Day 1 Baltimore trip 4/27/2010
April 27th, 2010- DAY 1 OF BALTIMORE TRIP
(First i’d like to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures being used in these upcoming entries. My camera broke so i couldn’t take any pix)
So today was the big day. Today we
go to to Baltimore and see the Yanks take on the Orioles.
Unfortunately the week started off sour because I was supposed to attend the
Met/Dodgers game at Cit Field on Monday but it got rained out. Drove all the
way to Flushing for no reason but that’s ok, I had brought a pretty lady to the
game so we just enjoyed each other’s company for the rest of the night (relax
this is a PG-13 Blog). So if all was according to plan, I was going to be at 4 games
this week and get ready for a stellar snagging week but I’m going to have to settle for 3 games in Baltimore. Anyway back to
the present.
Making the trip was Rich, Dom
Dolce, Dom Digga, and myself. Last years trip to Baltimore was Rich, Dolce, and
myself but Digga was all for it this year so he on board to make some plays.
Around 12pm we all left my house and we were off… sorta. 1st we had
to stop for gas and then drive to CW Post so Rich could drop off some papers or
something, I don’t know. Either way it took us a little out of the way because
when all was said and done we lost a good 30mins or so. Now one would think
that when you are going on a trip you should follow the GPS exactly right?
Wrong! My father is a human GPS and he knows his way better around the City
then the Ninja Turtles do. So when I called him and asked him for directions he
had me basically drive through parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens just to
get all the way back to where we were originally supposed to be if we were not
to of gone to CW Post. So simply put, we drove in a big circle and to top it
off, the GPS time clock was off by an hour. It said we were supposed to arrive
in Baltimore around 4:15 but when I fixed it, it said 5:15. So now we’re going
to be late since gates open up at 5:00. No big deal though.
Lets just fast-forward past the car
ride because it was just filled with dirty jokes and lots of Matt and Kim tunes. So
we get to Camden Yards around 5:00, find a parking garage a couple blocks away,
and we are off. We get inside the ballpark at 5:20ish and the RF stands have a
pretty good amount of people in them. We couldn’t get into the LF seats since
we didn’t have season tickets so we were stuck here for 20 mins or so. Oriole
bp put simply: Pathetic. I mean Adam Jones was hitting bombs into LF but that’s
not going to help us. So I figured I’d give calling out some players a shot. I
went into CF and managed to get the attention of some Spanish guy (Maybe Simon)
and asked him for a ball in Spanish. His aim was awful because when he threw it
to me the guy next to me winds up catching it. Of course he’s like 30 years
old, no glove, has no intentions of snagging a ball. So there goes that one. I
told the guy “Your welcome” and like a goon he says ” yeah thanks man!” and gives
me a pound. Apparently he missed my sarcasm.
Anyway I figured the O’s would be
done at any minute I decided to try another alternative: Glove Trick. In CF,
Camden Yards has this like 2ft gap between the wall and the seats and to my
delight a ball was sitting there waiting to be claimed for the taker. Now before
I left this morning I figured there would be no way I’d be using the Glove
Trick because I would be too focused on HR balls. But I lucky grabbed some
string and brought it into the Park with me. So I quickly tie the string on my
glove, set the pen up, and go fishing. (I just realized as I’m writing this
that I forgot to use the rubber band. That’s probably why it took so long for
me to get the ball). So I’m trying to grab the ball but it just wouldn’t want
to stay in. I kept trying and trying but still no bueno. Now people around me
are getting all excited because they see what I’m trying to do. Great more
pressure. So I’m lowering and raising the glove constantly because I had to
keep readjusting the pen so the ball would fit. Eventually I had switched
gloves and now I was using Rich’s glove. So after about 15mins of trying, a
security guard comes down to see why this little white kid was doing leaning
over the guardrail. He looks down and explains to me that it’s not going to
work because of the type of pen I was using or something. He was like you need
to use a cup…. WHAT!!! Is this for real right now? Am I really getting advice
from a security guard of all people? I’m thinking this guy is going to
confiscate the string or just tell me to stop. Instead he was helping me. Wow
do I wish I lived in Baltimore and came here for my home games instead of the
Prison I have to call Yankee Stadium. So another 5mins of trying and I
eventually get the ball. Alight so no shut out at least. By then the Yanks were
already hitting, so I quickly changed clothes and positioned myself in the RF
seats. Moments later Cano sends a laser in my direction. I run down 2 rows and
move a couple seats over to the left and make and easy 2-heanded catch. I get
the nice hand from the crowd but shortly after that the next 2 homeruns hit my
general area were caught BARE HANDED by two different guys. So now I look like
the clown who brings his glove to the game while these guys are catching HR’s
on the fly with their hands. I figured it was time to make a move anyway. I
went into LF and I got zippo! Absolutely no action so I ended up with a weak 2
balls for bp.
So we decide to find some seats and
since it was Baltimore we had plenty to choose from. We find 4 seats about 8
rows away across 3rd base and we sit down and get ready for the
game. Before the game started obviously the starters came out and stretched and
threw. I didn’t really have any intentions of getting another ball because I
didn’t bring my glove down to the wall where I was standing by. I brought my
09′ Championship ball with me hoping that I could get an auto from Cano or
Gardner. So surprise surprise nobody signed and I was standing there like a
goon with a ball and pen in my hand. BUT there was something interesting going on
right in front of me. Derek Jeter was about 5 feet away from me as he and Cano
were having a catch. Awesome! Now is when it’s gets really awesome though. Cano
sends a short hop to Jeter that he couldn’t handle. So the ball rolls all the
way down the LF line and I’m thinking that someone is bound to pick it up and
toss it into the crowd. I see the security guard walk down the line and pick up
the ball and to my surprise he doesn’t toss the ball up. Instead he takes it
with him and rolls it to the Strength and Conditioning coach who was with
Granderson.By now Jeter and Cano are back in the dugout. He picks the ball up and puts it in Grandys glove. Ok so now I got
to get Grandersons attention before he runs away with it. After 3 more sprints
into CF Granderson comes to the LF line and grabs his glove. I throw my hands
up in the air and get his attention. He lofts the ball up to my direction but
it falls way short. So now the ball is sitting there along the LF line again
BUT now A-Rod and Ramiro Pena are having a catch and I’m standing right in
front of the ball so I’m in a prefect position to not only get the ball but to
ask Pena for the ball in Spanish. I wait a couple of minutes for them to finish
up and Pena starts to jog in. I shout out to him can I have the ball in Spanish
and he picks up the ball and tosses it to me for ball number 3. YES! I just got
a jeter/cano warm-up ball. That might of just made the trip…. unless i get a foul/hr ball. (foreshadowing)
So now the game
starts and we have prime seats behind 3rd base. Phil Hughes is on
the mound for the Yanks and he looked good tonight. The O’s countered with Vet
Kevin Millwood and he looked good as well.
