Tagged: The Happy Youngster
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:
AND
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…
“Happy”
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
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 1st 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 1st
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 16th 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…
Brewers asss pitcher Seth McClung to toss me ball #3…
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…
A great design…
Check out the purple row of seats that extend all the way around the stadium in the upper deck…
Here’s a view of the batter’s eye greenery…
Eventually, I made my way back to my seat.
I chatted with a few of the local ballhawks including Dan pictured below…
Robert, another Rockies ballhawk, took the following photo of me…
Another pose…
As far as the game is concerned, here’s where I sat…
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…
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
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
___________________
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…
8/29/09 @ Miller Park
In case you missed it, I had the best ballhawking day of my life the day prior (8/28/09).
I’ve had *better* days…days where I snagged two game home runs in the same day. But, in terms of total baseballs snagged, Friday the 28th of August 2009 was second to none.
Would my luck carry over to Saturday?
When I entered Friday’s Bullpen Patio, this greeted me…
Okay…ball #1 in the 1st minute upon entering. That was easy. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
Allow me to prove my point.
Ballhawks:
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have one of the game’s greatest power hitters up at the plate (during BP) with you as the only fan in the stands? Just you, the slugger and a whole bunch of open space…!
Well, that was the scenario. The slugger was Prince Fielder and I was the only fan (okay, there were 2 other kids standing in the front row) in the entire right field loge bleachers. His homer haven, I might add.
To my left…
Can you believe the *********** didn’t hit one ************’ homerun to the pissing section the entire time!!?!! I had the equivalent of 4 country acres all to myself and Prince decides not to pull the ball deep. Go figure.
Yeah, my luck changed today. I’m not mad-just sayin’.
The Pirates BP you ask?? Total garbage. They hit and tossed me too many balls the day prior. I think they had to conserve a few for Sunday.
One ball snagged in the very 1st minute inside the park. The next 75 minutes? Nada.
A few pre-game photos of the Pirates pen…
In the two pictures of Jaramillo, do you see the little target they have set up for Hart? The piching rubber over home plate? Neat stuff.
It didn’t help…Brewers won 7-3.
After the game, Home Plate Umpire Tony Randazzo doubled my day’s snags with a simple gift by the umpire tunnel.
Two balls. Woohoo…
…more like boohoo.
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 2 total balls 8/29/09
0 batted baseballs
1 tossup baseball
1 device baseball
ATTENDANCE: 41,773
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
___________________
326 baseballs (52 games)
6.27 average per game
Career ball #1000 is quickly approaching…
8/28/09 @ Miller Park
According to the “Master of Snag” (aka Zack Hample), he states he once snagged 17 baseballs in his very first trip to Miller Park. Seventeen!
The date was June 11, 2003 (you can see for yourself on his website by clicking here).
I’ve spoken with countless Milwaukee ballhawks (both active &
retired) and 17 seemed to be the all-time Milwaukee single-game record.
A very impressive number.
A number that I’ve been shooting for this
season.
Zack and I have joked that there was no way I could allow a New Yorker to hold the single game record here in Milwaukee. I came close on 4/27/09 (and set a personal high in the process) but no cigar. Would I ever do it??
Much has changed since the 2003 season at Miller Park.
- Crowds are no longer 12,000 or 13,000…they’re upwards of 36,000 or 37,000.
- Many areas of the stadium that were once wide open have now succumbed to advertisement/corporate bullsheet. Further cluttering room to roam.
- The Miller Park stadium staff have ironed out many of the wrinkles that existed in the stadium’s infancy.
- Steroids have been taken out of the game reducing long balls.
- The manual scoreboard “moat” is long gone (once a great glove-trick area) and has since been replaced by a party area.
- So on and so on…
I mention this not to discredit Zack’s 17-ball feat (snagging 17
baseballs in one day is amazing even at a minor league park). But, to
show what a daunting task I would face in topping that number someday.
Well, someday came…
I walked into the stadium and grabbed a table out on Friday’s Front Row Bullpen Patio. When I took my first look into the Brewers bullpen, this is what I saw…
Then, I looked to the left…
Do you see the ball (with the red drawn dots surrounding it) behind that protective netting?
More on that ball later.
