Tagged: game home run
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).
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.
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
7/07/09 @ Miller Park
Do you remember when I went to Toronto during Opening Week of the season and the Detroit Tigers were using International League baseballs?
My last game was on 6/30/09. A whole week without games.
The baseball portion of my day started with the usual walk…
Long Wong’s Chinese-American Sports Bar and Kelly’s Bleachers.
If
you’re ever visiting Milwaukee and want a great place to hang out
before, during or after ballgames, you have to check out these two
great establishments.
(No, I’m not on either places payroll).
My walk continued to the corner of W. Bluemound/General Mitchell Blvd…
…along Mitchell Blvd. Park.
Eventually…
In the picture above, do you see what the red arrow is highlighting?
That’s a section of Miller Park’s roof peaking through an opening in the trees.
Further down the pathway…
…that parallels Interstate 94.
Finally, putting me into the NORTH General parking lot…
…with the red arrow pointing to the Miller sign peaking above the trees down in the valley at Miller Brewing Company.
Finally, I had arrived.
When
I entered the stadium, Prince Fielder was hitting. So, I took a little
stroll over to right field to see what he could do. It didn’t take him
long to hit a bomb that probably traveled in excess of 450 feet. I
retrieved that baseball after it bounced around a bit.
I
waited patiently for more Fielder bombs but they didn’t come. Earlier,
it was announced that Fielder would be participating in the 2009 Home
Run Derby down in St. Louis. I thought he would be putting on a home
run clinic to tune-up for the event. I was wrong. Not due to a lack
of effort; he was trying, but most of his contact sent the balls on a
line.
I wandered over to left field to try my luck with Ryan
Braun.
After about 5 minutes, “Brauny” sent one into the left field
bleachers that I retrieved on the bounce, as well.
Remember how the Brewers write funny sayings/words on a large percentage of their BP balls??
Well, this particular ball had “KEEP ON SMILING” written on the sweetspot.
That ball was meant for me.
Near the end
of batting practice, I noticed an unusual amount of players’ kids
gathered on the warning track out in left-center field.
I noticed, but thought nothing of it.
Until
I heard a baseball hit the bleachers and make a BANG! about 15 feet
from me. I looked around and did not know where that ball came from.
I looked up. I looked right and left. WTF?!!
I soon realized that a few of the players’ kids were tossing baseballs into the stands out of one of the ballbags.
So, I got in on the action.
All together, approx. 10 of these baseballs were tossed up.
Here’s the one (1) that I snagged…
I looked closer and noticed the ball had a logo on it. Yeah!
The BIGS2 video game.
I do not play video games.
Heck, I barely have enough time to blog.
But, this was pretty cool.
Am I counting it toward my season stats?
Damn right.
Here’s why:
1). The ball was obtained at an officially sanctioned MLB event.
2). I did not purchase the ball.
3). I was the 1st fan to obtain possession of the ball.
4). The ball was not obtained through an announced stadium promotion (it’s not like the 1st 15,000 fans received one).
5). It wasn’t just an official league ball. It had a cool logo on it!
6). I skinned my knee snagging it, dammit!
The Brewers left the field. The Cardinals came out.
I don’t know what’s been going on around Miller Park, lately. But, balls being hit into the stands are starting to become a bit of a rarity. Opposing teams have not been hitting many during BP over the last few weeks. Makes ballhawking a bit tough, don’t ya’ think?
Not to mention, I’ve never been a big fan of begging for baseballs, either. I’ve adopted that tactic this season, largely, because of the ballhawk league.
As the Cardinals hitters did their best to avoid any baseball reaching the seats, my frustration grew.
Actually, during this BP, I counted 7 baseballs that were hit down the left field line. All playable for those standing in the front row. Just simply lean over.
Wanna guess how many baseballs made it into the bleachers at this point?
Three.
I didn’t get my next baseball until Cardinals reliever JOSH KINNEY 
and his sweet fu manchu mustache tossed me one over in right field.
Regretfully, I didn’t take his picture.
But, as you can see by the artistic demonstration to the right, Mr. Kinney’s mustache was, indeed, a sweet one.
The next group of Cardinals hitters contained both Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick.
I sprinted over to left field as if my pants were on fire.
Rumor has it, those two put on a homer display back on Memorial Day.
They both combined to hit approx. 4 into the bleachers. Ooooh.
Major disappointment.
What was even more disappointing??
The fact that I lost one of Pujols’ bombs in the sun. The sun is brutal around 6pm at Miller Park during the summer. Absolutely brutal.
I saw the ball go up. I fluently made my way through the swarms of clueless people. I picked the exact spot it was going to land. I looked back up to the sky and was blinded.
All I could do was cringe like a scared schoolgirl on prom night.
Shakin’ naked in the fetal.
The ball ended up landing about 6 feet away from me.
Of course, nobody else tracked it. Of course, everyone else heckled.
BP ended and I had snagged 4 baseballs. Not the best showing.
But, I always say, if they don’t hit ’em or throw ’em, can’t snag ’em.
Time to wander.
I was looking to waste some time.
That’s when I ran into this big fella…
…Adam “Big” Rygg.
The “Big Rygg” has his own Brewers blog in this network.
It’s called THE BREWER NATION and it’s a well-written/well-informed blog about the Brew Crew. Did I mention that Adam also works for the Brewers??
He’s a great fan of the Brewers and a good guy. So, go check out his blog. Do it-do it now.
I stopped, grabbed a couple hot dogs (relish, please) and made the trek back to my seat.
The 1st few innings were weird.
Allow me to explain:
1). Cards infielder Skip Schumaker was thrown out at 2nd base attempting to tag up from 1st. The fly ball was not deep and the throw utilized the cut-off man. What??
