 11 baseballs
5/09/09 = 1   lousy ball
5/12/09 = 14 baseballs
5/13/09 = 12 baseballs
5/19/09 = 8   baseballs
5/22/09 = 3   baseballs
5/23/09 = 2   baseballs
5/26/09 = 3   baseballs
5/29/09 = 6   baseballs
5/30/09 = 5   baseballs
6/01/09 = 1   baseball
6/02/09 = 9   baseballs
6/09/09 = 4   baseballs
6/10/09 = 0   baseballs
6/11/09 = 2   baseballs
6/12/09 = 9   baseballs
6/23/09 = 6   baseballs
6/24/09 = 9   baseballs
6/26/09 = 9   baseballs
6/27/09 = 4   baseballs
6/29/09 = 3   baseballs
6/30/09 = 5   baseballs
7/07/09 = 6   baseballs
7/10/09 = 3   baseballs
7/20/09 = 7   baseballs
7/24/09 = 6   baseballs
7/27/09 = 8   baseballs
7/29/09 = 3   baseballs
8/04/09 = 4   baseballs
8/11/09 = 7   baseballs
8/12/09 = 6   baseballs
8/15/09 = 4   baseballs
8/16/09 = 3   baseballs
8/17/09 = 10 baseballs
8/25/09 = 10 baseballs
8/26/09 = 4   baseballs
8/28/09 = 18 baseballs *(new Milwaukee record)*
8/29/09 = 2   baseballs
9/04/09 = 5   baseballs
9/06/09 = 5   baseballs
9/08/09 = 8   baseballs
9/16/09 = 4   baseballs
9/18/09 = 10 baseballs
9/21/09 = 3   baseballs
9/24/09 = 4   baseballs
9/29/09 = 3   baseballs
9/30/09 = 4   baseballs
___________________

372 baseballs (61 games)
6.10 average per game

October 1, 2009

9/29/09 @ Coors Field

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I was finally going to Coors Field.

I’d seen all the home run highlights over the years.

I’d seen some of the same Rockies
ballhawks making home run grabs.

I heard all about how the baseball travels farther in the
thin air.

On TV, the place looked like it was built for
ballhawks.

I *HAD* to find out for myself.

After an early morning flight from Milwaukee
to Denver, a long shuttle ride from
the airport to our hotel and an early check-in at the downtown Hyatt, Ballhawk
Kenny (my partner in crime as of late) and I were ready for the Mile-High
City.

Our day officially began with a short walk to find some
grub. After lunch had concluded, we were
on our way to Coors Field.

The aforementioned Ballhawk Kenny in front of Coors Field…

Yours truly in front of Coors Field…

A look at the main stadium entrance behind home plate…

The outside concourse that extends down the left field line…

…and the right field line…

When I walked up to the main gate and peered through, this
is what I saw…

…my 1^st look at the left field bleachers.

One word: WOW.

Our self-guided tour of Coors Field rolled on.

On the walk around the stadium, I spotted the sign pictured
below…

…I’ve underlined the interesting part.

DANGERS OF WATCHING BASEBALL??

On the “danger-scale,” I would rank watching baseball
somewhere between pissing into the wind and farting on a 1^st
date.

I know, I know-it’s all about liability, but come on.

Another sign I found particularly interesting…

…now that makes sense.

*I would like to personally
thank the Rockies organization for taking the necessary
means to prevent/deter excessive public displays of affection.*

Not only is it annoying, but it’s quite unnecessary. Who wants to watch that ****?

I mean, get a ******* room for christsakes.

Moving right along…

Here’s a picture of me standing by the left field gate…

…giving my seal of approval.

How cool is the sign pictured below…

…!?!

How many teams (that you know of) have a sign that points fans in the direction of Batting Practice?

ANSWER: not many.

Pretty goddamn cool if you ask me.

It was a touch past high noon. Kenny & I were planning on meeting up
with one cool dude at 2:45pm. We had a few hours to burn, so, we headed
back to the hotel.

After a few hours, it was time to head back toward the
stadium for our meet.

The meeting place?