Fast
forward to the bottom of the 3rd. Before the game started I asked
Dom if I could grab the aisle seat in case of foul balls. I was thinking I
would hopefully get a foul ball by one landing in the seats behind us. I wasn’t expecting
one from off the field. Miguel Tejada steps up to the plate and after a couple of pitches from Hughes, he hits a ground ball foul down
the 3rd base line. I see a couple of people go for it but apparently
they came up empty. So I jump out of my seat with my glove still on and look
over the wall and what do I see… Foul Ball!
So I reach down and pluck it from
the warning track dirt. I then give a little fist pump and casually walk up the
stairs back to my seat. Everyone is looking at me and I toss the ball up in the
air and I give a big cheesy smile! I couldn’t believe how easy that was! That was my 4th career foul ball
and it was nice to snag another in a different Stadium outside of New York
(even though I still got none from new Yankee Stadium). Anyway that was is it
for snagging for the rest of the night. I didn’t really care about getting
anymore because once Hughes came out of the game the bullpen imploded and the
O’s took the lead. So we were down 5-2 in the 9th and we spark a
rally with 2 outs. Before we know it, it’s 5-4 and the tying run is on 3rd
and A-Rod is up. What’s he do? Laces a ground ball up the middle but it got
slowed down some by the pitchers glove and the 2nd basemen fields it
and tosses it to 2nd for the force out. So the Yanks loose game 1 to
the pesky Orioles and we decided to just head over to my cousin’s college where
we are spending the next 2 days. Hopefully tomorrow night is better. We got CC
on the mound so we should be fine. Catch ya lata
* Bat mark from Miguel Tejada
* Jeter/Cano warm-up on the btm left
4/8/10- First Met game of 2010
Alright so after my failed performance at Fenway Park for Opening Night with no balls snagged or autographs, i decided to make my way to the always gracious Citi Field to try my luck out before my Yanks Opening Day next Tuesday. I went on StubHub a couple of days before the game on Thursday night and bought 2 cheap tickets. I had a couple of people lined up to bring with me to the game but it seemed like everyone had something to do. Finally at the last minute my friend Jackie that i work with said she would go. So it was all set.
is David Wright. Wright hits a little scribler to Paulino and he throws it to to 1st basmen Gaby Sanchez. I run down the steps and i get the prime spot right in front of the dugout and once Gaby looks up into the crowd i already had my glove up with my bright green Marlins shirt and hat on. He sees me and lofts it to me for ball number 4. At the last second of me catching it it felt like 10 people just shoved up behind me. I swear i thought i had like 2 people behind me but all of a sudden a bunch of people came up and tried grabbing the ball. No matter i got it and the ball was beautifully dirty with the imprint of DW”s bat mark on it. (the scuff mark isn’t shown on the pic sry)
Curtis Granderson Press Conference… and more!
Game 6 World Series tickets… hopefully
Tuesday November 3rd,
2009
The
night before I went to Philly with the goon squad and saw the Yanks lose what
could have been a potential World Series clinching game. Oh well whaddya going
to do. So I woke up at 9am after going to sleep at 3:30am giving me a grand
total of 6 and a 1/2 hours of sleep. I had work from 10-5 so I headed out and served
pizza to the wonderful community of Farmingdale. Now the story really begins. I
get home from work and I quickly gather all the things I’ll need for my slumber
party part 2 at Yankee Stadium. I knew I would need 3 very important items.
Warm heavy clothes
blankets
stadium I was freezing and my feet were SOAKED from the rain so I came prepared
this time. I’m not going to be miserable this time because of typical New York
weather. Once everything was all together I hopped in the Camry and made my way
to the Bronx.
took out a good chunk of time. Would that traffic possibly prevent me from
having a worse place in line? We’ll see. I got to the Stadium around 7:45pm and
I decided to drive around the Stadium and see what other wackos were out there
as well. To me it looked like there were about 20-30 people lined up. So I
parked on the Grand Concourse, got my things, and walked to the Stadium. I
arrived at 8pm and I immediately went to the front of the line and saw who was
“in charge”. I talked with this guy and signed the “list”. This guy was the
same guy from Game 1 of the World Series and I was not happy about this one
bit. Him and his entire entourage of “Yankee fans” were like the first 15
people on line. Listen I got no problem with them being 1st in line
and they deserve to be since they’ve been waiting in line for over a day or
whatever they said it was. But what bothers me is that they weren’t even YANKEE
FANS! Not ONCE did I hear them say anything intelligent about the Yankees. As a
matter of fact they didn’t say much about the Yankees at all. All they kept
saying was they are first in line and we want tickets! Meanwhile all of us
other FANS were actually talking baseball and to be honest with you these
people were very baseball smart. It felt good to talk Yankee baseball with someone
other then my father and close friends. Anyway I signed the guy’s list and I
was 37th on line and I signed my friend Dennis up to so he was 38th.
Dennis wasn’t here yet so I told the guy I was going to hold a spot for him.
After that I made my way down the line and found a spot underneath one of the
awnings and I sat down.
swear when people ask me why do I talk or hang out with bums I tell I don’t
approach them they approach me. These bums were crafty though. It looks like
they went all around the Bronx and got as many cardboard boxes as they can fit
in their dirty little bum hands and constructed themselves a little house.
Hmmm. So Dennis shows up around 9pm and I get him settled in to what was going to
be his home for the next 20 or so hours. I then explain to him what exactly we
had to do to get tickets and what to expect for the next couple of hours.
Pretty straight forward we wait in line, don’t get frostbite, sleep, wake up
and hopefully they got tickets available for us. So around 11pm I call the
barking guy and see if he wants to hang out for a little bit. I kind of have a
thing where when I go to a game with someone new or whenever I’m in the Yankee
Stadium area I always introduce him or her to the Barking Guy.
met the Barking Guy and he was anxious to see what all the hubbub was all
about. So within 15 minutes he shows up and immediately starts causing havoc.
He’s hanging around the area where Dennis and I set up camp and he’s just
barking and acting like a damn crazy man… I love it! The crowd around us is
loving every moment of it too! They’re laughing and having a good time so at
least I gave us some entertainment for the time being. So after a good 30
minutes of nonsense, Barking Guy decides its time for bed. Where that bed is
exactly, I have no idea. So we say goodbye and we decide to meet up sometime
tomorrow during the day.
