Update!

Wow. I’m finally gome from Texas after my game at Minute Maid Park and Rangers Ballpark. I’m not gonna let you in on my snags or the autographs that I got, but I will let you know that I did have a couple firsts including completing one of my 2010 goals (go to the December entry to look for more info) already. I will also let you know that I got one REALLY big autograph at one one those games. If you really want to find out how I did, then just go to my mygameballs page. Those entries should be up sometime soon though, as all I need to do get my pictures up. As of now I don’t know of any trips I will be going on for baseball, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I am (actually, I’m pretty sure I will be, since I did last year, but I don’t want to say anything yet because I’m not SURE). Otherwise, I should be at a couple games at Citi and one or two at Yankee. Anyone know when they’ll be at Citi or Yankee? Feel free to let me know with a comment as it would be great to meet another MLBloger or ball snagger.  

What a Beautiful Day For…

zack_glove_trick.jpg

…The Glove Trick!

 

That’s right the glove trick. The season is approaching, and I’ve set up my glove trick and am very excited to get it out for 2010. It’s working brilliantly. I’ve been using it off my deck, and have had no troubles and haven’t dropped a ball yet. My only struggle is the string. It keeps getting tangled up. I’m thinking that I’ll put a new string on on April 5th, the day before my first game, so it won’t be as tangled up.

 

Using it on a field I have even more confidence that it will work because my patio that I’m lowering it on to is made of concrete bricks and is rugged. So that means that smooth grass should make this even easier!

 

Counting down the days:

17 till Houston!

19 till Arlington!

 

Feel free to comment and tell me what you think.

Mike

Texas

Baseball season is almost here, and I’ve got my first 2 games planned. During the opening week , I’m heading to Texas to see the Astros on the 6th and the Rangers on the 8th. The Astros take on the Giants and the Rangers take on the Blue Jays. There is so much that I want to do at these games since I’m only going to one game at each and I probably won’t be back for a while. 

 Therefore, here is my plan for the first game: 
Run into to RF and try to be the first one in. I’ve read that the ushers clean up all of the easter eggs, but I’ll try to get one. 
Try to get a BP home run as well as a ball tossed and get my 10th ever “Selig” ball. 
I’ve setup a glove trick that seems to work, so hopefully I can grab one out of the bullpen. 
Go for autographs, mainly targeting Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, Lance Berkman, and Roy Oswalt. 
Get some panoramas around the stadium including behind home before the game. 
Move up to close seats sometime during the game and try to get a third out ball. 
See if I can get a ball from the ump after the game. 
Of course this all also includes watching the game, which is the main reason of going even though the Mets aren’t playing. 
As for the second game in Arlington, here are some objectives: 
Run into LF because there will already be season ticket holders in there. 
Snag a BP homer, and if possible, on the batter eye. 
Try to snag a ball out of the gap with my glove trick. 
Get autographs with the main targets being Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, and some Jays. 
Get panoramas (I’m not mentioning behind home plate yet because I’m still not exactly sure where I’m sitting in the beginning). 
Move up and attempt a third out ball. 
Umpire. 
I’ll also be watching the game here too. 
I’m not pushing as to get these goals and saying I should get this, but I’d like to get: 
7 combined baseballs 
5 autographs 
At least one ball during the game (any, not just game ball) 
I’m so excited for this upcoming season. With the time it currently is, I should be at Minute Maid Park in almost exactly 26 days! 
BTW, I’m Mike M in the BHL.

Final Game of 2009 and a New Record- Mets at Cubs 8/29/09

2009 baseball was coming to its end for me. The Mets were playing the Cubs again, at 3:10 CT. Me and my dad stayed in the city the night before, and took the the subway to Wrigley at 11 thinking that it would take long, though it was a short ride and we got the at 11:20, and had 2 hours to look around Wrigleyville. It is by far the greatest ballpark area ever, even better than Boston. We went everywhere, but here’s me in front of Harry Karry’s:DSCN0112.JPG