After getting a toss-up from Brewers reliever David Weathers, another Brewers player tried to toss one to a fan. Through a combination of uncoordination and poor aim, the ball fell into the protective netting that overhangs the bullpen. After watching a guy struggle to get it for awhile, I offered to try using the glove-trick. It works in that netting-you just have to utilize the weight of the glove a little more. After about 20 seconds, I had it. I then gave it to the couple who were freaking out about getting it in the first place.
Back to the ball (behind the protective screen) pictured above. I noticed that one nestled up against the bullpen wall. After a few swings to knock it out of the corner, I reeled it up for #4 on the day. While I was positioning my glove for #4, another baseball landed in the bullpen. That ball was glove-tricked as well for #5.
As he always does, Brewers 3B Coach Brad Fischer was using a fungo to hit baseballs back to the bucket out in left-center field.
The coach…
“Hey coach, mind if I toss one back to the bucket?!”
He responded with a laugh.
To which I said,
“I promise I won’t keep it!”
Coach Fischer yelled,
“yeah right!”
Finally, I convinced him I would not keep the ball.
As he tossed it up to me, he said,
“we’ll see if you’re a man of your word!”
Here was my view…
Here’s where it ended up…
The toss (from about 125 feet) was perfectly elevated. It landed just to the right of that red arrow, one-hopped the net and almost came back down into the bucket a 2nd time.
Damn, that was close. The people sitting in Friday’s loved it. Gotta have a little fun.
THAT BALL DOES NOT COUNT IN MY STATS:
I staged its retrieval via verbal agreement. I never intended to keep it.
Whaddya think? Would you guys have counted it? Let me know. It won’t change my ruling one way or the other.
On a side note: do you see the little aluminum bat resting against the protective screen in the picture above? That was being used by the son of David Weathers earlier in the day. Apparently, he was taking a few hacks out on the field. Lucky kid.
Ball #6 came via tossup from this fellow…
I would retrieve 2 more baseballs in the next 5 minutes off the bat of the “Hebrew Hammer”-Ryan Braun. One was snagged on the fly and the other was snagged on the bounce. I gave the one snagged on the fly away to another fan.
Hotdamn…I dig Ryan Braun.
Ball #9 soon followed…snagged on the fly off the bat of Felipe Lopez.
Nine baseballs and the rest of the stadium hadn’t even opened yet! That’s the kind of start I would need if I wanted the record.
When the clock struck 5:30 pm,, the gates to the stadium officially opened. I dashed up the staircase that leads to the 2nd level of bleachers (loge level). I scanned the rows for any easter eggs. Conveniently, there’s been a cleaning crew that comes through the bleachers to wipe off the benches right before gates open. Anytime there’s a baseball hit up there, it’s pocketed by one of the workers.
But, not this time…
…!!
The above picture was not staged. That’s exactly how that ball was found. I tossed my backpack and glove down and took the picture. Hell, I was so jacked, I didn’t even mind that the ball was lying next to a gigantic dried pile of some drunk college kid’s vomit.
Double-digits and I still had almost an hour left to BP. Holy crap!
The Pirates pitchers were now in left field making their warmup tosses. Three minutes after I changed into my Pirates gear, Pirates pitcher Matt Capps tossed me his warmup ball.
MATT CAPPS———————————–>
The last Brewers group was in the cage. After missing out on a few of Casey McGehee’s bombs by a couple of steps, I was able to secure #12 off the bat of Mike Rivera. When it was hit, I knew it would land a few sections away. Immediately, I started sprinting through the seats to make up some ground. When I felt myself getting dangerously close, I slowed down a tad. BAM! It landed about 15 feet away from me and I quickly grabbed it on the bounce.
The Brewers finished hitting so there was a lull in the action. I sprinted down the staircase back down to the field level and ran all the way over to right field to check out the visitor’s bullpen. There was one AND it was in position for the glove-trick. Just like that…Ball #13.
By this time, I started to realize 17 was within reach. I can only imagine what it’s like for a big league pitcher with 6 perfect innings in the books. Around the 7th inning or so, he starts to really lock himself in. From a fan’s perspective, it felt similar.
Eventually, I made it back to left field. There, Pirates pitcher Denny Bautista tossed me Ball #14.
It certainly didn’t hurt that I asked for the ball in Spanish.
While I was standing in the left field loge bleachers, I noticed a ball that was glove-trickable in the Brewers bullpen. So, back down the stairs I went…sweatier than hell.
After 10 seconds, Ball #15 was reeled in and I was officially locked in.
I had just tied my single-game record of fifteen (15) and I had plenty of time to do some more damage.