The Blake Street Tavern located 4 blocks from Coors Field.

The cool dude we were meeting up with?

None other than my all-time favorite MLBlogger…

…Don “The Rockpile Ranter.”

I started reading Don’s blog back in the offseason. He’s a loyal fan of the Rockies
who tells it like it is. He’s funny,
he’s witty, he’s a father and he’s one helluva good human being. As an added bonus, Don compliments his
exceptional writing with great picture-taking.
Want to read a quality MLBlog?
Stop screwing around and click HERE.

Don and I outside the Rockpile gate…

Kenny playing a little catch with the “Ranter”…

Before we knew it, it was 4:30pm
and the gates to left field were about to open.

After a security check of my backpack and a scan of the
ticket, I was about to enter my 16^th major league stadium.

When I ran in, it was a wonderful sight.
The ballpark still looked like new and had an incredible flair to it. A magnificent blend of yesterday and today,
Coors Field was beautiful and welcoming.

The Rockies BP was in full swing. The gates to the stadium open 2 hrs. prior to 1st pitch (why all major league teams don’t do this??) at Coors Field, so, home team fans get to see their home team hit (now that’s logic).

It didn’t take long for me to snag my 1st baseball on the day. It came off the bat of Chris Iannetta and I snagged it on the fly by my front row seats. It was hit right at the wall. I had to roll my glove over from the natural-method into a basket-style position. Leaning out over the wall, the catch was made.

A little overview of the bottom-row seating in left field at Coors Field:

Only fans holding tickets to the bottom row can stand in the front row and this includes Batting Practice.
Fans holding tickets to the front row have access to employee bathrooms and the employee tunnels.
During BP, you are not allowed to run from the bottom row up into the pavilion (I was warned after the 1st baseball landed 4 rows above my head and I attempted to run up after it).
Stadium ushers are everywhere at all times checking ticket locations and are very polite about it in the process.
The wall in left field is not very tall.
It’s extremely easy to interfere with a baseball in play from the Coors Field bleachers.
When sitting in the bottom row of seats, you MUST mind your “P’s & Q’s” while shagging BP. It’s a privelege to sit there and you have to respect that.

Take a look…

…simply awesome.
Do you see the yellow railing in the photo above? It’s that easy to reach over and interfere.
The green seats above? That’s the only seating for the bottom row.
The guy in the black Brewers sweatshirt? That’s ballhawk Kenny sending his 1000th text message of the day.

Talk about room to move around.

Unfortunately, BP baseballs are not put in humidors and most players don’t hit front row shots during Batting Practice. On top of that, everyone, seemingly, had a baseball glove PLUS everyone seemed to know how to judge, track and catch a baseball off the bat.

This made the bottom row of seats a bit less desirable from a BP standpoint.

When the Brewers came up to hit, they put on an absolute home run clinic. Baseballs were flying everywhere. At one point, Brewers SS J.J. Hardy hit four (4) consecutive pitches into the left field pavilion.

You guessed it: everything was flying over my head. But, that’s okay…I play for the games.

I did manage to get Brewers ace pitcher Yovani Gallardo to toss me ball #2…

…and…

Brewers asss pitcher Seth McClung to toss me ball #3…

…when I asked him to toss a ball up, he said, “I saw you catch a few already.”
To which I responded, “yeah, and I give them away just like I do in Milwaukee.”

He couldn’t argue with the facts.

After the Brewers finished donating a hundred or so baseballs, BP was over.
It was time to see the stadium.

My 1st stop was the Rockpile in centerfield…

…no, those are not yeti frolicking in their indigenous state. Those are grounds crew members retrieving baseballs that were hit into the batter’s eye.

A view of right field…

…a view of the left field line and foul pole…

…the 1B side…

…the 3B side…

…a view from the right field bleachers looking to left field…

…do you notice how much room there is between rows?

A great design…

…indeed.

Check out the purple row of seats that extend all the way around the stadium in the upper deck…

…signifying the altitude located exactly 1-mile above sea-level.

