9/30/09 Yankees vs. Royals

            There was some blue peeking through the clouds above both Yankee Stadiums.

Blue through the clouds

This was the final regular season home game at NYS, and I had a $0 ticket in the Legends, so I knew it was going to be a good day. That day was helped out when BP started a couple minutes after the gates opened.

 

Early BP 93009

        There was going to be a lot of BP; I knew I would get at least 3 balls during the day, so when a ball was hit to the wall and I noticed a kid was asking for it a bit to softly, I spoke up and asked the coach to give the ball to that kid instead of me. It worked out because soon after another ball was hit to the wall and the same guy retrieved it. I asked for the ball, and he gave it to me because I "gave the last one away". It was my 1st ball.

1st Ball 93009

            I guess it was a good thing that I let the kid have that first baseball because during the early part of batting practice the batter, Shelly Duncan, hit a home run that was going to land in the 4th row or so. I got in line with the ball and the home run ended up tipping off the kid's glove and landing in my row. I simply bent down and picked up my 2nd ball.

Ball No. 297

            The early BP, which consisted of Shelly Duncan, Francisco Cervelli, Freddie Guzman, and a couple other people ended and the Yankees came out to throw, so I went over to there.

            I stood in the Legends seats, which had about 3 other people in them, and stood right behind Alex Rodriguez. He was long tossing with someone and there was an extra ball lying on the ground.

A-Rod Long Tossing

At one point he took the extra ball and looked at me like he wanted to give it to me. I took a step back and he tossed it over the large net, so I reached up and it sailed straight to my glove, my 3rd ball. Ball No. 298

Thinking that all the other players had seen me I headed back into the outfield to try for balls during BP. It was tough in Right Field, mainly because I and two other ballhawks (Rich and Tony) were standing on the same aisle, in about a total of 4 rows. So I had to think differently. Like while standing in the outfield I noticed that a ball was hit down the line. They now have nets there, so the ball bounced off the net and settled near the wall. I grabbed my sweatshirt and headed over there. When I was heading over there, another ball hit off the net and settled closer to the wall, and when it turned out I could only get the latest hit ball. I looped my sweatshirt through my glove and threw it out, knocking the ball closer. When it got close, I leaned over the wall, but my fingertips just touched the ball, so a person put me over a bit more and I picked up the ball, my 4th ball, which will count as a device ball because I couldn't have gotten it without the device (glove on sweatshirt). It was a very beaten up commemorative baseball. Ball No. Two-Nine-Nine

And that was my 299th ball. My next ball would be number 300, so I paid close attention to who would be the source of that ball. I didn't know the source.

I hadn't gotten my 300th ball and the Yankees were coming off the field to let the Royals take BP. I raced over to the dugout and got their in time to see that there was one person who had a ball, but I didn't know him. I just asked him for the ball and he rolled it to me across the dugout roof, not the way that I wanted to get it, but a ball is a ball, well that one was my 5th ball and No. 300. And there it was.

The 300th Baseball

The Royals were now taking their cuts, so I started heading back to the outfield, but I saw a person signing in the Legends. He looked oddly familiar, like he looked like Jim Leritz, but shouldn't he be in jail? Apparently not, as it was Jim Leritz. I don't know what he was doing there, but I got his autograph for my 1st autograph and continued heading to the outfield. Jim Leritz Signing

But nothing came out of it. I got shut out (mainly because I brought my LA Dodgers clothing, not Royals), and had to wait for the Royals to wrap up on BP and then I started heading to the dugout. I noticed that John Bale was walking to two baseballs lying on the foul line, so I turned my cap around and ran over. I got there in time and asked John Bale to toss me a ball. He picked up one of the baseballs and tossed it to me over the netting, my 6th ball, which I later gave away.

Then I made my way over to the dugout, but before I could get there they started heading off the field, so I started running there (not a good idea with my stitches). I ran and got there in time, but I didn't get any baseballs from the players coming off the field. I saw that the manager Trey Hillman had 3 baseballs in his hand, so I asked him for one, and he tossed me my 7th ball, and then walked off. At Royals Dugout

Here is the baseball:

Ball No. 302

I don't know why but as they were coming off the field some baseballs fell down and were lying against the dugout fence, and none of the Royals players bothered to pick them up.Baseball by dugout

It happened to be that one of the people I know in the Yankees, Tony, picked them up, so I got him to toss one of the baseballs to me, my 8th ball. Ball No. 303

There was nothing to do before the game started. I didn't bother going to try for the Royals' Pre-Game throwing baseballs because I was going to try and get Derek Jeter's, and I had a pretty good chance. I knew that before I even got it. Why?

I have noticed that some Yankees always throw their baseballs to certain spots. Alex Rodriguez throws it to a spot behind the inner corner of the dugout, and Derek Jeter always throws it beyond the Legends, to the seats above the partition, a corner spot right next to the staircase that leads into the Legends. When Derek Jeter came out to throw, I went to the spot and observed the competition. One big guy on the steps behind me, not paying attention. That was it. I stood down and watched Jeter slowly. He was throwing the ball, too long it seemed. I was getting impatient. But then all of a sudden he finished. He started coming in. And looked into the crowd, right at me. He threw the ball to me. In this (extremely) blurry photo you can see the ball in mid-air, pointed to by the red arrow. My glove is pointed to by the yellow arrow: Derek Jeter Tossing Me a Ball

It started sailing to me, but my only competition suddenly saw the people. He reached down for the ball, elbowing me in the face. But I reached out, and kept the ball in my mitt, my 9th ball. It's great when you try for something, and you get it. Derek Jeter Baseball

I knew that I would make double digits, trying for a third out ball, pre-inning warm-up ball, or umpire ball. But it took me a while, around the 7th inning to be exact. I noticed earlier that Francisco Cervelli caught a ball that was no longer to be used in the game, and kept it. I didn't think any of it until I went down for the pre-inning warm-up ball that inning and he looked at me. I waved at him, and he tossed me the commemorative baseball that I assume he got earlier, my 10th ball. Ball No. 305

Then my Yankee Stadium record of 11 came into the photo, gotten on 9/8/09. That was the NYS record, I heard of another kid who got 12 on the same day. So maybe I could tie or break that. I would have to try, but when I got to the 9th inning and I still had 10 balls, I wasn't sure if I could get it. But I got lucky when Rusty Kuntz let the ball sail into the dugout. There were 3 kids trying for the ball, including me. But I was the only one who could see into the dugout, so I was able to get Rusty to toss me the ball, my 11th ball.

            I tried for a ball from the people coming off the field, but I came up empty. I thought all hope was lost for a ball, when I forgot, the bullpen! I saw the players coming in from the bullpen, so I looked carefully to see if any of them had any baseballs. I looked and saw that a Hispanic player, with his first number being 5, was pulling a baseball out of his jacket. I saw and started calling out to him, and when he came in, he tossed me my 12th ball, tying the record.

Carlos Rosa Tossing Me A Ball After The Game  

 

                                                        Stats:

 

Haul from 9/30/09

  • 12 MLB Balls Today
  • 1 MLB Autograph Today
  • 202 MLB Autographs in this Season
  • 241 Total Autographs in this Season
  • 307 MLB Balls in this Season
  • 328 Total Balls in this Season
  • 10 Thrown, 1 Hit, 1 Glove Trick
  • 6 BP, 3 Pre-Game, 2 During, 1 After
  • Attendance: 46,956
  • Competition Factor: 563,472
  • 6.53 Balls / 1 Game
  • 47 Consecutive Games with at least 3 MLB Baseballs
  • 37 Consecutive Games with at least 1 MLB Autograph

 

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