You can see the sign for Babe’s Ruth’s called shot in the background, which took place here in 1937. I turned over and got a picture with the scoreboard in the background.DSCN0113.JPG
We walked towards the front of the stadium behind home plate.DSCN0114.JPG
(Me and my dad) 
… Then we found Ernie Banks. Let’s Play Two!DSCN0115.JPG
After walking all the around the bleachers, we found Harry Karry.DSCN0116.JPG
After seeing some more Wrigleyville, it was soon time fore the gates to open. 
Our seats were brilliant. But there was a struggle for me. When you walk up the stairs and leave the concourse, after a crossasile, there is about 20 rows. We were sitting on the two end seats in the first of those. Then there was another crosssasile, and about 7 rows up to the dugout. If you didn’t have a ticket for there, you couldn’t go. So of course I couldn’t. I was allowed to go the RF line near the Mets bullpen though, and after and unknown Mets coach picked up the ball, he tossed it to me. It was a Citi Field commemerative (YES!) and my first of the day. After running and giving it to my dad, I ran back and tried to sneak through an asile towards the dugout but was stopped. 
Soon later, again down near the bullpen, a different coach picked up a ball. I asked for it, and he came closer. He looked like he was hesitating, and I was afraid he wasn’t going to throw it. But he eventually did, and I’d tied my previous two games record. 
The line was crowding up with Cub fans so getting another ball down there would be hard. I just had to get to the dugout. An usher was talking, so I made my move. Towards the middle of the asile, I slowly climbed over a row, then another, and exit out the asile (Ka-Ching!). I saw Dave Racaniello and Sandy Alomar Sr. playing catch. I called out Dave’s name, and very surprised, he looked at me. As the bullpen catcher, most people don’t know him. I told him in April he tossed me a ball at Citi Field. He then made a throwing motion to me seeming that he would throw it to me when he was done. He left though, and I didn’t realize. 
I don’t know how, but my dad somehow got down, and we got a few nice pictures.DSCN0117.JPGDSCN0118.JPG
After returning back to his seat unnoticed that he even came, he got me getting Angel Pagan’s autograph (You can see his hat).DSCN0120.JPG 
And here’s a sort of reaction.DSCN0121.JPG
BTW, the reason my jersey is backwards is because I was hoping I could get David to toss me a ball. 
Here is a picture that I just like a lot.DSCN0122.JPG
Just a few stories: 
One thing that really made me mad was when Nick Evans finished hitting. His bat was fine (not broken) and he slid it across the dugout to about a 10 year old Cub fan RIGHT next to me. I mean WTF? I’m a Met fan, and you slide it to a Cub fan. Wierd. 
Also one thing I liked was that Nelson Figueroa remembered me from Monday. He knew my friend in a way and I’d told him some story (not gonna share it) and I reminded him, and he remembered me.  
Well I was still stuck on two balls, and BP would be over soon. And guess what happened? Not good. The usher realized I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. Now I was done. 
Though things can happen. The Mets were walking in and people were asking for balls. I saw Dave again, and yelled his name. He looked up and told me to come down. I told the usher that I was allowed to go down. But he said no. Then I pointed and he saw Dave. I went down, and was tossed maybe the most crushed ball of all time due to the mark. My dad was laughing as he saw the whole thing. I was celebrating on the inside. 3 isn’t that great you’ll think. But for a). that I’d never been to the field level in Wrigley, b). it’ not exactly an easy exactly place to snag, and c). that it was only the third game I’d been been to in where snagging baseballs was what I was doing.  
The Mets were 0-3 for me this season, and things didn’t look good. It was Bobby Parnell (again!) vs Ryan Dempster. Though things were looking good early. Jeff Francouer hit a 2-run double in the first and Parnell rolled, so it was 2-0 Mets after 1. 
The Cubs got one in the second and 2 in the third, so all of a sudden it was 3-2 Cubs. Though the unexpected of all heroes, Brian Schnieder hit a 2-run double that would have been 3 if Fernando Tatis didn’t hesitate, so the Mets had a 4-3 lead. But I haven’t seen the Mets score live since then. 
Right after that Aramis Ramirez hit an RBI single with two out, it was 4-4. Kosuke Fukudome walked. The Mets could have exited with only a run or no runs given up. But instead, it was 10. Jake Fox sent an 0-2 pitch into the bleachers, a grand slam, and it was 8-4 Cubs, and they’d score 2 more in the inning. 
I tried for third out balls during the game and after, but was unsuccessful, so the Racaniello one was my last of the year. 
The Mets bats were nothing, and Angel Pagan grounded out to end it, and I listened to “Go Cubs Go” again, and I’d witnessed 4 2009 games, and was 0-4. 
Wrigley is simply the greatest place to see a baseball game. It so enjoyable, and just baseball. I can’t wait to go back someday. 
2009 was a great learning year for me, and 2010 should be great. I will give updates before the season starts, so expect it. 
Even though it was so long ago, goodbye 2009 baseball! 