Now i’m hungry after all that nonsense and i go grab a delicious healthy meal… a yummy cheap burger from micky d’s. I then get a phone call from a lovely young lady who goes by the name of Marianne. We talk on the phone for a while and i’m telling her what’s going on here. She would of came along and made the trip but she’s and aspiring doctor and she’s got her head in the medical books looking for the cure for chicken pox or something. So after my 5 star meal, i tell Marianne that i’m gonna try to get some sleep and the key word is try. Ilay down and try to make myself comfortable and warm but that wasn’t exactly
working. I toss and turn and begin to shiver. I realize two things: I am very
uncomfortable on the concrete floor and I am freezing! I decide to go to my car
and grab a blanket. So I grab my keys and phone and I head for the Grand
Concourse. As Im walking down towards River Ave. I look to my right and I
decide to make a little detour. I realized that I have never stood alone with
Yankee Stadium after all these years of being there so I figure now would be
the perfect time. All the times I would be in and/or outside it would be for
game day or if I was ever there for whatever reason, people would always be
around. So I cross the street and I walk past the old ticket booths. Those
things have been there for as long as I could remember. Now Im walking
alongside the brand new parking lot and turf field that they just built. Im
looking and I can only think of one thing that reminds me of what made this
place so special. The many Sunday afternoons playing catch with my dad before
and after a Yankee game. That was one of the best parts about going to the
game. I would always ask my dad if we could have a catch before we went inside
the Stadium and if we didn’t have time I would beg him to play catch after the
game. This parking lot used to be a huge area of grass, dirt, and blacktop. It
had two baseball fields, two basketball courts, and a couple of wall ball
courts. Now I didn’t play basketball for obvious reasons but I would jump at
the opportunity to play on the baseball fields and the wall ball courts. Just
the very fact that I was playing alongside Yankee Stadium was the coolest thing
in the world for me. I loved running around and looking up to see Yankee
Stadium watching over. (check out the sweet photoshop craftsmanship). My cousin Anthony is on the right, i’m on the left.
besides being inside the Stadium itself. I remember one day before a Sunday
afternoon game, my dad and I were having a catch alongside one of the fields.
My dad would always throw me pop-ups and fly balls and he always threw them up high. It was getting close to game time so he told me were going to leave soon.
So he throws me a couple of more fly balls and then he says one more and that’s
it. So he rears backs and chucks a fly ball… deep. Now he goes into broadcaster
mode. He starts saying “it’s back, to the track, at the wall…” CRASH! The next
thing I remember is coming to my senses and realized im bleeding from my head.
I ran back and made the catch but I forgot one very important thing, where the
fence was! There was a chain link fence about 30 feet back from where I was
originally standing and as I made the catch I collided with the fence. Before I
knew it, my father had me in his arms and he was rushing me into the Stadium
with his 1998 World Champs t-shirt wrapped around my head to try and suppress the
bleeding. We got into the Stadium and were taken to the first-aid station.
Turns out I got a decent gash above my left eye and the nurse threw on some
butterfly stitches to heal it up. Now I know that isn’t exactly the greatest
moment to remember but since im much older now and it wasn’t life threatening,
in a weird way I appreciate the memory. Almost every game after the incident I
would pass the spot where I made the spectacular catch and crash, I would tell
my dad “that’s my spot dad, that’s where I made my catch”…. Not anymore though.
They destroyed “my spot” and put a wonderful parking lot on top of it.
to the present shall we. At 12am in the Bronx this isn’t exactly the most ideal
place to be and Im starting to look over my shoulder every so often now. So I
reach River Ave and make my way to the Grand Concourse. All of sudden I see
flashing lights. 2 cop cars fly down the street and im thinking okay not a big
deal, I always see cop cars here. But little by little the cop cars were
multiplying. First 2, 4, 6, 8, a fire truck, 10, 12, an ambulance, 14! It was
chaos in the Bronx and I was right in the middle of it! At one point there were
cop cars on both sides of the street driving in opposite directions! Insane. Im
starting to freak out now because I have no clue what is going on but im
assuming they are looking for someone and im trying to look as casual (and
white) as possible. So I got to my car, grabbed my stuff, and made my way back
to the Stadium. On the way back I noticed that all of the cops surrounded a
building that I pass every time I go to a game. I guess they must have found
whoever they were looking for. So I get back to my spot and I tell Dennis about
my near death experience. I then try to go back to sleep.
two hours then I wake up again to some idiot talking about food prices in the
Stadium! Really guy? It’s November and you’re still complaining about it? So
now I can’t fall back to sleep at all because of this babbling fool and the
fact that it 30 degrees out. So like a zombie I shoot up of the floor (Dennis
knows exactly what Im talking about) and I tell im going to my car to get a
sleeping bag. For the record, the sleeping bag belongs to Dom Dolce and I would
like to thank him for conveniently leaving it in my car since we stayed
overnight for Game 1 tickets. So I once again walked all the way back to my car
and this time grabbed the sleeping bag and came back to the spot. Dennis is on
the phone now with Mike… at 4am. Smh. So I tell Dennis once I settle in you got
to get off that phone and we got to get to sleep.
waking up looking at Old Yankee Stadium soaking in the early morning sun. It’s
about 7:30am and Dennis gives me a banana to eat. That didn’t really hold me
over so I went to McDonalds and grabbed a sandwich. I get an unexpected early morning phone call from Marian as i’m eating breakfast. We chat for a lil bit then i tell her i gotta get back to my spot. After eating breakfast,
some Yankee officials came up and began setting up barricades… YES! Now were
getting somewhere. Last time they didn’t set up anything until 2pm and now they
are setting up at 8:30am. So we got in line according to “the list” and began
to wait. I was getting so excited because I figured if I could get tickets
being 100th in line like Game 1, then I should be able to get
tickets now being 37th in line. So around 10:30am they opened up the
doors and began letting people in buy tickets! There was however a lot of controversy going on in front of us.
this keeps up I should have my tickets within the next hour and have plenty of
time to get home, rest, get ready, and come back for the game and see history.
Did it go that way though… no. At approximately 10:50am they stopped letting
people in and shut the doors. I was about 10-15 people away from being able to
get tickets.
and have no idea what to expect. Dennis and I wait online for another 3 hours
and finally… the worst possible news I could ever hear at that particular
moment in my life.
A cop came out of the ticket office with a mega phone andsaid the following:
repeat the Yankees have absolutely no tickets available for the public! Pack up
your belongings and go home!”.Â
harsh cold with Dennis and the other fans… and we are told to go home by some
cop? I couldn’t believe it; I didn’t want to believe it. So we packed up our
stuff and made our way back to our cars. Dennis parked by the Court House and
we got to the car, more bad luck! He got a ticket! It was just more wonderful
news to a not so wonderful day. He missed all of his classes for school today
and now he got a $95 ticket. What was the ticket for? He parked in a “Judges
Only” spot. Kind of stupid but rules are rules. So he drove me to my car and
then we went our separate ways. I thanked him for sticking around with me and
that I was sorry that we couldn’t get anything. He drove away and I then
decided since im here I might as well stick around and I try to buy some
tickets off of somebody. This was my last chance. I had to get tickets no
matter what.