Here’s a view of the batter’s eye greenery…

A view of centerfield from the upper concourse in left field…

Eventually, I made my way back to my seat.
I chatted with a few of the local ballhawks including Dan pictured below…

…standing with his back against the fence and arms crossed. Dan is quite the accomplished ballhawk. His current stats include 41 game home runs caught on the fly and 33 snagged by other means. Very impressive, indeed.

Robert, another Rockies ballhawk, took the following photo of me…

Ballhawk Robert has an interesting story of his own. Click here to read it courtesy of fellow ballhawk Zack Hample.

Another pose…

As far as the game is concerned, here’s where I sat…

…directly above the red State Farm ad in the front row.
The other red arrow is pointing to a seating section *WAY* out in centerfield called “The Rockpile.” Adult seats out there cost $4 each and children’s seats cost only $1.

Here’s where Ballhawk Kenny sat/played the game…

…with the red arrow giving me a fist pump.
The big fella in the scooter is “Big Tom.” While I didn’t introduce myself, I hear he’s a pretty nice fella around these parts.

Again, look at how easy/tempting it is to interfere…

In the top of the 3rd inning, Brewers LF Ryan Braun launched one in my direction. I jumped up from my front row seat and ran to my right, lining myself up with the baseball. It kept coming…and coming…but fell short, bouncing on the warning track about 10 feet shy of the wall. The ball then took a 12-foot bounce directly over my head. The ball landed in the 3rd row of the pavilion above/behind me for a ground-rule double. I was absolutely helpless on the play. Either I was going to catch the damn thing on the fly for a home run or it was going to bounce way over my head. Unfortunately, it was the latter.

A shot of my in-game meal…

…it may look like ****, but I assure you, it tasted great.
HOT DOG + CHEESE + CHILI = got extra underwear??

There was good news and bad news on this day…

THE BAD NEWS-
The Brewers lost 7-5 on a walk-off homer from Chris Iannetta in the bottom of the 9th.
I only managed to snag 3 baseballs.
None of the three were game home runs.

THE GOOD NEWS-
I didn’t shitttt my pants.

The sun finally set on my 1st day at Coors Field…

…with three lonely baseballs…

2009 BALLHAWKING STATS

3 total balls 9/29/09

1 batted baseball

2 tossup baseballs

ATTENDANCE: 39,087

2009 TOTAL BASEBALLS

368 baseballs (60 games)
6.13 average per game

…after the game, Kenny and I went to a local establishment right up the road from Coors Field. While there, we had the chance to hang out for a bit with Brewers relief pitcher Mark Difelice. He even bought us a round! Mark was one cool dude…

September 28, 2009

9/24/09 @ Miller Park

This was my last home game of the 2009 season. Due to a few family obligations, I scaled back on some of the games I would attend this week.

This entry will be short and sweet…I have to catch a flight to Denver in a few hours…

Would you believe I snagged four baseballs on this day and I do not know which player(s) they came courtesy of?

Ball #1 came off the bat of a right-handed Phillies hitter. I ran about 25 feet to my left and made a few adjustments, catching the ball on the fly in about the 6th row.

Balls #2, #3 and #4 were all tossed up by various Phillies pitchers over the next 45 minutes. I have no idea who the hell any of them were. One guy even threw me a decent knuckleball
(Ball #3).

I thought the powerful Phils would have a much better showing…oh well.

2009 BALLHAWKING STATS

4 total balls 9/24/09

1 batted baseball

3 tossup baseballs

ATTENDANCE: 37,678

2009 TOTAL BASEBALLS

365 baseballs (59 games)
6.19 average per game

September 26, 2009

9/21/09 @ US Cellular Field

This was going to be my last trek to Chicago for the 2009 season. Another Milwaukee ballhawk was accompanying me.
Do you remember Kenny from 9/16/09 at Wrigley Field? We decided awhile back that we would hit both Chicago stadiums before the season came to a close.

We arrived at “The Cell” around 5:00pm. We had only 30 minutes before the gates opened, so, we jumped in line outside GATE 5. I could tell the crowds were thinning compared to earlier in the year. No pennant race…no passion. Sad but true.