Unfortunately, my luck would change. The last 10-15 minutes of BP were a bit slow. A few of the Pirates lighter hitters were in the cage and I felt like I had used up my allotted number of tossups. There were no glove-trick opportunities and I was officially screwed.
Near the end of BP, I took this picture showing how many potential glove-tricks I could have had if not for the grounds crew…
…holy shnikies!!
The Pirates hitters hit more balls into the Brewers bullpen than any two teams combined.
When the Pirates starting pitcher, pitching coach and bullpen catcher began to walk out toward the visitor’s bullpen, I started to make my move out that way.
I was still about 20 feet away from the back of the visitor’s bullpen when Pirates Bullpen Catcher Heberto Andrade looked up toward me. He made a motion and tossed me a ball. WTF??!!
I wasn’t even that close to him and the throw sailed about 7 feet to my right. Luckily, it bounced off a chair and stopped just in time for me to pick it up for #16 on the day.
A new personal high.
But, I needed one more to tie the Milwaukee record and two more to break it.
I needed to get two more baseballs…somehow, someway. I knew I had a good chance for an ump ball after the game, but that would only tie the record. I had to figure out a way to get one before that.
I decided I would try for a pre-game warmup ball by the Pirates dugout. Not many Pirates fans in attendance, it should be easy, right?
Wrong.
Only 1 pair of Pirates came out to throw and Delwyn Young tossed it to a guy down to my right. Okay…no problem. I’ll just stay in the box seats until after the bottom of the 1st inning. Maybe I’ll get a 3rd out ball. Wrong again.
What I ended up getting was a great view of Prince Fielder’s bomb into my section in the bottom of the 1st. No worries…I don’t know if I could have snagged it anyway. It landed in the top row of the Tundra Territory (now you know why I don’t usually roam around the stadium in search of meaningless baseballs…opportunities missed like those).
Concerned about missing further opportunities, I headed to my seat out in right-center field. When I got there, I visited with the fan who ended up with Prince’s home run…#150 of his promising career.
It was a lady in her early 40’s. She tells me she was standing in the top row of the Tundra Territory when it was hit.
According to her, this is how the baseball landed (reenactment using actual HR ball)…
…right in the crease of the cushion! She told me she plucked it right out of there.
Wow.
I was wondering if I could continue MY good fortune when #17 came straight out of the blue.
It was before the start of the top 1/2 of the 6th inning. Brewers CF Mike Cameron came running out to take his position. Like he always does, he warms up with LF Ryan Braun. As luck would have it, for a reason I’ll never know, “Cam” had brought a baseball out with him (the warmup ball is normally supplied by the ballboy/ballgirl down the LF line). He started jogging toward me with the ball in his hand before making his warmup tosses.
I thought to myself, “is this too good to be true?” So, I stood up and flashed my glove. Sure, there were others around me, but I was the only one with a glove. Easy choice. Cameron fired it right to me. I had just tied the Milwaukee record.
Here I am with #17 on the day…
…holy hell!
After signing a baseball for a fellow Brewers fan…
…I patiently sat through the remaining 4 innings.
No more home run chances…I would have to rely on Home Plate Umpire Jerry Layne.
So, in the top of the 9th inning, with the Brewers clinging to an 8-6 lead, I headed out on a mission to establish a new ballhawking record for the City of Milwaukee.
I watched (from the 7th row) as Trevor Hoffman notched his 28th save on the season. When the last out was recorded, I darted down the steps and got into position. Mr. Layne would have to walk right past me to get into the umpire tunnel. I felt my chances were good. Jerry’s ball pouch had just been loaded up a pitch prior to the last out-I knew he had extras.
When he approached, I held out my glove and said, “Mr. Layne, sir, can you spare an extra baseball, please?”
Without hesitation, Jerry reached into his pouch and pulled one out. He then placed it right into my mitt for #18 on the day!
Woohoo! Holy ****!!
A new Milwaukee record…
This just proves how good Zack Hample is at snagging. He established the record in his 1st trip to Miller Park. It took me over 200 games to get mine…but, it was well worth the wait.
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 18 total balls 8/28/09
5 batted baseballs
7 tossup baseballs
6 device baseballs
ATTENDANCE: 34,438
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)
___________________
324 baseballs (51 games)
6.35 average per game
8/25/09 @ Miller Park
Wanna know how early I arrived at the ballpark?