Welcome to Wrigley Field- Mets at Cubs 8/28/09

After attending a game at Citi Monday, I was back with baseball, and headed to Wrigley in Chicago, Illinois. 

My birthday was a month before, and my biggest present was this, going to see the Mets play the Cubs on Friday and Saturday. My dad had also planned on seeing Sunday, but he’d spent a lot of money on tickets anyway, and he wanted me to see Chicago. He also planned on maybe a White Sox or Brewers game Thursday when we arrived, but they were both out of town. 
We stayed just outside of Chicago Thursday night and Friday morning. My dad had to work in the morning, and it was pouring. We’d be lucky if we got to this game. 
We drove in a car there, and got a little lost around Wrigleyville. It was kind of cool how every building was short and then we turned the corner and saw a baseball stadium. The game was at 1:20, and we were sitting in the bleachers. By time we got in there, it was about 12. I walked up into right field, and the Cubs were just finishing BP. The Mets started, and I was ready for some snagging since we realized we couldn’t get out of the bleachers to the field level and see things. 
Jeff Francouer was out in right, and I called his name (oh, and by the way, we left the camera in the car, so no pics). He turned around, fan friendly, and nodded to me. A few minutes later, a ball was hit near 100 feet to his right. I called his name, he looked at me, and fired a strike right to my glove, and I was on the board at Wrigley!
There isn’t much to describe since I was in the same exact spot all BP. But here are a few stories: 
There was a gut next to us, with a couple of his friends. When I got a ball he was absolutely shocked. And then about how ever long later, towards the end of BP, a ball rolled up along the wall, and Sandy Alomar Jr. picked it up and tossed it to me, and I had two balls for the second straight game. Now the guy was going insane, and me snagging two baseballs was unheard of two him. Then before the game, my dad went to the bathroom and saw them. They told him it was unbelieveble that I had two balls, and then my dad said I also got two at Citi on Monday, and they were shocked out of there mind. 
A few other balls rolled up against the wall during BP, but of course I got none. 
But here’s the big story. Rewind to before I even had the Alomar Jr. ball. Mets pitcher Brian Stokes picked up a ball along the wall. Of course I was going for it. Nicely, I asked Brian for the ball. But his excuse was “You already have one”. Yeah Brian. But do you see any other Mets fans nearby? I thought that you liked to see fans of your team. Well of course, he tossed it to a random Cubs fan. So here it comes. Jinx. I was the only Met fan in the bleachers nearby, so he tossed it to a Cubs fan. 
Along came the game, and the matchup was Pat Misch vs. Ted Lilly. The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the first. The Cubs came out swinging. Fan least favorite Milton Bradley doubled, and Derek Lee singled him home, 1-0 Cubs after 1. Well since Milton is hated. And here’s a great story. Jeff Francoeur doubled leading off the second, and Fernando Tatis singled, so it was 1st and 3rd no out. Then Omir Santos popped one up, behind second. Milton Bradley called off second and it hit Bradley in the foot, so the Mets tied it at 1-1. Then the boo birds came, and it was crazy.  
For a while the game was quiet, except for a run saving amazing catch by Angel Pagan, and a home run overruled by replay from the bat of Omir Santos. 
And here’s the Milton story. In the middle of the game, a Met flew out to Milton in right. Since he caught this one, every fan was on there feet, cheering in sarcasm. And you want to know what Milton did? He took a bow. That’s right, a bow. What an a******. 
In the 8th the Mets looked like close to winners. But Francoeur struck out with first and 3rd and one out, leaving the score tied. Let’s also flashback. In Omir’s next AB after the Bradley drop, he hit one to Soriano, an easy popup, and he just plain old dropped it. Earlier in the inning, he got a late jump and missed an Angel Pagan double. And on the first pitch, Tatis sent one to the wall, and on the run, it tipped off Soriano’s glove one run scored, but Daniel Murphy was tagged out at the plated, so it was only 2-1 Mets. It looked like the Mes were gonna win for me. 
But not until he came in. Mr. Jinx, Brian Stokes. And the jinx that came worked. With a runner at third and one out, Aramis Ramirez singled to tie it at two. And after a walk, Soriano came up, and even with his miscues, the jinx couldn’t stop. Soriano sent an 0-2 pitch into left-center, and then Cubs lead 5-2. That what you get Brian. 
The ninth was quiet, and Gary Sheffield couldn’t hit one to Sheffield Ave., as he struck out to go the game. “Go Cubs Go” came on, the Cubs victory song. So the Mets were 0-3, and tomorrow would be my final game of the season, and another good day at Wrigley.