While we were standing in line, a guy standing at the front of the line asked me,
“are you Nick…The Happy Youngster?”

I said I was and we began to chat it up. He told me his name is Mike and that he ballhawks from time to time in the Chicago area. When he told me he was not particularly fond of the “northside team,” things were all good. It’s kind of like knowing the secret handshake with me. Ya’ know? If you know the handshake (or in this case, you don’t like the Cubs), we have something in common.

We exchanged a few stories, a few opinions and then we went over our game plans. He told me he enjoys my blog and before we knew it, the gates were opening and the fun was about to begin.

As I was running in, I looked to left field. There were people already standing out in the left field bleachers. WTF?! How the hell did they get in already? Oh well…there would be no easter eggs because of this. I also noticed that the Twins were already on the field taking BP. Usually, I catch the last 3-4 minutes of Sox BP…not this time.

After about 10 minutes of wondering what the hell happened to all the glove-trick possibilities, Orlando Cabrera lifted one high and deep to left field. I ran up a few rows and when the ball was just within reach, I jumped as high as I could and caught the ball on the fly. It felt like I really got up there but I’m pretty sure it was all in my head. (I’m convinced the catch inflated my sense of accomplishment just a tad).

After banging my knees on every bleacher/bench/railing in the place over the next 20 minutes, I began to see the writing on the wall.
Of the few baseballs that were hit in the stands, I was not meant to snag any more of them…unless I wanted to spend my offseason rehabbing from reconstructive knee surgery.
“The Cell” is awful for running after baseballs. The rows are long and not spacious. Half of the bleachers are actual bleachers and the other half are actual seats.

A total nightmare scenario.

Disgruntled, I took my Jake Taylor knees over to right field. I took a peek into the visitor’s bullpen. Aha! A glove-trick possibility. It was lying on a rolled up portion of tarp. I could see it was a Metrodome commemorative ball, too. After no time flat, the ball was reeled up.

Would you believe that’s all BP would provide today? Two measly baseballs. Wow.

Look at how thrilled I am…

Kenny snagged two of his own…

…and was a bit more appreciative of the fact.

A group shot taken after BP…

…of me, Kenny and our new friend Mike.

Kenny showing how easy it is to reach into play…

…down the right field line.

Hey! There’s no yawning in baseball…

Here’s where our seats were located…

…Section 161/Row 1/Seats 7 & 8.

Irish Heritage Night at the ballpark…

…do you think they paid him a bit extra to wear that?

Nice backpack…

…”rook.”

My view before the game…

…was a bit exciting.

My view during the game…

…not nearly as exciting.

A t-shirt toss casualty…

…yo Zack-the glove-trick work on those?

The game? No goddamn home runs hit. No worries, though. I was able to see a team (Twins) in the thick of a playoff push. They sure played like it. Bravo.

Twins won 7-0.

After the game, Home Plate Umpire Jim Reynolds was kind enough to hook me up by the umpire’s exit…

…with a game ball straight out of his ball pouch. It had a neat little circular scuff on the sweetspot.

Three baseballs snagged…

…yay.

Hey Nick Punto…

…nice pants.

2009 BALLHAWKING STATS

3 total balls 9/21/09

1 batted baseball

1 tossup baseball

1 device baseball

ATTENDANCE: 26,541

2009 TOTAL BASEBALLS

361 baseballs (58 games)
6.22 average per game

September 24, 2009

9/18/09 @ Miller Park

The quest for #1000 drags on…

I entered the day with 998 career baseballs snagged at major league stadiums. Of those 998, 52 have been actual game home run baseballs hit during regular season games. That’s around 5% of my total baseballs snagged being of the game homer variety. I’m proud of that number.

I started ballhawking back in 1998. That summer, my brother Jon and I would make the 2 hr. trip (one-way) to attend games at old Milwaukee County Stadium. We had more fun than the law allowed, that’s for sure.