I hung out in front of Gate 2 for a while and saw Gregg Dobbs enter the
Stadium. I didn’t bother to get his autograph, that’s not why I was here. I
also saw MLBNetwork’s Trenni Kusnierek and I was tempted to get my picture
taken with her but I figured now wasn’t the time. Jason Wryth pulled up in a
fat black Escalade but he wasn’t signing anyway. I then walked around the
Stadium again and hung out in front of Gate 6. I said hello to Joba
Chamberlain’s father and wished him the best. I also got a chance to speak with
Ken Rosenthal and tell him about the recent events that just unfolded. He told
me that he’s sorry and good luck with getting tickets. Gee thanks Ken. So now
it’s 3:30pm and Im getting restless.
stuck it out last night and we begin to talk about Old Yankee Stadium. There
was an Oriental guy in the group and we were talking about our favorite
memories of the Stadium. He was such a cool guy and knew the game so well. It
made me realize how global the Yankees have become. I usually never give the
time to talk baseball with foreigners but this guy was so real and sincere…
especially when he told me that Yankee Stadium was like his second home. It was
really amazing to hear that from somebody else besides myself. So around 4pm I
start getting desperate and resort to begging for tickets. I grab a piece of
cardboard and make a sign that reads the following:
Ifigure I should give Grand Concourse a shot and maybe some fans coming to the game
have two extra tickets with them. I run into Barking Guy again and I treat him
to some Burger King. I forgot how hungry I was so it was nice to share a meal
with someone who no matter what always makes me laugh and put me in a good
mood. But that only lasted for so long. I walk down River Ave. and I go inside
the old parking lot and try my luck there. Nothing. It ‘s 5:30pm and I’ve been
walking all over the place now and I still am coming up empty. Not even the
scalpers have anything except one guy who tried selling me a fake ticket.
Please like you’re going to sell ME a fake ticket.
and I find some guy who tells me he has an extra ticket… only 1 ticket though.
I needed 2 for my dad and myself. He told me he got his tickets for free from
his business and he wanted to make a good profit off them. I offered him $400
for the ticket but he wanted $500. I ultimately told him I needed 2 tickets and
$500 was a stupid amount plus you got it for free. Jerk off. I needed 2
tickets. I know it was a long shot and I was trying to stay hopeful but I’ve never encountered a game like this where there are NO tickets anywhere. I made my way
around the Stadium once more and at 6:35pm… I called it quits.
As a matter of fact, it was the first time in my life that I have ever felt
this disappointed. I feel like I let my dad down for not getting him a ticket.
I wanted him to be at this game so bad and we had the chance to be here.
If Ihad taken game 6 instead of game 7, I would have never had to be in this
dilemma in the first place. This is the second game that I missed because of my
poor judgment. The other game you ask? Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS… yeah that game.
I went to game 1 of the 2003 ALCS instead and caught my first ball at Yankee Stadium during bp.
Woo-hoo. Sure I could’ve took the one ticket and paid $500 and see the Yankees
win the World Series but I wanted my dad next to me when it happened. I didn’t
want to be alone. Besides my best friends Rich and Mike and my cousin Anthony,
my dad is the only other person I would want next to me for such a special
occasion… and I couldn’t make it happen. And in all of my life I have never
been so disappointed with myself. The entire car ride home (alone) I thought
about the 47 regular season games I attended this past season and if maybe I
cut out 10 games maybe I would have had the money to afford two more tickets. I
wanted to be at every single home game this year but for obvious reason I cannot do
such a thing and when the most important game came along… I was not in
attendance. I have never felt this type of emotion before and I hope I never
will again. When I got home I didn’t even want to watch the game. I felt
disgusted but I knew that it wasn’t the team’s fault; it was the front offices
fault. Maybe if they would of made this new Stadium bigger in capacity, fans
like me and the hundreds of others who waited outside if freezing cold weather
would be able to see their favorite team win a World Championship. And sure I
could of rooted for a game 7 since I had tickets for it but that would go
against everything I love about the Yankees. I wanted them to win whether I was
there or not… and that’s exactly what they did. Andy Pettitte was vintage,
Hideki Matsui stole the show with 6 RBI, and Mariano Rivera sealed the deal for
World Championship number 27! Im getting goose bumps just typing about it right
now. Now I may of not been inside the Stadium with my dad watching it happen
right in front our eyes but he was right next to me as we watched Cano field a
Shane Victorino ground ball and throw it effortlessly to Mark Teixeira. I held
onto him as I watched my favorite team in the world celebrate what we’ve all
been waiting for since 2000! It was truly a special moment for me and im very
thankful that I was able to share it with not only my dad but also the rest of
my family.
champagne they he’s kept locked way for some time now (2001 World Series to be
exact) and he gave me my own little on field celebration by pouring champagne
all over my head! Guess I can say that im happy that I wasn’t at the game
because I can assure you that that would have not happened there. Thanks Yanks
for a perfect season filled with excitement, drama, and most of all… a World
Championship. I’ll see ya in 2010 for Opening Day and I can’t wait to see that
banner being waved claiming that we ARE World Champs once again! Catch ya lata.
2009 World Series- Game 5
November 2nd, 2009
Philadelphia, PA
World Series Game 5- 7:57 game time start
Yankees vs. Phillies
AJ Burnett vs. Cliff Lee
This was the setting fro what could be an unforgettable day. Lets start shall we?
Ok so the night before I decided I
was going to attend game 5 of the World Series. Iâve been rooting for Philly
the whole postseason so the Yanks could play them in the Series and so I could
go attend the game since Philadelphia is only a 2 hour drive away. So I found
some lady on Craigslist the night before and she made me a good deal. We were
originally going to meet at Yankee Stadium that same night because Rich and I
were going to watch game 4 their on the big screen inside the Stadium. My aunt
basically convinced me not to go and watch it home with my family. I did and I
called the girl and we decided to meet up at JFK Airport the following morning
at 7am.
So I wake up bright and early on
Monday morning (5:45am to be exact) and I get in my cold car and drive to JFK.
Iâve never been there before so I figured I should leave early and since there
was probably going to be a lot of traffic. BIG MISTAKE! I get there at 6:45am
and winds up not showing up until 8:30am. So instead of getting some extra
sleep, I waited around an extra hour. Anyway, I eventually get the tickets and
I made my way back home.
Get home, shower, get my stuff
together, and before I know it were off to the City of Brotherly Love. I hopped
in the van with my dad, Rich, and Dom and we were on our way. Pretty
straightforward trip to Philly since you are basically on the New Jersey
Turnpike the entire time.
This was only my 3rd Phillies home game
and my second at Citizens Bank Park. I went in September of 2003 to see one of
the final home games at Veterans Stadium and I attended last years NLDS Game 2
against the Brewers. I remember it just being absolute chaos last year in
Philly and that was only for a DS game. I couldn’t wait see the atmosphere for
a World Series game.
