Results tagged ‘ Melky Cabrera ’
10/9/09 Yankees vs. Twins
Playoffs in the Bronx. Would it be insanely crowded, would security be insanely ridiculous, or would the teams be insanely quiet and not notice the fans?
Well when I entered the stadium, there was nothing going on.
But after around fifteen minutes the Yankees started stretching and going out to the foul line to throw. I saw that Damaso Marte was throwing a ball against a wall, but the wall bounce the ball a couple feet over on the ground and Damaso didn’t go to pick it up. One Yankee who remembers me and still tosses me baseballs, Alfredo Aceves, picked up the baseball, looked over the Legends seats (where I was standing), and tossed the ball over my head, but I tracked it down for my 1st ball.
As an added delight the Yankees started batting practice not an hour after the gates opened, but 25 minutes where at least the crowd was small (by Yankee Stadium standards).
But the first round of hitters (Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano, etc.) was not hitting many balls out, and the ones they were hitting out weren’t anywhere near me. I had to wait for the second round for things to get going, one that consisted of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Hideki Matsui. But they weren’t the hitters that provided me with my first batted ball of the postseason, it was Melky Cabrera.
All the spots on the staircase that didn’t have railings were taken up, except at the very back of section. So although it seemed way to far back, it seemed as the best spot available. I leaned on the end of the railing and waited for one to be hit out. Melky Cabrera lifted one right towards me, I mean right towards me. I didn’t have to move at all, I only had to leap at the last second to catch the ball on the fly, my 2nd ball. In the photo below I am holding the baseball in my hand, moments after catching it, at the top of the step.
By this time the large crowd had formed in Right Field for batting practice, so I moved over to Left Field to try for baseballs with Alex Rodriguez being up. But he failed to hit ANY out. I got one of my least favorite Yankees’ autograph, Phil Coke, my 1st autograph.
Why do I dislike him? He recognizes me and won’t give me any baseballs, in fact when I got his autograph he pointed to me and said to some others fans that:
“This guy gets a ball every time I see him.”
Let’s just hope he won’t remember me in 2010.
After that encounter I went over to where the Twins were throwing as it seemed like my best shot for another baseball. It was because when Jesse Crain finished throwing with Bob Keppel Jesse scanned the crowd for a Twins fan. I called out “Jesse” and showed him my vintage Twins shirt and hat and that convince him to toss me my 3rd ball.
I went back into the outfield to try my luck, but I was forced to stay closer to the foul pole. It ended up paying off because hated former Yankee Carl Pavano tossed a ball to some fans in the front row, but they bobbled it, dropping it onto the field. He didn’t go and get it, as another Twin when to go get it. He was looking up into the crowd like he was trying to find a Twins fan. There was one other person than me wearing Twins gear, but he only had a hat; I had a full Twins’ outfit. So the random player took the baseball and flipped it up to me over the first 3 rows, my 4th ball, who is to the left of my glove in the photo below.
That was my last baseball of the day, but not last of the postseason.
Stats:
- 4 MLB Balls Today
- 1 MLB Autograph Today
- 210 MLB Autographs in this Season
- 249 Total Autographs in this Season
- 320 MLB Balls in this Season
- 341 Total Balls in this Season
- 3 Thrown, 1 Hit
- 4 BP
- Attendance: 50,006
- Competition Factor: 200,024
- 6.4 Balls / 1 Game
- 40 Consecutive Games with at least 1 MLB Autograph
9/8/09 Yankees vs. Rays
I haven’t been caught up my blogging lately, I have been busy with school. But I have had some great days recently. And this was one of them.
You know how I got 10 baseballs at Citi Field on September 4? One of the things that makes Citi Field easier than Yankee stadium is that BP is usually started when you enter. This day Yankee Stadium was like Citi Field for a bit.
There was the crowd at the Great Hall:
There was early BP!
The first thing I did was look for easter eggs. I entered the furthest section in RF from home plate and then looked to my left. I saw a baseball lying in a row, just sitting. An usher was walking towards it so I just said:
“I got it.” He stepped back and let me pick up my 1st ball, and also my first easter egg at NYS.
And then I went on a snagging rampage.
I got 4 more batted balls in the span of 9 minutes. It was so quick that I forgot how I got each baseball. None of them were caught on the fly, but I do know that at least for 2 baseballs were ground-ruled doubles and the others were baseballs that landed in the seats and I got them. There were only 2 hitters in early BP; Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, but I don’t know who hit each one. All I know is that my 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th balls were batted balls not caught on the fly. I would’ve had more had another ballhawk named Steve not been there, and he would have had more balls had I not been there. We each snagged around the same amount of baseballs. In the photo below he is the person standing to the left of me, talking on the phone:
And here are the baseballs, numbers 2-5 (Top Left: Ball #2, Top Right: Ball #3, Bottom Left: Ball #4, Bottom Right: Ball #5):
That was all I got in Right Field because after 10 minutes they switched to righty batters. So I moved over to LF.