I’m certain my career numbers would have been much higher if not for the segregated bleacher section at County Stadium. You see, if you purchased a bleacher ticket, you had to stay in the bleachers and could not access the rest of the stadium and vice versa. In the long run, I think it actually *helped* me. It forced me to focus on the baseballs that really *count*…

Do you remember the CUBS SUCK ball? You know the one…the ball I carry with me everywhere I go just in case I happen to catch a visitor’s home run ball. That way, I have a “dummy” ball to throw back onto the field.
More on this later…

I had many thoughts going through my head when I walked up to the ballpark. How would I get #1000? Would it be a great catch off the bat? Would it be an easter egg? Would it be a tossup? Maybe a lucky bounce? None of the above?

One thing was for certain: this would be the day.

I walked up to the hostess at Friday’s Restaurant and said, “a bullpen patio table, please.”
She said, “follow me.”

Like they normally do, they seated me underneath that godawful overhang. I politely asked, “can I get that table?” (pointing to one located in a more advantageous position)
“Sure,” she said.

I had my perch…now they just have to hit me a few baseballs, I thought.
Soon, Brewers stud Ryan Braun took the cage. This was it. I wanted it to be Braun. He’s my favorite player and I could get him to sign the ball. I was two away…he had to hit em’ both.

Just as I was ordering my ice-water w/ a lemon (c’mon, for taste-not flare), Ryan lifted one in my direction. I knew it was not catchable as I had to do the following: dodge a waitress, jump a railing, run about 20 feet and hope for a decent bounce. All of the above went smoothly and #999 was in the books (or, in this case, my bag).

One more, baby.

Hitter after hitter took the cage as I kept replaying the above 3 words in my head.
Everything was hit to a different section than the one I was restricted to (you cannot leave the Friday’s section until the rest of the stadium is open).

The last Brewers hitters were taking the cage. I knew this was my last chance. Brewers rookie Mat Gamel, who happens to be a left-handed hitter, was working on his opposite field approach. Could he hit it 415 feet to me and to the opposite field? Answer…no. But, he could hit it 395 feet and have it come to a rest in the bullpen near the side wall.

Take a look…

…at career ball #1000.

Yeah, it was a little disappointing. But, at least I knew who hit it.

Ball #1000…

…with the beautiful (sarcasm) sharpie-mark through the sweet spot and two unusual green marks on it.

Time to move on…there was plenty of snagging to do.

The gates to the rest of the stadium opened at 5:30 and I raced up the steps to the left field loge bleachers. There hadn’t been many easter eggs lately, but I was going to keep looking.

Much to my surprise, I found one…

…lying in a small puddle underneath the front row of bleachers.

Baseballs don’t like water…

…as you can see by the stain on the leather.

Speaking of baseballs in water, check out where I found easter egg #2/ball #4…

…that’s disgusting. Even by my ballhawking standards.

Check out how much that ball was submerged…

…in nasty, clogged, rusty, filthy, stinky, pukey, sewer water.

I hesitantly grabbed that baseball out of there and immediately put it in a plastic bag. I sealed the bag and put it in a side compartment of my backpack. I would worry about it later.

As the Astros began to hit, I continued searching for any unclaimed baseballs.
Just as I was about to give up, a stadium employee (cleaning crew) nudged me and asked, “you looking for baseballs?” Just as I was about to respond with a “noshit?!” he said, “there’s one” and pointed. I looked to where he was pointing and didn’t see anything. He pointed again. I looked again and didn’t see anything.
At this point I was concerned about two (2) things:

was this guy ******* with me?
AND/OR
was I about to get hit in the back of the ******* head by a batted ball because I was too busy screwing around looking for this fictitious ball?

That’s when I spotted it.
Allow me to explain with a few pictures…
…do you see the ball in the above photo?
No worries…I couldn’t either.

Here’s why…

…I had never seen that before.

On with the show…

Ball #6 on the day came on a lucky bounce off the bat of an unknown Astros player. It was hit deep and to my right. I put my head down and started to navigate through the bleachers. When it hit, it took a nice little bounce to me.

Former Brewers slugger Carlos Lee jacked one that I made a nice catch on for Ball #7. When it was hit, I ran up four rows and darted into/across the row. I looked up and found the ball, made a slight adjustment 5 feet to my right and made the easy catch on the fly.