So early,…
…that this guy was still on the clock.
Seeing that is a first.
So was the way I snagged Ball #1. It came via tossup from one of the fine EMT’s (employed by Bell Ambulance) working the game. He and his partner walked into the bullpen and started to pick up the 3 or 4 strays that were lying in the Brewers pen. One of which, found its way into my glove.
Speaking of finding a way into my glove, the big boy pictured to the right has contributed many baseballs to my collection.
To date, I have snagged 3 of his 147 career dingers.
Hopefully, many more to come…I’m due for another one of his.
Balls #2 (on fly) and #3 (on bounce) were both hit by Prince.
I love watching that guy hit. PRINCE FIELDER
When the rest of the stadium opened @ 5:30 pm, I ran up to the left field loge bleachers (2nd deck) in hopes of snagging a Casey McGehee homer.
Turns out, I snagged two McGehee homers…both on the bounce.
That was it for the Brewers portion of BP.
The time was 5:35 pm…time to change into Reds gear.
I stayed in left field for the first Reds group of hitters.
Below me, these four (4) guys were shagging BP…
For the longest time, I could not figure out who he was. For whatever reason, his name eluded me. Nobody seemed to know who he was. But, it didn’t seem to matter much, as Mr. Balentien soon lobbed a baseball backwards like a hook shot toward another fellow ballhawk named Casey (you can read his blog by clicking here). The ball ended up short and fell back to the field. Balentien tried a 2nd time with the same result. By this time, I had grabbed a spot on the railing where this was taking place. When Balentien tried the backwards hook a 3rd time, I reached way over the railing and managed to pin the ball between my glove and the concrete facade below. I slowly gained control of it and had #6 on the day.
I continued to move around, eventually, snagging tossups from these two dudes…
…I gave this ball to one of my favorite ushers to give to a kid.
MICAH OWINGS
The Masset tossup was my 300th baseball snagged on the season.
A quick pose with # 300…
Unfortunately, that was it for BP.
During the game, Reds pitcher Arthur Rhodes spotted these four girls…
…standing behind the bullpen.
He tried to toss one of the girls (red arrow) a baseball. I was talking to a few people and standing nearby when someone said, “hey, there’s a baseball.” When I turned around, a baseball was rolling underneath an empty seat. Surprised as hell, I walked over to it and picked it up. I looked down into the bullpen and saw Arthur Rhodes pointing to one of the girls. So, I pointed to the one with the blue tank-top and he nodded. So, I gave it to her.
That’s when I yelled, “Arthur!” When he looked up at me I gave him the thumbs up.
(No, the ball didn’t have a hotel room # written on it anywhere)
The game ended up going into extra innings.
Check out where all the die-hard Brewers fans went…
The Brewers ended up blowing it…what else is new?
This season has been a disaster.
After the game, I decided I had to go for double-digits. When the final out was recorded, I darted down the staircase for an ump ball.
He kept trying to find a worthier recipient than me. After scanning the crowd about 5 or 6 times, he half-heartedly underhanded me one.
Thanks Jimbo.
Double-digits, baby.
JIM JOYCE
Eight (8) of the ten (10) baseballs snagged…
…two (2) were given away.
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 10 total balls 8/25/09
4 batted baseballs
6 tossup baseballs
ATTENDANCE: 29,481
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
___________________
302 baseballs (49 games)
6.16 average per game
The Curse of Coghlan
Remember this photo?
I snagged 12 baseballs that day.
That was the last time I would reach double-digits…that is, until this past Monday 8/17/09.
I had ten or more baseballs snagged in seven (7) of my 1st eighteen (18) games this season.
The next twenty-nine (29) games…nada.
Finally, I reached the coveted double-digit plateau in the 30th game since Coghlan.
Is the Curse of Coghlan over??
I think so.
To commemorate the event…
The note reads:
Chris-
“Hard feelings aside, congrats on a fine rookie season!
Good luck down the stretch.”
“Happy”
Of course…all in good fun.
8/17/09 @ US Cellular Field
Remember the Carlos Quentin home run hit back on 8/04/09 that bounced off the metal roof and landed on top of the shrubs at U.S. Cellular Field??
Does this refresh your memory (photos taken August 4th, 2009)…
…???
How about this…
…???
(check out the links above for a quick refresher)
Radar showed a massive green blob of rain heading straight toward Chicago. After monitoring the green blob for around 7 hours (with no change), I left work at 1pm and headed to Miller Park.