And also I know the source of my next ball.
I was standing Left Field trying for home runs. One was hit to my right, un-getable, but I followed its path hoping for a lucky bounce. I didn’t get the bounce, but on the pitch after that one, the batter, Melky Cabrera, lifted a high one that was going to land in the section I was in. But it was going a couple rows over my head. I ran up the steps, and it landed in a seat in the second to last row, a bomb, maybe 410 feet. I went over to the seat and looked in.
It landed in a seat and with its force it went out the bottom and it stayed on the ground. I picked up my 6th ball and checked out the ball to see if it had any unique markings.
It did, and the marking was most likely caused by going through the seat with it’s force:
Early BP ended soon after. The coaches/players/ballboys picked up the balls lying around, and I saw the big Mike Harkey pick up two balls in shallow CF. I called out to him and he tossed me the ball, but it fell short. I leaned way out and down. He gave me another throw, but it was the exact same result as the previous attempt (FYI I am in the corner spot, reaching very low down).
There were no more balls around me, so he walked towards me and picked up another balls. The next throw was high. I had to step back and leap, but I still caught my 7th ball, pointed to by the red arrow below.
Early BP ended had already ended and there were no more baseballs to be snagged, so I posed with my haul:
After early BP it was Old New Yankee Stadium all over again. I got no more balls until around 45 minutes later.
Some Tampa Bay Rays came out to the row while the Yankees were hitting. And only a couple Rays, not the whole pitching staff. One of the pairs of players was Lance Cormier and Randy Choate. I positioned myself above a ball that I could’ve gotten with the glove trick, hoping that when they finished they would pick it up. I didn’t get that ball, but I called out to Lance when he was done. Surprisingly instead of tossing the ball to foul territory he tossed it to me in fair territory. My 8th ball.
I was thinking double digits. It was very likely. But my record of 15? It was possible, unlikely, but I had to try.
By then I figured out that the Rays would not be hitting, only the Yankees. So my record of 15 was more unlikely.
I went back to deep Left Field hoping for a homer from regular BP. I waited and waited and waited until they started kicking people out. It got a bit emptier, good. And pretty soon a fly ball was lifted in my direction. I took a couple steps down and got ready for the ball. I timed my jump and reached out for the ball. There were a couple of people going for it, but somehow I was able to catch my 9th ball on the fly in the tip of my glove.
There was a new usher who was telling me that I could catch a ball. When I caught the ball he congratulated me, asked where I was sitting and made me over to foul territory. He is indicated by the blue arrow in the photo below.
Some Rays were still throwing at the foul line, and a couple baseballs were lying against the wall. I figured that when they were done they would toss the baseballs up, so I put my Rays’ cap on and waited for them to finish. But one of my favorite Yankees was nearby also, Alfredo Aceves. He was talking to someone, so when he finished he walked over to pick up the baseballs. I took off my Rays’ cap and asked him for the baseball in Spanish. Even though I think he has recognized me, and he has seen me get multiple baseballs throughout the course of the year, he still tossed me the baseball, my 10th ball, which broke double digits for the day.
BP was ending and I didn’t have an autograph because not really anyone signed. But I saw a Ray sitting on the wall down the foul line, right next to the corner spot. I ran over there and took out a baseball. I saw that he was number 38, so after looking at my roster I saw that it was Fernando Perez. So I went up to him and got him to sign my 1st autograph, and took a photo with him.
I entered the game with no more autographs and baseballs. I had never gotten 10 baseballs during BP alone at New Yankee Stadium, so I figured that I would be able to get at least one more baseball. So I tried at the dugout, and got nothing. When it was getting late in the game I headed out to the bullpen to try for a baseball. I saw Bobby Ramos, who I had gotten a ball from each time I was at New Yankee Stadium. I shouted his name and asked for a baseball, but he disappeared. I sat down, and then saw a baseball being tossed up and down in the air, almost to tease the fans. But it was too close to the wall. Was it Bobby Ramos trying to give me a baseball? I don’t know, but I tried reaching out and grabbing the baseball. I was unsuccessful, but eventually the ball landed on top of the billboard, so I just reached out and grabbed it, my 11th baseball.
And then people started chanting throw it back. Really? A baseball that I got in the bullpen that I was asking for? Whether or not they were being serious it turned into a big thing, with about 75 people chanting “Throw it back!” and another 50 people chanting “Keep the ball!” I did the obvious and kept the baseball, photographed it, and then went away.