We arrived at the ballpark around
4:15 pm, which gave us plenty of time to take in some of the activities going
on. Did we? No. Last year I did some stupid pitching thing and I my arm was
killing me for 2 days straight so I steered clear of any potential injuryâs
this year. So we basically waited on front of the gates for 45 minutes and sure
enough some news guy is interviewing us all. HERE is the interview article. pretty cool i think.
Gates open up at 5:10pm and we all
rush into the stadium. The phillies were already taking BP so we made our way
into left field. Rich winds up getting a ball hit right to him but some
colossal guy tackled him to the ground for the ball and the same moron got it.
The crowd loved every moment of it and when the moron rose to his feet with the
ball in his hand, stay went nuts for him just because he tackled a Yankee fan.
Guess thatâs why they call it the city of brotherly love. Well, soon after that
Rich makes a nice leaping catch for his 1st ball of the day. About
15 minutes into BP, I get a ball hit to right to me but unfortunately my height
screwed me once again. The ball sailed right over my out stretched glove and
landed 2 rows back of me. I figured Iâd scoop it up since no one was behind me
but the ball rolled right underneath some chairs as soon as I bent down to grab
it. Some clown in front of me got the ball. I knew BP was going to be a
disaster fro that point on. Soon enough I recognize a familiar face, Zack
Hample. So I went over and said whatâs up. After our little conversation about
the past couple weeks we knew it was time to get back to work⦠well at least in
Zack’s case he did. Phillies BP I got nothing and then the Yankees took the
field.
You would think my luck would change for the Yanks portion of BP but
that was certainly not the case. I virtually had no luck during Yanks BP as
well. I eventually made my way into the right field seats by the right-center
corner spot.
Phil Coke was shagging fly balls and I know from past games that
he always throws baseballs into stands. Shortly after he fielded a ground ball
he looked into the stands and looked towards me. I had little kids surrounding
me so I knew I was getting it but I was the ONLY Yankee fan in that area. I
start yelling out Phillies name to try and convince him to toss me the ball. He
looks at me, then a looks at a kid next to me and he decides to throw it in
between us. I stick my glove but so did the kid. I did a half glove pull back
(if that even makes sense) so the kid could catch it but it was too late. I
didnât pull my glove back fast enough and the ball tipped of my glove and off
the other kids glove and fell to the floor. Phil walked over to the ball and I
yelled out to him to give the kid another shot. Phil complied and the kid next
to me successfully caught the ball that Coke threw for the second time. The kid
thanked me and so did a man next to me so I guess that was nice even though I
knew I kind of screwed it up to begin with. Oh well, after that Coke got
another ball hit to him and he almost immediately turned to me and chucked me
the ball from about 50 feet away. I hardly had to even ask for it. I guess my
act of kindness paid off. I realize after catching the ball that it’s a very
special ball full of Firsts for me. Itâs my first: ball caught in Philadelphia,
ball in November, and my first ball caught during a World Series game BP.
Excellent, so at least I wasn’t going home empty handed like I did last year.
After that, I got NOTHING. Absolutely terrible BP but I did have some chances
so I canât blame it entirely on them. I called it quits and went back to meet
up with everyone. I did get a phone call from my dad during the end of BP and
my surprise and delight… He snagged a ball! It was only his second ball heâs
ever gotten at a game. Like son like father I guess right? I meet up with everyone
and it turns out Rich has 1, Dom got 0, my dad 1, and 1 myself. I was bummed
out that Dom didnât get anything but maybe his luck would change during the
game (Foreshadowing). After that I went to talk with Zack and see how he did.
He got 4 during BP and after some talking we took a picture with each other. I
can proudly say that I was the last ballhawk to attend a game with the 2009
mygameballs.com Ballhawk Champ. Congrats to Zack. We then said our goodbyes and
wished each other good off-season. ( i forget what Zack was pointing at but we both look clowns.
My dad and I then went up to our
seats in section 424. Nice seats, we were pretty much behind home plate looking
directly into the 1st base line. Before we know it, it’s game time.
Yanks score 1 in the top of the 1st, which gave me a lot of
confidence in how we would fair against the seemingly immortal Cliff Lee. You
want to know how long that confidence lasted?
As soon as AJ Burnett stepped on
the mound in the bottom of the 1st. Burnett was on 3 days rest and
he said he was fine and good to pitch. LIAR!!! This guy was a bum the entire
night. He served up a base hit to J-Roll, hits the Flyin Hawaiian with a
fastball, then the modern day Reggie Jackson, Chase Utley steps up to the plate
and blasts a 3-run jack into the right field seats. From that point on it was the
one of the hardest game I have ever had to watch let alone stomach. From the 2nd
inning to the 6th inning on it was the Cliff Lee show but this is
where things get a bit interesting. I get a text from Rich saying something
like “ YOOOOOOOOOO STANDIN ROOM IN THHHE BESTTT”. I’m like yea ok I would
rather sit and watch the game. Boy was I wrong! Rich comes up to sit with my
dad and I in the 7th inning and he was with Dom, and his two
buddies, Mike and Kevin that took the train to Philly. Before that Dom sent me
a text saying “we got a surprise for you” so now I”m curious. So they sit down
and before I can even say anything, Rich whips out an official 2009 World
Series ball!!!
He hands me the ball and I say to him I don’t want this. He
says it’s ok, we all got one. Everyone then whips out a World Series ball… WHAT?!?!?!?!?! So now i’m bugging out and I ask him how the hell did he pull
this one off? He tells me that they all stood above the Yankees bullpen for the
1st half of the game and whenever a reliever was walking around or
got done throwing, they threw them a ball. They were the only Yankee fans there
so they definitely had the advantage. Rich says my ball was being used by Phil
Hughes so that’s pretty cool. So after everyone got a ball they came up to us.
Leave it up to Rich Bory the “King of Swine” to get me a World Series
ball. Love the kid like a damn brother.
So now it’s the 8th inning
and the Yanks are making somewhat of a comeback. It’s the most excitement we’ve
had all game. 9th inning rolls around and the score is 8-6 Phillies.
Tex is up with Damon and 2nd and A-Rod on deck. 1 swing of the bat
and we tie the game up. Instead… WHIFF!!! Tex goes down swinging and the
Phillies win game 5. It was a crushing and now i’m thinking about how I’m going
to get tickets for game 6. Stubhub is a disaster and Craigslist is just as bad.
I have only one option, camp out at Yankee Stadium again and try to get tickets
on Wednesday morning. So we take a couple of pictures after the game then we
make our way back home. We get home around 3am and I know that today was going
to be long day when I wake up. For that same night I will outside of Yankee
Stadium attempting to purchase game 6 tickets. Hope I get em. Catch ya lata.