After that, I didn’t have much luck during BP. I was a second or two slow on about 4 other baseballs that I probably should have snagged. Or, at least, could have snagged on another day. I just didn’t feel on top of my game.

When BP was winding down, I checked the Brewers bullpen. There was one glove-trick possibility. After 20 seconds, I reeled it in and tossed it to a nearby kid with his parents.

Since the Brewers pen would render no more, I headed to the visitor’s pen.

The usher that’s normally working in that section by the visitor pen was not working this evening.
You see, there’s one particular guy who has a problem with me using my glove-trick in the visitor’s bullpen. I guess he (who will not be named) has a problem with kids getting baseballs they would normally not be able to get.

It’s simple: if I glove-trick it at Miller Park and there’s a kid present at the time, it’s given away. No questions asked. What’s so wrong with that?

Anyhow, when I arrived, there was one ball to be glove-tricked. I quickly reeled that one up and immediately picked out a little girl to be the recipient.

After I gave that baseball away, a man tapped me on the shoulder and said,
“are you the Happy Youngster?”

Since I don’t wear my yellow shirt during BP, it’s not as obvious.

I said that I was and we began to talk. He told me we had met back at County Stadium and that he was always watching for me on the game telecasts. He re-introduced me to his young boys (now approaching their early-teens) and his wife. After a nice conversation, we said our goodbyes and I was off.
One of the coolest families I have met this year…no doubt.

As game time approached, I took a look to the left field loge bleachers. There were empty patches of seats up there. A lefty was pitching for the Brewers with a ton of righties for the ‘Stros. The choice was easy. I would sit in the left field loge as long as I could.

Here’s where I sat for the 1st inning…

…front row, on the aisle, straight-away left field.

In the bottom of the 1st, the people with those seats arrived.

So, I re-located here…

…8th row, on the aisle, left-center field.

Like true clock-work, Lance Berkman (batting righty) led off the 2nd inning with a home run greeting.

The 53rd game home run ball snagged of my ballhawking career…

…(wearing yellow shirt) running down the aisle.

Getting in position…

…beating the competition…

and, finally…

…securing the ball and re-gaining my footwork.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO
(pay special attention to the crowd reaction while Berkman is rounding 3rd base…that’s when the CUBS SUCK ball makes its appearance).

The Berkman home run ball…

…#310 of his soon-to-be Hall of Fame career and #53 of mine.

BTW, if you’re wondering about my throwback…it was fielded by Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy on the edge of the infield. When I see J.J. next, I’ll ask him about the CUBS SUCK ball.
Stay tuned for that.

After that home run catch, I went back to the family I mentioned above. I pulled two baseballs out of my bag that I had caught earlier and gave them to the two boys. They deserved it for being so cool to me. My theory: it’s so easy to be nasty to people. Why not put forth the extra effort and just be cool? Right? And if you don’t want to be cool, just don’t say anything.
Just sayin’…

I was so happy I caught that one on the fly that I didn’t care about the rest of the game.
I ended up leaving in the 7th inning because I was so excited to go home and tell/show my wife.

The Brewers went on to win the game 3-2. The Berkman homer ended up being the only one of the game.

The four BP baseballs I took home…

…because 4 were given away.

The sewer ball that I snagged (#4 on the day/career #1002) wasn’t even photographed because it stunk so bad. When I got home, I just tossed it. Damn, that thing stunk.