2). The Brewers had the bases loaded and Mike Cameron was hit with a ground ball trying to advance to 3rd base. Baserunner is out. ???
3). Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum was ejected from the dugout for arguing balls and strikes (Home Plate umpire Bill Hohn had a rough night-more on him later). The weird part was that he didn’t come out to get his money’s worth. ???
4). Brewers bench coach Willie Randolph was then ejected for the same reason in the top 1/2 of the inning. ??
Some things you don’t see everyday.
One thing you do see from time-to-time:
The yellow-shirted fan snagging a home run ball.
Okay, it wasn’t a glamorous snag. But, I’ll tell you anyway.
Do you recall my not-so-glamorous snag of Cardinals phenom COLBY RASMUS’ 5th career homer which just so happened to be my 50th career game home run?
If not, click here.
Do you also remember me saying how Brewers RF Corey Hart has hooked me up time after time over the years??
If not, click here and here.
Well, Corey was at it again.
It was the top of the 5th inning. No outs.
Cardinals stud COLBY RASMUS jacked one that left the yard, striking an advertisement sign positioned at the front of the loge bleachers. The ball ricocheted down to the field and rolled to Brewers RF Corey Hart. Corey attempted to lob it into the visitor’s bullpen to the Cards relievers. The problem good thing was that it fell short and merely bounced off the outfield wall. The ball rolled on the warning track where it came to a rest closer to my location.
This time, though, Corey looked up to my section and lobbed it up. Immediately, I realized it
would be over my head. So, I jockeyed for position while backing up. At the last possible moment, I jumped straight up with my glove stretched as high as I could. I felt the ball hit the pocket as I came down in a small crowd of people.
Career game home run #51.
Like I said-not glamorous, but I’ll take it.
The Colby Rasmus game home run snagged
on 5/26/09… AND the one snagged 7/07/09…
Career HR #5 AND Career HR #11
Toward the end of the game, I made my way down to the umpire well
located near the visitor’s dugout. Fresh off two coach ejections and a
horribly called game, Home Plate umpire BILL HOHN flipped me a game
ball from the pouch to make it 6 baseballs on the day.
I think 2009 might be the year of the mustache. (Giambi-look what you started!)
The 6 baseballs snagged on this day…
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 6 total balls 7/07/09
2 batted baseballs
4 toss-up baseballs
(1 game home run-Colby Rasmus career #11)
ATTENDANCE: 36,557
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
___________________
231 baseballs (37 games)
6.24 average per game
7 Days of Spring…DAY 4 – 3/30/09
I arrived at Maryvale Park at 9:50 am for the morning workouts. A little later than I’m used to but, hey, I have 2 small kids…what do you expect?
Anyway, the big leaguers workouts near the cages offered zero chance at any baseballs, so I ventured over to the minor league fields. I discovered the Brewers AAA team was taking BP, so I settled in right field.
The field I was at had a short section of fence in right field and everywhere else it was pretty high. My only real chance was with the lefties in that small section of outfield.
_______________________ _________________________
I I
HITTER’S EYE I I stood here X I RT FIELD LINE
I_____________________I
It looked kind of like this.
I ended up snagging the following:
BASEBALLS 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
- 3 Florida State League baseballs
- 1 Pacific Coast League ball
- 1 Official Minor League baseball
Not a bad start to the day-and the gates hadn’t even opened up yet!
The gates did finally open up at 11:30 am for the 1:05 pm game.
BASEBALL #6
I started to run to the left field berm when I spotted an easter egg lying out in deep right center field. I plucked it off the grass for number 6.
Uh-oh…look what I found?!!
BASEBALL #7
Brad Nelson jacked one that I snagged on the bounce out in right-center field.
BASEBALL #8
I asked Brewers relief pitcher Jorge Julio for a baseball in Spanish and his reply was, “oh wow” as he turned away from me. At the end of BP, I asked him again and he tossed it to me. I caught it and yelled, “gracias!” He said nothing. Until Brewers CF Mike Cameron pushed him and said, “say you’re welcome!” Julio then turned to me and yelled, “de nada!”
Manners, manners.
“PLEASE-NO STANDING OR LEANING AGAINST THE WALL”
I break all the rules.
This picture shows me with some very special people. From left to right: Lucas, Julia, Hope and Carolyn. I’m so glad you guys made it down to the Cactus League. You guys did great!
BASEBALL #9
It was the top of the 5th inning, Mariners OF Mike Wilson jacked one in my direction. I was sitting halfway up the berm in left field. I got up, started sprinting up the hill to the concrete walkway and looked back up for the baseball. I picked it back up in the high Arizona sky and took another few steps to my left before catching it on the fly.
My 2nd game home run of the spring. This one on the fly. Damn, that feels good!
When leftfielder Ryan Braun ran out to take the field in the top of the 6th inning, he looked in my direction. Then he yelled up to me, “hey, nice catch!” So, I said, “thanks!” Ryan responded, “no problem.”
I love Spring Training.
Pictured above is the Mike Wilson game home run caught on the fly. Don’t baseballs look so much better without those big scuff marks from hitting the ground? ; )
BASEBALL #10
After the game, I went down where the umps exit the field. Home plate umpire Jeff Macias tossed me a game ball after I politely requested one from his baseball pouch. Thanks!
10 baseballs today…not a bad day at the office.
In order of retrieval from left to right.
TOTALS 3/30/09
- 6 BP baseballs snagged on bounce (5 of which were minor league balls)
- 1 toss-up baseball
- 1 easter egg
- 1 game home run baseball snagged on fly (Mike Wilson)
- 1 ump game ball
_________
10 baseballs total 3/30/09
+
3 baseballs 3/29/09
+ 9 baseballs 3/28/09
+ 6 baseballs 3/27/09
_________
28 baseballs (4 days)
The Happy Youngster...Brew Town's Ballhawk 