9/21/09- Citi Field (Last trip of 2009)
So i figured i should go to one last Met game this year for 2 reasons. 1) I havent been there in over a month and the tickets are EXTREMELY cheap now because of the Met’s demise. 2) I wanted to attend a game alone so i can focus on snagging as many ball’s as i can without any interuptions from friends/family. No offense to them, i love going to ballgames and enjoying them with my friends and family but i need at least one game to myself where i can just sit back and relax and enjoy my own company. I know it sounds lame but i have my wacky reasons. Anyway lets go to a ballgame but first… i had to go to work.
I work in a pizzeria in Seaford, Long Island and today i was working from 11:00am- 4:00pm. Leaving at 4pm anit exactly what time i wanted to leave but i didn’t have much of a choice. So the 6 hours i spent at work i thought about what i wanted to accomplish at tonights game. I had 3 goals tonight.
1) snag at least 10 total balls.
2) Grab at least (1) 3rd out ball from the Braves.
3) Catch a foul ball and/or homerun ball.
1 and 2 were very reachable but my 3rd goal was somthing i wasn’t expecting. But i kept them in mind and soon enough it was 4pm and i was on my w… stuck at work. My coverage was running late and they arrived around 4:20. Perfect. So Citi Field gates open at 4:40pm and i was leaving at 4:20pm and from Seaford it takes about 40 minutes to Citi Field which gives us an approximate arrival time of 5pm (and that’s with no traffic). So i hopped in the Camry and i was off.
Doing speeds that should not be mentioned i arrived at Citi Field around 5:05pm and i rushed into the stadium and into left field. I ran into Greg and we said wats up.He said he had 2 already so i figured there was more to come… or at least i thought. I also notcied Brian was there and we talked for a little bit. About 10 minutes later i got my 1st ball of the day thrown to me by Elmer Dessens. i’m pretty sure he chucked it to me because i asked him for the ball in Spanish. After that…NOTHING! The Mets were hitting no homeruns and most of the toss-ups were to kids. I had to make some moves to fulfill my goal of 10 balls and i did.
I noticed a couple of Braves players were throwing behind their dugout so i made my move. I quickly changed into my Braves gear and raced to the seats behind the dugout. I Noticed a couple of other Met fans watching them warm up but i knew they had no intentions of snagging a ball since no one had a glove. Shortly after i got Boone Logan to toss me up his warm-up ball. The fans looked at me stunned like they’ve never seen that happen before. About 10 minutes after that the Mets finished a horrible display of BP and the Braves were getting ready to take the field. I noticed Clint Sammons had a ball with him and he began walking out to the outfield. I quickly yelled out his name and he turned around after the 2nd time i called for him. I waved my hands in the air and he threw the ball he was holding from deep shortstop. Unfortunatly, the ball was a little bit out of my reach and it tipped of thge top of my glove and trickled into the row behind me. I quickly made a mad dash for it but realized that no one was even trying to get it. So i took my time and scopped the ball up for #3 on the day. I then went back into left field and tried my luck with the Braves this time. Nothing really in the begining but a couple of more pitchers were still throwing in the outfield. I noticed Peter Moylan was throwing with someone so waited by the wall untiul he was done. I called out ” Big Pete” and he looked at me and fired the ball to me for my 4th ball of the day. I had a very rude guy in his late 20′s start bickering to me about how i was wearing a Mets hat before and now i got Braves stuff on now. Then his girlfriend threw in her 2 cents about how i should move and get out of THEIR area. Oh i’m so sorry sweety i didn’t know that was YOUR area. Stupid broad. Well about 5 mintues after that someone on the Braves smacked a ball that had a chance to clear the wall for a homerun. Greg and Brian were else where so i THOUGHT i had no competition. i ran down the aisle and began to lean over the wall with my glove when an unexpecting hand came into my view and swatted at the ball and caused the ball to fall to the warning track. the unexpecting hand you ask? That same rude guy who was still bitter from before when i got the toss up ball from Moylan. Guess he wanted his revenge and he got it cause that ball wound up being thrown in. Whatever, typical Met fan. Anyway, i stood patiently in the aisle for what seemed to be forever when i finally got some action. A deep fly ball was coming my way. I tracked it perfectly and i made an easy two handed catch in the middle of a row of seats. That was # 5 for the day. I got a nice round of applause from the crowd and got a compliment from an older gentleman who told me that was a great catch and that i was exactly in the right spot. Why thank you kind sir, that’s kind of the point of me running around like a lunatic anit it. Well after that it was more pathetic BP and there was nada coming my way so i decide do make a move.
I ran into the centerfield seats and tried my luck there. I saw a guy with the last name “Carlyle” and he just fielded a ground ball. I quickly checked my pockets for my roster but i couldn’t find it. I had no time to lose so i kept on checking but right when he was about to throw it in i remembered his name. “BUDDY” i called out and he turned around. i jumped up and down like a wild child and he threw that same ball to me for my 6th ball of the day. This ball though came within inches of an older couple sitting in front of me and thank God it was high enough for me to make the catch without them getting hurt. Everyone in the stands though started complaining to Buddy about why he threw the ball to me and not them. His answer ” He’s wearing Braves stuff of course i’m gonna throw it to him”. Let that be a lesson to any ballhawks in the making. Wearing the opposing teams gear does give you an advantage over the home crowd. I then thought about when Zack brought his 4,000th career ball with him to a game and got it signed by Livan Hernandez who threw it to him in the first placee. I figured that would be pretty cool if i could get the ball that Carlyle threw to me and have him sign it. The ball isnt a milestone or anything but i figured if i have the opportunity to get it signed, might as well. So i walked down to the centerfield wall and Buddy was actually already standing their trying to talk Japanese to a Japanese Met fan… ok weird. Well i asked him if he could sign thew ball he gave me and he did. i threw it back to him, he signed it, and tossed it back.
That did it for BP. I ended up with 6 balls during BP and i was dissapointed that i didn’t end up with 8 or 9. But considering how BP was i can’t really complain.
So gametime was about 30 minutes away and i headed to my seat in section 123 and waited until the players went out to stretch and throw. In the meantime i ate my dinner (a Stromboli roll and a yellow gatorade ) and wrote a more detailed explanation on how i got my 6 balls on the back of my roster. So after that a couple of Braves came out and began streching and only Martin Prado and Yunel Escobar were throwing.
A couple of idiotic Mets fan were distracting Prado when he caught each throw and he was obviously was getting annoyed. He let one of the throws from Escobar sail over his head in attempt to hit the group of hecklers but instead it took a crazy hop and landed in the the Photographers Box. Some doofy kid taken pictures “of God knows what” scooped the ball up and held on to it. Can’t really blame him, would of done the same thing myself. So that was the extent of pre-game warm-up balls.