First Day Game at Citi Field- Phillies at Mets 8/24/09

I was lucky to get back to my new favorite stadium in 2009. The Mets of course were having a terrible year, mainly struck by injury and partly due to the loss of faith for the non-injured players. Citi Field is very pricy in terms of tickets, and my dad said that he didn’t want to spend the a lot of money on tickets for this team. 

But a week earlier, a friend of mine offered me his extra ticket to come with him to this game. He has a 15-game plan out in left field, but he was lucky a recieved field level tickets for the game. They were behind the visitors dugout. He came around 10:30, 10 minutes before BP started, but I didn’t care because I was at least going to the game. It usually takes about 45 minutes to get to Citi, but a no traffic Monday morning got us there around 11, so we were able to be there pretty early. 
Here’s the first view of Citi:DSCN0102.JPG
After walking in, I was yet again amazed by the Rotunda, except it seemed even nicer on a nicer day. Here’s me with Jackie Robinson’s 42:DSCN0103.JPG
We then went up and saw our seats. The view was on my phone, but they were 18 rows behind 3rd base, so I think that you can figure out where that is. 
After walking down into right field we went down the right field line. There was no BP, but then usually there are a lot of players throwing and fielding. Brian Stokes and another Met were throwing down the right field line, and about 5 pairs of Phillies were throwing down in right. Both were of course very crowded, so I didn’t even make an attempt to try. We when down towards the dugout though and Nelson Figuroa was signing, so we got his autograph. 
I decided since it was on the way, we should check out the Pepsi Porch once we finally got up there I took a picture of the Pepsi Cola sign:DSCN0104.JPG
Then turned around a snapped a picture of the view from the last row:DSCN0105.JPG
You can now see what I meant when I said both lines were crowded. 
We walked toward center and over the bridge and stopped by the Home Run Apple from Shea:DSCN0106.JPG
We then made our way in the Verizon Studio, and then made our way towards left, where we went to the second level to see his normal seats. They had a great view, but the only problem was that you couldn’t see the LF Fence.  
It was almost game time, and we went down to the Shake Shack at 12:45. The line was very long, and we realized that it may take us until the second inning to get food. We left and I’m happy not only because we didn’t miss anything but because the piece og pizza I had was amazing. The place is diagonal from the Shack and next to the 2K Sports Fan Fest, which I still haven’t been to. 
The matchup was ’09 AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, who was 4-0 as a Phillie, and Bobby Parnell. Parnell throws hard, but is hitable, while Lee’s fastball is only around 91, but he has a great off speed pitch. First pitch to Shane Victorino… Ball 1. Victorino would go on to get hit by the pitch. After a Werth popout and an Utley walk, big Ryan Howard stepped up for an opposite field bomb, 3-0 Phillies. Just a week ago, I found out that it was his 600th career RBI, and he was the second fastest to get there behind Ted Williams. 