At Miller Park, I was going to meet up with two good young ballhawks named Casey & Matt. They’re regulars at Miller Park and they’re both cool dudes. Casey has his very own ballhawking blog that you can check out by clicking here. From there, we were all going to pile in my truck and head down to the Waukegan train station.
After approx. a 1hr. drive, we arrived at the train station. Unfortunately, we missed the 2:10 train because the drive-thru at White Castle took WAY too long. Oh well…we would catch the 3:10 train.
There was about an hour to kill…
…so, we played some catch.
Followed by…
…more catch.
If there was an errant throw or an overthrow into the high grass…
…no worries. I brought a few extra.
Finally, we were on the train to Chicago…
After a quick ride on the Red Line subway, we arrived at US Cellular Field.
We wasted no time before grabbing our spot in line…
That’s when a young man approached me and said, “Nick?”
I turned around and quickly realized it was Alex from the Ballhawk League.
Alex is 13 yrs. old and has a great ballhawking future ahead of him.
Check out Alex’s blog by clicking here. He’s one cool kid.
The aforementioned future ballhawk star…
When the gates to the stadium opened at 5:30 pm, all four of us sprinted up the long concourse, flashed our 100 level tickets to security and entered the seating area.
Would there be BP??
YES!! The BP GODS have spoken!
When I saw the field was occupied by numerous Sox players, I discovered that I had an extra gear. I ran all the way down the 1st baseline, around the rightfield foul pole, behind the batter’s eye and eventually, made it to the left field bleachers.
The 1st thing I did was to scan the moat for any glove-trick opportunities. I spotted one out in left-center. After about 10 seconds, I reeled up Ball #1. As I was reeling it up, an unknown Sox player hit one directly
to me. My glove was dangling in the moat at the time, so, all I could do was stick out my barehand. It ended up bouncing off the warning track and then bouncing off my barehand…ending up back on the field. Luckily, White Sox reliever Randy Williams took notice of my effort and rewarded me with the baseball via toss-up for #2.
When I removed the baseball I had just glove-tricked, things took a turn for the worse.
The rubber band was dangling from one side of the glove…it had snapped. Oh no!!
As luck would have it, the White Sox were finishing up with BP and were running off the field. I knew I would have about 2-3 minutes before the balls would be flying once again.
Quickly, I removed the old rubber band and grabbed a new one from my backpack. I bit it to make one long rubber string (I have to do this so I can string the rubber band through and around the stringing in my glove) and tied it through. After a 3-4 minute delay, I was back in business.
Things started to happen really fast from here on out.
Ball #3 was snagged on the bounce off the bat of Miguel Olivo.
Ball #4 was then glove-tricked out of the moat.
Here’s a blurry shot of me reeling in #4…
A few minutes later, a ball was hit out to deep center. Royals coach Rusty Kuntz (cool name, huh?) waddled out to retrieve it.
I said, “coach, any chance I could get that or do I have to earn it?”
Rusty responded, “you have to earn it!”
Just when I let my guard down for a second and looked away, I saw the Rusty ball descending down toward me. In a defensive reaction, the ball clanked off my glove and fell into the moat. Dammit!!! I looked a little foolish missing that ball. Whatever, I would glove-trick it. Or so I thought. Out of nowhere, came two brothers with a glove-trick of their own. They were quicker than me to get their glove-trick lowered, so, I let them go for it. After they fumbled with it for 4-5 minutes, I told them I would take care of it. After about 30 seconds, I reeled up Ball #5.
BILLY BUTLER.
When it was hit, I hurdled three rows of bleachers, ran over about 5 feet and put my glove up as high as I could reach.
Smack…on the fly.
A new group was taking the cage. So, I scanned all the moats…nothing. I had a weird feeling about the gap behind the centerfield fence. Nobody was paying any attention to that area.
When I peered over the railing, this is what I saw…
…mwahaha!!
Ball #7 took about 7 seconds to reel up.
I was locked in.
JOHN BUCK
A bunch of lefties were now hitting for the Royals, so, I moved to right field. It was crowded.
That’s where I met a really cool guy named Ben.
