Mike (who I was staying with) is one cool dude, himself.
Mike flies these…

Both Mike and Justin are veterans of war (it’s great having friends that kick ***).

7/12/09
FUTURES GAME
I woke up early and jumped on the downtown train.  I arrived at Busch Stadium around 10:30 am and immediately found a guy selling Standing Room Only tickets.  I purchased one (1) at face value ($25) and grabbed a spot in line by the left field gate.

The line at 10:45 am…

…everything was a “sea of red.”

When I ran into the stadium, this player was out shagging BP in right field…

…Pirates former 1st Rd. Pick Brad Lincoln.

I congratulated him on being named to the Futures Squad. 
A few minutes later, he returned the favor by flipping me a baseball.  When I inspected the ball, I discovered it had a worn Futures Game logo on it.  Okay-that’s a start.

A group of lefties were hitting so I stayed in right field.

A big lefty (Brett Wallace, I think) started to jack a few.  One was hit hard and coming toward my section.  I ran down three rows to the bottom railing and leaned out over the fence to make a sweet grab on the fly.

Upon further inspection…

…it was a pearl!!

After BP, I wandered and took a few pictures of the stadium…

and…

Eventually, the lineups were announced…

…and the two teams lined up.

PLAY BALL!!

Unfortunately, they only made it through the top 1/2 of the 1st inning…

And came…

So, what does one do during a 4 hr. rain delay???

Wander around, eat concessions and pose for pictures!

The weather didn’t look good…

After getting wet some more, we retreated to the concourse and joined all the normal people…

…where it was totally packed. 

I’m sure the Cardinals made a killing on concessions during this delay.
Heck, I personally contributed over $20 (nachos, hot dog, ice cream cone, etc.).

There was much wetness to go around…

…along with mass exiting…

After another dozen messages over the PA and some more on the scoreboard, things were looking up…

…the scoreboard says, THE FORECAST CALLS FOR THE RAIN TO END WITHIN THE HOUR, AT WHICH TIME WE INTEND TO CONTINUE THE FUTURES GAME.

See all the people huddled underneath the overhangs?

This rain delay actually got me thinking how much I miss rain delays.  At Milwaukee County Stadium, rain delays were the best.  With Miller Park, that’s one thing I miss.
I just like being at the ballpark, ya’ know?

Eventually, the rain lessened and the tarp was removed from the infield…

After I gave them the signal…

For the remainder of the game, we were invited to sit with a man and his son on the wall down the right field line in the front row. 

Although many people had left, the bleachers were still well populated.  So, I gave up my home run quest for the day and took the opportunity to sit down the line.

I forget which inning…a foul ball bounced about 7 feet in front of me on the warning track.  I thought I was going to catch it on the fly but it never reached me.  After it hit the track, it took a super high bounce into the air and spun about 15 rows behind us. 

That was the closest I would get to any ball for the remainder of the evening.

Final take…

…4 Futures balls.

The Celebrity Softball Game is only cool if you’re playing in it, so, we left after watching 15 minutes of that.

It was already past my bedtime…

7/13/09
HOME RUN DERBY

I arrived at the stadium at 2pm.  The gates were set to open at 4pm.
In line ahead of me were two well known ballhawks.

The 1st was Wes from St. Louis (formerly of Chicago).  Wes is a great guy who gave me a few pointers about his home park.

The 2nd was Dan from Denver.  Dan had his lovely daughter Emily accompanying him.

Here’s Emily and I before the gates opened…

Here I am standing in line…

I assure you, I did not wet myself before, during or after the taking of this photo.

When the gates finally opened, I immediately ran for right field.  You see, I had heard a rumor that they were giving out wristbands to the 1st 20 people who asked for one from a particular usher over in right field.  This wristband would allow the 20 people the opportunity to stand in a small standing room only area over in the aisle in right field. 

This was too good to be true, so I thought.  But, I had nothing to lose.  If it was just a rumor, I still had my front row ticket above the right field bullpen. 

So, I raced over to right field. 
Much to my excitement, this was the scene…

BP soon began.

Here’s a few views from my actual ticketed seat (and the spot where I played during BP)…

The National League All-Stars hit first.  Followed by the American Leaguers.
Each player took about a dozen swings.  It was like an assembly line of studs. 
One after the next.  Unfortunately, BP was sort of anti-climactic (kind of like how this entry will be).

The only player that really put on a show was Josh Hamilton.  He was hammering ball after ball into the right field bleachers. 

Don’t get me wrong…there were plenty of opportunities, just no room to roam.  Plus, everyone had their gloves AND everyone was ball-conscious, if you know what I mean.  The ball had to be hit right to you to have any kind of chance.

I did manage to snag one baseball before the end of BP…

…an absolute beauty!!
(pictured with a tiny scorecard)