Now let’s combine something for Angel Pagan’s at bat, who led off for the Mets. In June, Luis Castillo, second baseman dropped a popup against the Yankees to lose. And just yesterday, Pagan led off against former Met Pedro Martinez with a real Inside-the-park HR. So combine the two and what do you get? Well Pagan hit an easy popup to Utley at second, and he dropped it! Pagan was running hard, and on the throw to second, Utley threw it away, and then no one was near. Angel Pagan hit a little league home run! How about that! Two batters later, Gary Sheffield tripled, and Fernando Tatis hit a sacrafice fly that would have been gone in any other park. The Mets were back in it and trailed 3-2. 
Nothing was really left for the Mets though. 
From then on, me and my friend went down to the dugout to try to get a ball after the third out, and before the inning warmup. 
The Phils were quiet for the rest for the rest of the game basically, except for the 3rd. Ryan Howard stepped up, and just hit another bomb, to the first row of the Pepsi Porch. 5-2 Phillies. 
The Phils didn’t score anymore that inning, but they went out there to warm up before the bottom of the 3rd. Me and my friend were the only ones down there. After Howard tossed the ball in, the Phillies Bat Boy Fabio realized that we were back again. He told us to do a game of rock-papers-scissors. I won 2-of-3, and he tossed the ball to me for my first of the day and first during the day at Citi Field.  
Then the big moment came. I had never caught the Citi Field ball logo yet, let alone any commemerative. I was thinking about buying one, not for my collection, but just because I thought it was cool. But I didn’t need to ever do that. Cliff Lee dealt the ball to to Omir Santos, who hit it to shortstop Eric Bruntlett, who threw to first to Ryan Howard. Probably 10 people went down. We decided my friend would play the dugout and I would play back a little in case of a high throw. And I really think that I jut reached my glove up and couldn’t see. It happened so fast. I looked into my glove and saw the commemerative ball. Not only was this ball special for that, but basically it was dealt by the ’09 Cy Young winner, hit by the Mets hero from Boston in May, thrown to first by a the guy who pulled off an unassisted triple play yesterday, and tossed to me by a guy who hit two homers on the day, was an MVP, World Series Champion, and a Rookie of the Year. Possibly Hall of Fame. 
The rest of the game was quiet. Though I did get to see and get a video of Billy Wagners last pitch as a Met. The Phils added a run in the ninth, and Brad Lidge got Daniel Murphy to popout to end the game. Final, Phillies 6, Mets 2. Mets 0-2 at Citi for me. 
After that, it was the Mr. Met Dash, aka run the bases. All my photos are on my phone for this, but it was amazing to be on the field of my favorite in just my second game at the stadium. After exiting, we saw that plaques had gone for where the old Shea bases were in the parking lot. 
The only good thing about the Mets going 0-2 for me at Citi this year is I still have something to achieve at Citi Field.

First Game at Citi Field- Padres at Mets 4/16/09

IMG_0279.JPGI know that I’ve already given short entries about my 2009 games, but I decided I’d give entries on all four. 