2009 BALLHAWKING STATS

10 total balls 9/18/09

7 batted baseballs

3 device baseballs

ATTENDANCE: 39,057

2009 TOTAL BASEBALLS

4/7/09   = 5   baseballs
4/8/09 = 10 baseballs
4/9/09   = 10 baseballs
4/10/09 = 3   baseballs
4/11/09 = 5   baseballs
4/12/09 = 5   baseballs
4/13/09 = 11 baseballs
4/14/09 = 6   baseballs
4/21/09 = 5   baseballs
4/27/09 = 15 baseballs
4/28/09 = 9   baseballs
4/30/09 = 4   baseballs
5/01/09 = 7   baseballs
5/02/09 = 4   baseballs
5/08/09 = 11 baseballs
5/09/09 = 1   lousy ball
5/12/09 = 14 baseballs
5/13/09 = 12 baseballs
5/19/09 = 8   baseballs
5/22/09 = 3   baseballs
5/23/09 = 2   baseballs
5/26/09 = 3   baseballs
5/29/09 = 6   baseballs
5/30/09 = 5   baseballs
6/01/09 = 1   baseball
6/02/09 = 9   baseballs
6/09/09 = 4   baseballs
6/10/09 = 0   baseballs
6/11/09 = 2   baseballs
6/12/09 = 9   baseballs
6/23/09 = 6   baseballs
6/24/09 = 9   baseballs
6/26/09 = 9   baseballs
6/27/09 = 4   baseballs
6/29/09 = 3   baseballs
6/30/09 = 5   baseballs
7/07/09 = 6   baseballs
7/10/09 = 3   baseballs
7/20/09 = 7   baseballs
7/24/09 = 6   baseballs
7/27/09 = 8   baseballs
7/29/09 = 3   baseballs
8/04/09 = 4   baseballs
8/11/09 = 7   baseballs
8/12/09 = 6   baseballs
8/15/09 = 4   baseballs
8/16/09 = 3   baseballs
8/17/09 = 10 baseballs
8/25/09 = 10 baseballs
8/26/09 = 4   baseballs
8/28/09 = 18 baseballs (new Milwaukee record)
8/29/09 = 2   baseballs
9/04/09 = 5   baseballs
9/06/09 = 5   baseballs
9/08/09 = 8   baseballs
9/16/09 = 4   baseballs
9/18/09 = 10 baseballs
___________________

358 baseballs (57 games)
6.28 average per game

September 19, 2009

9/16/09 @ Wrigley Field

Over a week without attending a game…hotdamn I was anxious for this one.
As you may or may not know, entering this game, I needed to snag only 6 baseballs to reach the 1000 baseball plateau. I wanted to do it at Wrigley-the birthplace of the ballhawk.

The day started with a train ride to Chicago.

A young man by the name of Kenny was attending the game with me. I met Kenny back in 1997 at Milwaukee County Stadium. At the time, he was a shy 13 yr. old kid, who seemingly, went to every game. He always sat in the bleachers and *always* brought his glove. Kenny only missed a handful of games over a 3 yr. period back in the late 90’s…incredible, to say the least.

Kenny and I arrived at Wrigley Field early so we could catch a few of the Brewers coming into the stadium. Wrigley Field is awesome for autographs because the majority of the players have to walk right past you to get into the stadium.

Here’s where we were waiting…

…on the corner of Addison & Sheffield outside GATE D.

Here’s what we were waiting for…

…taxi cabs containing baseball players.

Here’s a picture of the aforementioned Ballhawk Kenny waiting for the next cab to pull up while standing next to the drunk guy statue (with creepy little heads popping out of his legs)…

…Kenny’s a pretty decent ballhawk. With 12 career game home runs snagged, he can hold his own with the best of us…no doubt.

Finally, someone arrived…

…Someone with a capital “S.”

All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman had us line up along that green railing.

After a minute wait…

…I added his autograph to my 2009 Milwaukee Brewers team signed baseball.

Shortly thereafter, Brewers top prospect Mat Gamel stopped to sign autographs…

…among other Brewers players.

While we were waiting for players, this creepy advertisement rolled by…

…what in the hell is that??

Then, I noticed this cute little sign by Harry Caray’s Tavern…

…piss-off, Chicago.

After a few more autographs, we saved our spot in line and played a little “catch.”
Eventually, the gates would open and we were perched in the bleachers (we had regular bleacher seats, not the bleacher box-so, we were restricted to the bleachers only).

My 1st ball on the day was an overthrow from an uknown Cubs pitcher. He was aiming for someone else and sailed it. I ran about 20 feet to my left and picked it up on the bounce. Immediately, all of the classy Cubs fans began to yell and shout to “give it away to a kid!”
I could not find any young Brewers fans nearby, so, I left the area.