Ben asked if I was “The Happy Youngster.” I told him I was and we began to chat like we knew each other for years. Ben was wearing this really slick Dan Quisenberry Royals jersey. Oh yeah, Ben has a collection of jerseys that would blow your mind. According to “jerseyboy” (his handle on the mlblogs network), he has over 1500 jerseys!! Holy crap! I told Ben I would catch up with him after BP (picture to follow).
After about 6-7 minutes, MIKE JACOBS launched one in my direction. I scrambled through the aisle like my *** was on fire. I found my spot and made the snag on the fly.
Booyah…#9.
As an added bonus, it was an HHH Metrodome commemorative baseball.
Woohoo!
I *needed* to get to double-digits to break the Coghlan curse.
(if you don’t know by now, don’t ask)
Unfortunately, BP soon ended.
As BP ended, the rain began to fall.
There truly is a BP God…I swear.
As the majority of the stadium attendees sought refuge, I relished in it.
I’ve mentioned before – roofs are overrated. I enjoy an occasional rain delay.
A rain delay is what I got…
&
nbsp;
During the delay, we wandered around the stadium.
That’s when I saw *it*
SweetMotherofGod…
Do you see it? Holy ****!!
The Carlos Quentin home run hit on August 4th was still lying out on the batter’s eye two weeks later! Same spot…same ball. EXACTLY the same ball.
I had to get that ball for the following reasons:
- it would make a cool story
- it would give me double-digits for the 1st time since 5/13/09
- it would give me 52 career game home run balls snagged
I just *had* to figure out a way to get that ball.
After about an hour rain-delay, the weather began to clear.
That’s when a rainbow appeared above US Cellular Field…
In the top of the 2nd inning, Yuniesky Betancourt hit a home run into the White Sox bullpen. Would it be glove-trickable?? Alex (who was sitting next to me in the 2nd row above the Royals dugout) and I were about to find out. So, we raced out to left field to take a look.
When we made it to left, we grabbed a couple seats in about the 7th row. When the time was right, we made it down to the railing of the Sox bullpen.
Here was my view…
If that would have stayed at the rear of the bullpen, it would have been glove-tricked.
No doubt about it.
Alex and I stayed in the 7th row behind the bullpen. When the Sox 1/2 of the 2nd rolled around, JAYSON NIX launched one straight in our direction. I started to dart down the staircase. A fat guy in the 5th row acted like it was coming straight at his head. He just froze in the aisle and put his arms out. After I maneuvered around Fat-Man, I made it down to the front row. As I extended my glove-hand all the way out over the railing, the home run ball bounced off the bottom of the rear wall of the bullpen and bounced back toward the front of the pen, coming to a rest about 1 foot away from the Betancourt home run. I had just come about 6 feet from a game home run. Damn.
Immediately, Sox Coach Juan Nieves ran out and grabbed the Nix home run. In the process, he kicked the Royals home run and made a gesture with his hand, pinching his nose as if something stunk. Alex and I were both in the front row waiting for the toss-up. Nieves launched it over our heads.
Where did it land, you ask?? Directly in the seat Alex vacated in the 7th row.
Double-damn…the kid took it hard but I told him he made the right decision by getting to the front row. There’s just no way of knowing that ball would have been tossed 7 rows up.
After more on-again/off-again rain…
…the White Sox defeated the Royals 8-7.
After the game, I tried for an ump ball from Chad Fairchild…with no luck.
I wandered over to the Royals dugout for a toss-up ball…with no luck.
That’s when I met back up with Ben (aka-jerseyboy).
Here’s Ben and I after the game by the visitor’s dugout…
I said my goodbyes to Alex (and his Dad) and told my friends I was determined to end the Coghlan curse.
BEGIN MISSION CARLOS QUENTIN HOME RUN BALL:
For various reasons (that should be obvious to most), I cannot provide exact details.
I can say this:
- I was alone and unassisted.
- I did obtain the home run ball directly.
- It was, without a doubt, the home run ball hit on 8/04/09 by Carlos Quentin.
- It was partially waterlogged.
- I was the 1st fan t
o obtain possession of it. - While unorthodox, it counts toward my career home run stats.
- I did have a few witnesses (from afar) for the majority of the ball’s retrieval.
If you see me, ask me about it.
Here I am with Career Game Home Run Ball #52…
An injury incurred along the way…
But, at least the sweet-spot was clean…
…I’ve gone completely nuts.