Today was arguably one of the best days of my life. My first game at what I hope to call my baseball home for a long time, Citi Field, the new home of the Mets. I was so excited that I was practically jumping in the car when I could first see the stadium. Here the first picture we took of me, my dad, my sister and brother:IMG_0274.JPG
But we weren’t in yet… 
After walking all around the stadium and past the rotunda, we made it to the ticket booth. My dad went online the night before and saw that there would be tickets left. But at the first window, the man said that the cheapest ticket left was $70. My dad wasn’t for that, and the man said that another window would open in 10 mins that may have promenade tickets. I must have said 20 prayers in the time hoping my day would continue. Luckily, there were 5 promenade seats left, but me and my dad would have to sit in right and my mom, sister and brother would have to sit in left. 
Finally, we made it into the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, and I was amazed. The rotunda itself isn’t even that amazing, but it has a beautiful and welcoming look to it. After buying a program for my first game, we made it up to the field, and the field was just so amazing looking. After changing into some warmer clothes, we started to walk around and stopped out in Right Field under the Pepsi Porch. IMG_0275.JPG
I knew nothing about snagging baseballs yet, as I’d never read Zack Hample’s blog.IMG_0277.JPG
And guess what was in my hand…IMG_0278.JPG
A ball for my first game at Citi Field. How? Well a Met hitter hit one down the line, and Bullpen Catcher Dave Racaniello picked it up and came closer. I was standing on a staircase, and I caught a short throw without a glove. You may be able to tell that my brother looks sad. That’s because he thought I stole it from him. I may have reached over to my left a little, but I barely caught it so he wouldn’t have.  
After a little while, we heading past the bridge and to the Old Shea Stadium Apple, which I though was really cool.
IMG_0279.JPGIMG_0281.JPG
Notice anything different from before. No, its not that my mom has joined a picture. My sister is holding a ball. Just moments after me, another Met hit one down the line, and Pedro Feliciano picked it up and tossed it to her also without a glove. Great.
This whole transition took over an hour, and we stopped by the Shake Shack and picked up some food, and brought it to left field. Despite the Shack’s popularity, my hot dog was hard like a rock. It was either because of the cold or that it wasn’t to good. 
Eventually, it was time for the game. It was a great pitching matchup between John Maine and Jake Peavy. After getting up to our seats, here’s a pic of Maine warming up from my mom’s seat.IMG_0282.JPG
My first pitch seen at Citi Field… Strike 1! To Jody Gerut! Maine would finish the Padres 1-2-3. Jose Reyes led off batting for my first Mets.IMG_0284.JPG
Reyes and Daniel Murphy would single to start. Great. After David Wright struck out, Carlos Delgado sent a 3-0 pitch all the way out to the bridge. 3-0 Mets. Awesome. John Maine had another quick second and here is Reyes in the second.IMG_0285.JPG
I origianlly thought that that was me because of the hat. But I know that because we came to my mom after things got dark. Yes, dark. Maine gave up hit after hit and 5 runs, making it 5-3 Padres. 
After meeting up with my mom, brother and sister, the Mets would strand runners on 2nd and third. After Murphy hit a double with two outs and Reyes on first, there was fan interference making it so Reyes wouldn’t score and a next David Wright strikeout. 
We then moved down to left field for the rest of the game. I then I got an ice cream helmet despite the cold. It would get worse as Adrian Gonzalez homered, making it 6-3 P’s. Things can change though. Former Met Duaner Sanchez came in for the eighth, and up stepped Gary Sheffield, sitting on 499 homers (he’d get 500 the next night). After hitting a tapper, Sanchez threw it away. Then stepped up Ramon Castro who was 0-2 with 2 horrible at bats. I said he’d just strike out again, but my dad said he would hit a home run since they were a pitcher/ catcher combo. And sure enough… BOOM! 2-run homer just over left, and the lead was just 6-5. 
But it wasn’t enough. 
I did get to see new closer K-Rod though strike out the side in the ninth. Padres closer Heath Bell went 1-2-3 in the ninth, and ruining mine and many others first day at Citi Field. 
Nonetheless, it was a great day, and the start of something great. I hope Citi Field will bring joy in 2010.   

myGameBalls.com

Just yesterday, I joined the website www.mygameballs.com, which is a site that keeps track oof the balls that you have and can compare them to other people. Some of the common bloggers who are members of this are http://snaggingbaseballs.mlblogs.com/, http://cookandsonbats.mlblogs.com/, and http://countingbaseballs.mlblogs.com/,player, just to name a few. This website keeps track of the date, stadium, player, method, and so forth. And if you come up a do so collecting that is great or a milestone, you may get an article written about you. But I think that this website is just as great for people who don’t attemp to catch balls at a game. You can keep track of all the games that you go to, and if you happen to snag a couple of balls along the way, you can add it in for the game. Whether you care about collecting balls or not, myGameBalls.com is a great place for every baseball fan to keep track of everything.

The 2010 Season

I have always been into baseball, but the 2010 season for me is what I think will be great in all forms. I now a lot about ballhawking, getting autographs, how to search a stadium, getting pictures, and much more. I have a lot of goals for this season at baseball game, ones I can control and ones I can’t.