While standing in left-center, I saw a different Cubs pitcher aim for a fan. This time, I was closer to the intended target. Like the previous overthrow, this one sailed, too. But, unlike the previous, I was in position to run about 10 feet to my left and make the catch.
Sorry Cubs fans…better luck next time.

Finally, the Cubs left the field and allowed a real team to take BP (the Cubs players only hit a couple baseballs into the bleachers in the 1st 30 minutes).

When it was Prince Fielder’s turn, I headed over to right field. I had been watching him all season long. I feel like I know his tendencies.

I was right.

My 3rd ball on the day came on the fly off the bat of Prince Field
er. I had him played perfectly. I only had to move up a couple rows and a few feet over to make the grab.

Fielder would hit one more to me before he was through. That one was snagged on the bounce and immediately given to a little girl dressed in pink sitting with her parents (having a daughter of my own-I’m a softie for girls in pink).

BP ended without any further baseballs.
The wind was blowing in intensely…

…as you can see by the flags.

When the game got started, I noticed a few things…

…typical Wrigley Field alcohol abuse. (that’s like $5 in beer spilled on the ground)

…do all Cubs fans have that stupid look on their faces?

I digress.

Pictures of the basket…

…the basket rules.

The glove I used on this day…

…my Brother Jon’s mitt. It was his birthday on this day. I thought it would bring me luck.

Does anyone recognize the autograph on the mitt? If you do, I’ll be shocked.
I’ll give you a hint…former Brewers 3B.

Today’s snags…

…four (4) total with two (2) shown.

One was given away to a small girl and an additional baseball was given to the usher in our aisle. He was extremely friendly to us which made the game that much more enjoyable.

2009 BALLHAWKING STATS

4 total balls 9/16/09

2 batted baseballs

2 tossup baseballs

ATTENDANCE: 38,084

2009 TOTAL BASEBALLS

4/7/09   = 5   baseballs
4/8/09 = 10 baseballs
4/9/09   = 10 baseballs
4/10/09 = 3   baseballs
4/11/09 = 5   baseballs
4/12/09 = 5   baseballs
4/13/09 = 11 baseballs
4/14/09 = 6   baseballs
4/21/09 = 5   baseballs
4/27/09 = 15 baseballs
4/28/09 = 9   baseballs
4/30/09 = 4   baseballs
5/01/09 = 7   baseballs
5/02/09 = 4   baseballs
5/08/09 = 11 baseballs
5/09/09 = 1   lousy ball
5/12/09 = 14 baseballs
5/13/09 = 12 baseballs
5/19/09 = 8   baseballs
5/22/09 = 3   baseballs
5/23/09 = 2   baseballs
5/26/09 = 3   baseballs
5/29/09 = 6   baseballs
5/30/09 = 5   baseballs
6/01/09 = 1   baseball
6/02/09 = 9   baseballs
6/09/09 = 4   baseballs
6/10/09 = 0   baseballs
6/11/09 = 2   baseballs
6/12/09 = 9   baseballs
6/23/09 = 6   baseballs
6/24/09 = 9   baseballs
6/26/09 = 9   baseballs
6/27/09 = 4   baseballs
6/29/09 = 3   baseballs
6/30/09 = 5   baseballs
7/07/09 = 6   baseballs
7/10/09 = 3   baseballs
7/20/09 = 7   baseballs
7/24/09 = 6   baseballs
7/27/09 = 8   baseballs
7/29/09 = 3   baseballs
8/04/09 = 4   baseballs
8/11/09 = 7   baseballs
8/12/09 = 6   baseballs
8/15/09 = 4   baseballs
8/16/09 = 3   baseballs
8/17/09 = 10 baseballs
8/25/09 = 10 baseballs
8/26/09 = 4   baseballs
8/28/09 = 18 baseballs (new Milwaukee record)
8/29/09 = 2   baseballs
9/04/09 = 5   baseballs
9/06/09 = 5   baseballs
9/08/09 = 8   baseballs
9/16/09 = 4   baseballs
___________________

348 baseballs (56 games)
6.21 average per game

…2 away from 1000…