The ten (10) baseballs snagged…
What a day…
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 10 total balls 8/17/09
5 batted baseballs (including 1 game home run hit by Carlos Quentin on 8/04/09)
1 tossup baseball
4 device baseballs
ATTENDANCE: 36,703
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
___________________
292 baseballs (48 games)
6.08 average per game
8/16/09 @ Miller Park
It was Sunday. I was anxious.
A day game you say?
Just this once.
Without further ado…my 1st home day game of the 2009 season.
(Opening Day doesn’t count)…
I walked up to the stadium and noticed the roof was closed…
I did not have a ticket for the game. So, I utilized an extremely cheap ticket option…
On the day of each and every home game, exactly 108 tickets are sold to the first 108 people who stand in line at Window 12. Each ticket can be had for the modest price of $1.
Yeah, just a buck. The seat location?? Named after beloved Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker, the seats are located on the terrace level (top deck) behind home plate.
The catch?? Of course there’s a catch…the seats are obstructed view seats that are located behind two gigantic green support pillars. But hey, it gets you in the stadium. Hardly anyone who buys “Uecker seats” actually sit in those seats, anyway. So, who really cares, right??
Be advised: If you want to purchase four (4) Uecker tickets, all four people in your group need to be in line or standing close-by. If you want to purchase six (6) tickets, all six people need to be in line, etc, etc. Also, tickets don’t go on sale until the gates to the stadium open. Which, as you all know, is bad for ballhawking. Who wants to be standing in line for tickets when others are already snagging baseballs??
But, as I already mentioned, it was Sunday. I knew BP would not start until 11:30ish.
The gates were opening at 11:00am, so, I had time.
You see, on Sundays at Miller Park, only one team takes BP. Of course, the home team Brewers get first chance at it. If they decline, they offer it to the other team.
Here’s my buck…
…and…
…here’s my ticket…
Not a bad deal, eh??
Okay, so, technically speaking…I could attend every home game at Miller Park for the grand sum of $81!!
That’s if I had a ton of extra time to stand in line to buy a ticket for every single game.
A good option for many…just not me.
(Remember, these tickets are not sold in advance)
When I FINALLY got my ticket (on game day, window 12 is *usually* just used for the sale of Uecker tickets-but not this time. I swear two guys were applying for jobs at the window it took so long), I entered the stadium and observed a BP prepared field. The only problem was that there were no players. No problem, I thought. Soon enough.
So, I joined the crowd and eventually, I handed him my ticket stub. Wandy was signing a baseball card with a blue sharpie at the time he grabbed my ticket.
When he was finished signing the card, I said, “You can sign with the same marker if you would like.”
What does he do?? He hands the kid his signed card and the marker and grabs another fans’ baseball and ballpoint pen. He signs the ball and then signs my ticket stub with the same pen. That’s great. Just great.
Here’s the stub…
…oh well, no big deal.
I’m used to it by now.
When BP finally got rolling, I was up in the left field loge bleachers.
I ended up snagging a Mike Rivera bomb on the bounce for Ball #1.
I was relieved that I was on the board.
When Brewers slugger Prince Fielder started to hit, I exited the left field bleachers and found myself standing right in big Prince’s home run alley in right field.
I wanted to snag a Prince Fielder BP homer for the little lady pictured below…
…seated in the middle.
Her name is Lexi and she’s pictured above with her sister (left) and friend (right).
Lexi was celebrating her 11th birthday with her family at the ballpark (no better place to be).
As you can see by the picture, I DID manage to snag her a Prince Fielder ball.
Happy B-Day Lexi!
My 3rd and final ball on the day came via a tossup from Brewers 3B Casey McGehee.
Casey is one cool dude. If you see him, be good to him…he’s one of the good guys.
Near the end of BP, check out who stopped by…
…that’s Todd (Pops) and Tim (son) Cook.
They are easily one of the coolest Father/Son duos I have ever met in my entire life.
I met Todd & Tim for the very 1st time back on 6/10/09 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
I just can’t find enough good things to say about those two…they rock!
After we chatted it up for awhile, we parted ways. We would be seeing each other the following day down at US Cellular Field in Chicago. Yay!
I had made an agreement with my wife that I would leave after the 3rd inning to take care of a prior commitment. No questions asked…no problemo.
Baseball Is Life…for sure. But, sometimes there’s other things, ya’ know?
Two (2) of the three (3) baseballs snagged…
…one (1) was given to Lexi.