 

There are 2 games as of now that I’m almost sure that I will be attending. I am going to Texas in April, and while I am there I’m pretty sure that I;m going to see a game at Minute Maid Park and Rangers Ballpark during the opening week. Of course that means that I’ll be missing my Mets opening week, but I will try to follow them as much as I can. I also plan on going to 2-to-3 games at Citi Field, at least one Mets road game and a game at Yankee Stadium. In all, I’m estimating about a 7 game season. I have read a lot of Zack Hample’s blog about these stadiums, so I know what to expect.

 

Some of the games that I will hope to attend this year at Citi and Yankee are one of them against the Twins (May 14-16 at Yankee, and June 25-27 at Citi) because the Twins will probably be carrying around new Target Field Commemerative balls and possibly Metrodome ones. At Yankee Stadium, I will defnetley try to get a 2009 Commemerative and ball and try to get a Shea 2008 ball at Citi if those are still lying around. Whether I get a ball or not, I will still enjoy going to the game, because I enjoy that more than collecting baseballs.

 

Here are my main goals for the 2010 season:

1. Snag at least 20 baseballs.

2. See a Met win a Citi Field.

3. Snag at least 5 balls at one game.

4. See the Home Run Apple go up at Citi Field.

apple.jpg5. Get an autograph at every game.

6. Get a Yankee Stadium Commemerative ball.

7. Get a Target Field Commemerative ball.

8. Get a behind the plate panorama picture at Citi Field.

9. Catch or pick up a BP homer.

10. Get a ball from an umpire after a game.

 

I have some more such as:

  • Catch a foul ball
  • Get some more commemerative ball not listed
  • See at least 2 Met wins

But these are less imporatant or less likely.

I will give updates in the future about when I’ll be going, but these is what I’m planning for 2010.

Ballhawking

     As I mentioned back in my very first entry, and also after my new blog name, I am into ballhawking. I knew nothing about collecting baseballs really. In December of 2006, I had had 2, but both of those coming with me sitting behind the plate and on the dugout. That day, I saw a guy from New York on Mets’ Weekly on SNY who had many balls. That still didn’t change anything. This April, I attended the 3rd ever game at Citi Field, and got a ball tossed. Still wasn’t into it or anything. So then one day, I typed in ‘Mets vs. Padres 4/16/09 at Citi Field’ on Google to see what came up. I then saw a guy holding a 2008 All-Star Game ball and clicked on it and led to a website of a guy from NY named Zack Hample who has collected a couple thousand baseballs. I’ve read his blog ever since, and I’ve realized that HE was the guy from Mets’ Weekly’. These are the four stadiums that I’ve snagged balls from, but I’ve only been ballhawking in the 3rd and 4th pic: 

images-2.jpegimages-3.jpegimages-4.jpegimages-1.jpeg
 
(PNC Park, Rogers Centre, Citi Field, and Wrigley Field) 
I will now give a quick recap on my 2009 season (Note: I had 2 balls coming into the season): 
4/16/09 at Citi Field 
This was my first game at Citi Field, and a wasn’t a ballhawker yet, and I wanted to tour the stadium anyway. When I came into the Rotunda, me and my family went to Right Field under the Pepsi Porch. A Met hitter had just hit one down the line. I was standing on a small staircase right along the wall (which you’ll know if you’ve been in Right Field). Mets’ Bullpen Catcher Dave Racaniello (remember that name) picked up the ball and tossed up a short throw, but I, without a glove  reached down and made the catch. That would be my only ball in this game. The Padres went on to beat the Mets, 6-5. 
8/24/09 at Citi Field 
My friend had an extra ticket and invited me to this game. He isn’t a ballhawker person or anything but we were able to get there. When we went in, nothing was on the field. Usually if you walk in and there isn’t BP, there’s usually a big fielding session. But there was NOTHING. Two Mets players were having a catch, and there were about 6 pairs of Phillies throwing down the line, but that was way too packed. That gave me some good time to see some parts of the stadium that I hadn’t seen. I would most certainly been shut out a this game, but I was grateful that out seats were 19 rows behind the third base (Phillies) dugout. I didn’t talk to my friend about ballhawking, but I said that we just go for 3rd out balls, so we kept moving up to the two end seats in different rows. We kept going up before and after the bottom of the innings to get balls. After one inning Ryan Howard tossed a warm-up ball in to the bat boy, who turned around and tossed it to me. Number 1. With then two-outs in the fifth, Cliff Lee dealed the ball to Daniel Murphy who grounded to short and the throw to first to Ryan Howard. At least 5 other kids ran down. I played back a little in case of a high throw. With all of those reaching gloves, guess who came up with it. Yup. It was a commemorative ball, my first, tossed by Ryan Howard who hit two homers in the game. That was it for a great day at Citi Field. 
8/28/09 at Wrigley Field 