GAMETIME- So like i said before, my goal was to get a 3rd out ball and i was hoping to get one ASAP. Sure enough i didn’t have to wait very long after all. Bottom of the first Carlos Beltran grounded out to Yunel Escobar. Adam LaRoche was playing 1st and he started heading in with the ball. I was already down by the dugout waiting alongside with Brian. LaRoche got his warm-up thrown to him and then he looked up into the crowd, looked right at me, and tossed it to me for my 7th ball of the night. I told Brian that i was done going after 3rd out ball’s. I wanted to give him chance at 1 since i got mine. Here it is
I figured that not many homeruns were going to be hit tonght because most of the hitters on both teams were lefties and i didn’t have a ticket for rightfield or the Pepsi Porch. So i decided to position myself for foul balls. i went up to section 124 where i noticed in past games alot of fould balls went in that general direction. So i grabbed a great aisle seat and sat back with my glove on and waited for my chance…………………………………………………………….
Before i knew it, it was the 9th inning… THE NINTH INNING and still not 1 ball in my area. Just my typical luck. Every other game i go to, there are plently of foul balls hit in that direction but tonight, NADA! So i figured that my only chances for another 3 balls were from Umpire balls and the relievers walking in from the dugout. Just then i got my chance. Daniel Murphy was up and he lifted a foul ball in my area. It wasn’t a pop up and it wasn’t exacltly a line drive either. It was kind of in between that so i didn’t have much time to react. I jumped out of my seat and instantly made a decision whether to go up or down the aisle. i decided to run up the aisle. i ran up one row and darted to my left (towards homeplate). along the way i ran into a guard rail (Gotta love those guard rails) and i felt a brief moment of pain but i just shrugged it off. As i running through the rows of seats i looked up and saw the ball. At the last second i put my glove up, leaned over the railing, and made the catch. I looked in my glove just to make sure and it was there. My second career foul ball but more importantly, my first career foul ball caught on the fly. I have always wanted to catch a foul ball on the fly and tonight i finally did it. I was congratulated by a nice round of applause from the crowd and Greg and Brian came over and congratulated me as well.
This is where i caught it (right above my hand)
So after the 3rd out was recorded i ran over to the tunnel where the umpires exit. I had no luck there so i ran over behind the dugout. Again no luck but thats ok. I caught a foul ball tonight including 7 other balls giving me a total of 8 for the day. That’s my new Citi Field record. Hopefully next year i’ll be able to break it.
Catch ya lata
9/11/09- Derek Jeter Makes History and So Does Makin Plays!
Today was a day of remembrance. A day to look back on those
horrible attacks on 9/11/01 that left New York and America scarred forever. But
as we remember those who have fallen, we play baseball to pay tribute to those
brave men and women. And tonight’s game was being played in the Bronx only a
couple of miles away from where America was hit the hardest.
The Baltimore Orioles vs. The New York Yankees. September
11, 2009 at 7:05 PM Yankee Stadium. The only problem with that was that we did
not start playing at 7:05 PM. It was raining…a lot and we had no idea if
baseball was going to be played tonight. I had season tickets tonight with my
Dad and I specifically remember telling him in March when we got all of our
tickets that “we had to be at this game, that night is going to be special”. So when I woke up this morning I had
3 things on my mind.
1)
See Derek Jeter pass Lou Gehrig on the Yankees all time hit
list eclipsing the 2,721 mark that Lou had held for over 70 years!
2)
Get on TV with my sign that I made for Jeter. I had already gotten on TV this season
by holding up my Mariano Rivera sign that I made when he came back to Yankee
Stadium for the first time after he got his 500th sign.
3)
Snag my 100th ball of the 2009 season. I don’t know
how many more regular season games I would be attending this year so I NEEDED
to get #100 tonight.
Out of all of those things, #1 was
most important. I’m sorry but Catching baseballs and getting Major Leaguers to
throw them to you are great and all but tonight was all about a once in a
lifetime opportunity and I did not want to miss it. My Grandfather saw Joe
DiMaggio play, my father saw Mickey Mantle play, and I saw Derek Jeter play.
For every Yankee fan across the Country, Derek is the modern day DiMaggio and
Mantle. I had to focus on the game. But until the game started I had a plan to
get #100. Plain and simple: wait next to the Orioles bullpen and try and get
Chris Tillman’s warm-up ball. So that’s what I did.
I arrived at the
Stadium around 6:45 PM. Naturally I would be panicking and rushing inside the
Stadium but with all of this rain coming down I had plenty of time to spare. I
entered the Stadium and made my way into Section 136 where you can stand right
next to the visiting team’s bullpen.
I grabbed the corner spot where I had
gotten Jarrod Washburn to throw me his warm-up ball on June 30th.
Unfortunately the genius architects who built this Hotel/5 Star
restaurant/Shopping Mall/and a baseball field forgot to put drains along the
aisles so I was standing in about 4 inches worth of water for over an hour.
Lovely. So around 7:55 PM, the Yankees PA announced that baseball will be
played and the start time was 8:20 PM. Excellent! Just then I saw a couple of
Oriole Coach’s emerge from the visitors dugout on the 3rd base side
and made their way to the bullpen. Then Chris Tillman and Chad Moeller walked
out to centerfield and began stretching. I called out to Chris and wished him
luck tonight and he gave me a nod. By this time I had already switched into my
Orioles hat and I was just trying to grab the attention of whoever was on the
field so I had a better chance at a ball. With this crappy weather I was
willing to grab a ball from one of the coaches if I had to. Anyway, Tillman and
Moeller got done throwing in the outfield and began making their way into the
bullpen. I called out to Tillman and try to get his attention again but no
luck. He didn’t turn around at all. He just proceeded to go into the bullpen
and began throwing again. So I repositioned myself behind Tillman as he was
throwing to Moeller. I would of stayed in the corner spot but NYPD made me
move. Whatever, at least they didn’t make me go to my seat. So, Tillman who has
been throwing for a good 10 minutes by now finally gives the sign to Moeller
for ” one more pitch” and done. So I got my glove up and waited for the last
pitch. Tillman threw it, Moeller caught it, Moeller threw it back to Tillman,
and Tillman threw it to…NO ONE! He
kept the ball that was completely useless to him. I mean he bounced it like 5
times and it had plenty of water in it now. Why would you keep the ball? So
that was it and as far as I’m concerned, I wasn’t getting a ball tonight. I
just wanted to sit with my Dad and witness history.
So I ran all the
way to Section 113 where my Dad and I had tickets for the night. Top of 1st
went by and the Yanks were up and so was Jeter. Everyone was on their feet,
cameras out, signs up, waiting for history. History would have to wait for
another at bat for Jeter struck out. Before the inning ended Alex Rodriguez
smacked a 3 run homer to deep left field that put the Yankees up 3-0. Fast
forward to the bottom of the 3rd inning. Derek Jeter steps up to the
plate for the second time and this time he would not disappoint. Jeter took
Tillman’s outside fastball and lined it down the 1st baseline past
the diving Luke Scott! And with that hit Derek Jeter now stands alone as the
all time New York Yankees Hit King with 2,722 and counting!