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 3 total balls 8/16/09
2 batted baseballs
1 tossup baseball
ATTENDANCE: 41,863
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
___________________
282 baseballs (47 games)
6.00 average per game
8/15/09 @ Miller Park
We had a family get-together planned, so, I decided I would attend BP and then leave to go to the party. I rarely ever *just* attend BP, but it made sense on this day.
That’s exactly what I did.
The gates at Miller Park open 2 hrs. prior to gametime on Saturday and Sunday games that fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day. So, at 4:05 pm, the gates opened their arms to the waiting guests.
After watching 15 minutes of bunts and singles, my favorite Brewers player, Ryan Braun, launched one high into the air. I could tell it was a bomb, so, I turned my back to the ball and started to sprint up one of the staircases located in the left field loge bleachers. When I reached around the 12th row, I turned around to find the ball. A second or two later, it landed a couple rows deeper. That’s where I gloved it on a bounce for my 1st ball on the day.
Yay for Braun…he’s the real deal.
When the Astros came out to hit, ‘Stros’ bullpen catcher Strech Suba was trying to get into the visitor’s bullpen. For whatever reason, the gate to the bullpen was locked from the inside…with nobody around! He struggled with the door for about 1 minute or so when I spoke up.
I said, “Hey Strech, it’s locked from the inside.”
He said, “Is anyone in there?”
I responded, “Nobody.”
After about 10 more minutes, two (2) groundskeepers came walking through the bleacher seats behind me. They walked up to the front row and then jumped down into the bullpen to unlock the bullpen door. First time I had ever seen that.
Strech thanked them and entered the bullpen. By that time, the Astros had hit 4 or 5 baseballs into the bullpen (oddly enough, there were only about 8 home runs hit during the entire Astros BP – 4 or 5 of which landed in the right field bullpen).
BTW, I absolutely hate the Miller Park bullpens…but, that topic needs an entry of its own.
Strech started to pick them up when I said, “At least we know the bullpen is secure.”
Laughing, he responded, “Yeah, no kidding.”
When he picked up a baseball that was lying nearby, I asked him if there was any chance to get it from him. Without hesitation, he tossed it up to me. About 3 seconds later, another guy about my age asked for a ball. Strech told him he was too old.
Ha! Pays to kissass be nice.
Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee were hitting in the same group. I had a decision to make. Should I stay in right field with less competition or move to left and compete against everyone and their mother?? I decided to bank with Berkman and less competition.
It did not pay off.
Baby-face Berkman did not hit a single home run to the 2nd deck!
Carlos Lee, you ask?
He launched about 6 shots to deep left-center field. Ahhh!!
For that, Lance gets the clown treatment.
BP was winding down, the Astros were sucking and I only had 2 baseballs.
Quickly, I spotted this young pitcher shagging in left-center field…
…BUD NORRIS.
When he fielded one nearby, I politely asked for it to be tossed up. He turned around and lobbed it right to me for #3. He was totally cool about it and even gave me a wave and a grin.
I’ll be rooting for him.
My 4th and final ball on the day came via the glove-trick out of the Brewers bullpen. There was only one and I was able to knock it closer (something I rarely waste my time doing because of strict rules) and reel it up.
Four (4) balls and BP was over. Time to head back to the party.
2009 BALLHAWKING STATS
- 4 total balls 8/15/09
1 batted baseball
2 tossup baseballs
1 device baseball
ATTENDANCE: 42,952
The infamous Houston Astros “H” can be seen in full-force above.
How lame is that?
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
___________________
279 baseballs (46 games)
6.07 average per game
PLEASE ALLOW ME TO RANT:
Take a look at the following photos…when I saw this, I wanted to throw up. Luckily, the “prized” possessions were tucked safely behind display glass.
MAT GAMEL GAME USED BAT: $1200
BILL HALL GAME USED HELMET: $800
AUTHENTIC MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: $25
Are you kidding me??
Mat Gamel was just sent down to the minors and Billy Hall was just released!!
What are the Brewers trying to pull?? Who are they trying to fool??
I know the team needs money for starting pitching and all, but this is ridiculous.
Let’s review:
I catch a home run ball that I cherish and ask for two (2) bats in trade. Team says no.
Team charges out the wazoo for game used items of scrubs. I say no and so should everyone. Craziness…absolute craziness.
Does anyone else hear the rift between teams and fans widening??
I sure as hell do.
Insane…whaddya think?
The Happy Youngster...Brew Town's Ballhawk 