One of my birthday presents was to go to Wrigley to see the Mets play on Friday and Saturday. Me and my dad were sitting out in the bleachers for game 1, but we got there with about 1:20 before game time. I ran out into right field (it’s general admission) and saw the Mets taking BP. I put my sweatshirt down in the second row to save a seat, and immediately called Jeff Francoeur’s name. He then turned around and gave me a nod. A few minutes later, he fired me a ball from about 100 feet away for my first ball at Wrigley. Since the bleachers down lead the the field level, I was stuck out there. Though a little while later, Mets’ pitcher Brian Stokes came up and picked up a ball along the wall.images-5.jpeg
I then called to him saying I was a Met fan. But his excuse was that already had ONE. ONE. He then tossed it to a random Cubs fan. I then immediately gave him a jinx because I was the only Met fan in the bleachers who had come all the way to Chicago. Though luckily, I got ball number 2 tossed by Sandy Alomar Jr. who picked up a ball against the wall. That was the end of my snagging, but remember the Jinx? Well the Mets had taken a 2-1 lead in the 8th, and Stokes came in and gave up the tying run and then a 3-run homer to Alfonso Soriano which was the difference. That’s what you get Brian. 
8/29/09 at Wrigley Field 
This was my final game of the year and 2nd at Wrigley. Me and my dad took the subway from the city and got there much earlier than we expected, so we got a nice look around Wrigleyville. The gates opened at 1:10 for a 3:00 CT start. I ran into my seats which were behind an aisle. At Wrigley, when you walked on the field level, there was a section of about 20 rows (we sat in the first), then an aisle and about 7 rows up to the dugout, and you weren’t allowed to go up to dugout unless you had a ticket in those 7 seven rows, which of course I didn’t. I was allowed to go to the Right Field line though along the bullpen and I got a Mets coach to toss me ball number one, which was a Citi Field Commemorative ball. I ran back and gave the ball to my dad to hold and then ran back. I spent a while trying to get to the dugout seats, but I was stopped each time. But again I was able to squeeze in down the line and got another unknown Mets coach to toss me number 2. I had to figure out a way to get down to the dugout because I wanted to break the record I had been stuck with the last 2 games. So I saw a guard talking and slowly put my leg over and climbed over a row, then another row, and then I went out the aisle and down to the dugout. I then saw Dave Racaniello and Sandy Alomar Sr. playing catch, and if you remember from 4/16 at Citi Field, you’ll remember that I told you to remember the name. So I yelled, “DAVE!” And surprisingly, he turned his head. most bullpen catchers aren’t known by fans. So I told him that he tossed me a ball at Citi Field. Then he made a throwing motion to me and I figured he throw me the ball when he was done. I didn’t realize though that eventually he left. My dad then was taking pictures of me and I got Angel Pagan’s autograph. The guard then must have figured that I wasn’t where I was supposed to be so he said that I had to leave. So it looks like my record is held again… but wait. As the Mets were coming in, a bunch of kids were screaming for a ball to be tossed to them. So I yelled Dave again and he looked up and made a hand motion to come down. The guard wouldn’t let me go, but then I pointed to Dave and the guard let me go. He tossed me a ball that had been crushed because of the black mark. NEW RECORD!! I know 3 isn’t great but for a.) the fact that Wrigley isn’t easy and that b.) it was only my third REAL ballhawking game it was good. A good way to end the season. Here are the 5 Wrigley balls (sorry if the pic is messed up) : 
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