So I sat there for
another inning and when Jeter came up I held up my sign again. During Jeter’s
at bat I get a phone call from my buddy Mike. I looked at my phone and I said
to myself “you gotta be kddin me, I’m not picking up the phone now!” So I let
it go to voicemail and I continue holding my sign up. Jeter then strokes
another single to right field but the inning ended when Bret Gardner overran 3rd
base and got tagged out to end the inning. So I put the sign down and I feel my
phone vibrating AGAIN! It was Mike again so I picked up this time. Before I
could even say wat up he started blurting, ” you got on you got on TV”… O
YEA!!! He asked me if I was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and my NY Home
jersey. I told him yes and he said that it was defiantly me. I look around me
and people around me were on their cell phones all looking at me. They must of
gotten calls from their family or whoever was watching the game and they must
of scene them in the background.
I high fived a couple of people and I then
thought to myself what my goals were this morning. I saw Jeter get the hit, I
got on TV…and what was the last one…oh yea, get 100th ball of the
season! I knew I could do it if I made an attempt at it so that’s what I
focused on. Before I knew it I had an opportunity to get it. A foul ball came
my way in the 5th inning and I made a mad dash for it. I was holding
up my sign for whatever reason so I had to throw it down and make my way down
the aisle about 5 rows. I came up just a bit short though. A man SITTING DOWN
in the first row grabbed the ball before I could and that really got me angry.
I did however get a lot of praise from the fans in the section. They said they
liked my hustle and determination. Thanks…I guess. Anyway after that I hung
around for another inning and then I decided to make my move. I noticed a lot
of empty seats behind the Yankee’s dugout and I could maybe snag a 3rd
out ball since everyone began leaving because it started raining again. Well
things just didn’t just go that go for me again because Edwar Ramirez got to
quick outs then imploded and couldn’t get another out. Joe Girardi had to pull
him and Sergio Mitre was called upon to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately the
rain kept on coming down and much harder now. I carefully watched the umpires
as they got together and then they finally gave the signal for the tarp to come
on and the players off the field. Typical luck, I got a great spot behind the
dugout and rain has to spoil it. Mitre wound up giving the ball away to some
rich kid behind the Yankees dugout. Don’t get me wrong. I love when little kids
get baseballs but I just don’t like it at Yankee Stadium because of those damn
Legends Seats. They are only affordable if you own a major corporation and/or
you are insanely hot and you married that major corporation owner. So the game
was in another rain delay and this one looked like it was going to cease play
and the game would be over. So I ran up for some shelter underneath the
overhang and met up with my dad. I thought that all my chances of snagging a
ball tonight were gone…. but wait. I looked towards the Yankee’s bullpen and
saw a couple of relievers still inside just standing and sitting around.
“That’s it!” I thought to myself. I told my dad I’d be right back and to wait
here.
So I quickly made my way around the field from 1st base into
the right field seats in Section 103. On the way I found a blue umbrella that
came EXTREMELY handy. Me being the clown that I am, was wearing a Yankee’s wind
breaking that wasn’t very water resistant. So with out that umbrella I would
have been soaked so if anyone is reading this and you left a blue umbrella at
the game, Thank you! Anyway, I finally made my way next to the netting wear you
can watch the players in the bullpen. I immediately recognized Phil Hughes and
Phil Coke who were both tossing a ball up in the air for fun. Their was also
another reliever inside the pen with them as well. I looked closely and noticed
that it was the rookie Michael Dunn. So I patiently stood there in the pouring
rain waiting for some type of opportunity to present itself. I must have been
standing there for over 15 minutes when I found myself staring at the big
screen. They were showing the grounds crew and how they took care of the field
before and after the games. I know really intriguing stuff right. I then look
down and I see that someone was walking towards the bullpen door to come
outside. I immediately gathering all my attention towards whoever it was and
got my glove ready just in case. Turns out that it was Michael Dunn and what
did he have with him…. A ball! Was that ball for me? Was he going to throw it to
one of the fans in the bleachers? Was he just looking at the field and just
happened to have a ball in his hand? Before I could answer any of these
questions I see him gesturing to me to put my glove up. He wanted to throw the
ball to me! So I threw the umbrella down and put my glove up. He lofted the
ball up and I made the easiest one-handed catch of my life and it may be the
most gratifying ball I’ve ever snagged. Whoever said patience is a virtue is a
genius because tonight my patience paid off and I was handsomely reward with my
100th ball of the 2009 season and my 106th of my career.
After that I ran back over to my Dad showed him the ball and we had to leave
because he had to get up early for work. I NEVER leave games early but tonight
was an exception for I got everything I wanted to accomplish.
So the Yanks eventually finished the game around 1am and they lost. No big deal considering what happened to night. Not all stories can end on a good note but this story does. I saw history tonight and made some of my own tonight.
catch ya lata
9/11/01-9/11/09
September 11th, 2009
People
across the country and even around the world know what this date means in
American history. This is a date that will never be forgotten and is still
brought up everyday in daily conversations. People in San Francisco talk about
it, People in Europe read about it, and people in Australia read and talk about
it as well. But as much as they talk or learn about that day and what it means,
most do not know what it felt like when New York and the rest of America was
devastated by the terrorists attack of September 11th, 2001. I did
though. I live on the south shore of Long
Island about 50 miles away from where the Towers used to stand.
I first found
out about the attack on the Towers when I was sitting in my 7th
grade English class. Teachers started running around from room to room alerting
one another. Now most of us sitting there were dumfounded by the whole scenario
because most of us were unfamiliar with the Twin Towers and what they stood
for. All we knew was that an airplane crashed into one of them and shortly
after that, a second plane came crashing into the other one. We had no idea
that it was a terrorist attack. The next thing I knew was we were all being
sent home and for the next 6 hours I sat in front of the television and watched
the events unfold as they happened. I would look outside from time to time and
look towards the sky and what did I see…smoke. Even a 7th grader
could comprehend what that meant.
So
every year since that unforgettable day, we pay tribute to the brave men and
women who sacrificed their lives to protect the lives of others. And one way we
pay tribute is by playing America’s National Past Time: Baseball and on
September 11th, 2009 that’s exactly what we did in the Bronx, New
York.
Career Ball #10
Career Ball #1
So i’ve decided since i’ve missed the first half of the season not blogging, i’ll fast forward you guys through my 1st ball snagged to my 95th ball snagged going by 10′s. So here we go with ball Number 1!
Anit i cute?
Tony b.
Recent Comments