And that would be my last baseball of the night. 11 baseballs set my record at the New Yankee Stadium, but I heard that another person, most likely Steve, got 12 baseballs today. So does anyone know if anybody has gotten more than 12 baseballs at New Yankee Stadium? Who else has gotten double digits at New Yankee Stadium?
Stats:
- 11 MLB Balls Today
- 1 MLB Autograph Today
- 188 MLB Autographs in this Season
- 227 Total Autographs in this Season
- 279 MLB Balls in this Season
- 300 Total Balls in this Season
- 6 Hit, 4 Thrown, 1 Found
- 10 BP, 1 During
- Attendance: 45,350 People
- Competition Factor: 498,850
- 43 Consecutive Games with at least 3 MLB Baseballs
- 33 Consecutive Games with at least 1 MLB Autograph
6/12/09 Yankees vs. Mets
I had one goal for today: Get my 100th MLB ball this season. I would go to all limits to achieve, whether it be ballhawking at the bullpens non-stop, or getting 3rd out balls.
But back to the game (I would like to point out though, that I saw a cop talking on his cell while driving on the way to the stadium.) I could only carry my small camera. And I arrived probably a couple minutes late. When I got in, I saw Wang throwing near the auxilary scoreboard,
but Gary Kowal had that, so I sat down for a bit. After that “bit” I moved over to the Yankees dugout, along with a kid following me, and my exact path. Well the kid stayed in a spot at one end of the dugout, I stayed at another end. I moved over to where Rob Thompson and Xavier Nady (who were throwing) would go in (who are in the photo also.)
I easily got Rob’ attention. The music was down; nobody was near me, ah nice and easy. I got him to toss me my 1st ball over the partition.
I then decided to help the 7 or 8 year old kid get a ball. I got Tony Pena’s attention and point to the kid. He asked me to catch it to be safe. Well guess what? He tossed it short, it bounced off my glove, and right to the kid who grabbed. It was commemorative. The kid was Gary’s brother. And after I missed it Tony commented:
“What, you eat with those hands?”
I went back over to Wang, now in the bullpen, saw the crowd, and moved to the bleachers.
I didn’t get that ball so I moved back over to the dugout.
Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, and A-Rod had been doing drills with balls with a trainer when they came in. I got Cano’s attention and asked for a ball (this is A-Rod and Melky going in at the same spot as Robinson Cano.)
He kept looking at me, and then some kids off to the right, to me, then the kids, to me, then the kids, but before he went in he tossed me my 2nd ball.
I was then that I realized that the Yankees weren’t having B.P. So I went over to the Mets’ dugout. It was extremely crowded at the dugout, I got nothing. I moved over to the foul line when the Mets did, and the crowd followed. But then I heard something pleasant to me, but bad to others:
“Alright its 5:40, have your tickets out!”
Yes! The Mets had finished throwing, and the crowd had started to dissipate. I got Ken Takahashi’s attention easily and he tossed me my 3rd ball.
In the photo above Ken Takahashi is the player in mid stride going towards the State Farm sign above the auxilary scoreboard.
Now for a little fun…
All the pitchers had gone to the outfield, and it was Sheffield‘s round of batting, so I stood a couple rows back with him being a known pull hitter. I saw a high, definitely foul ball, not hit by Sheffield. I ran towards it, but then it came smack dab down. It landed right in the seat and got wedged there. Had it been the Old YS it would’ve bounced out, but the shock resistant, noise absorbing pads prevented it from leaving and I picked it up for my 4th ball.
This is the seat…
And this is the ball. Notice the blue mark from when it landed in the seat.
After looking closely I think it was hit by Fernando Martinez. Oh and one more ball until my 100th ball this season. I moved into one of my favorite spots:
The Corner Spot.
There was only one ball that came there while I was in that spot. It was now or never. It was a bit too far out. I had to time my jump perfectly or I would miss it. When I jumped I held myself back with one hand on the wall. One usher thought that I was going to fall over and he held my leg just in case. So when I reached out, I heard a pop. I looked into my glove,
and saw my 5th ball in the pocket with room to spare. And it was also my 100th ball of my life (since I started counting) and my 100th ball of 2009.
So the game went by fast. I was very amused at the last part. I downright loved it. I made my way over to where some guys where pointing cell phones down into the legends. Who was it? It was “Doc” Gooden. So after the game we ran out to the Legends exit and waited for him. Eventually he came out and he signed my 1st autograph.
Shutout averted. But I also someone else I recognized. I found out it was Steve Schirripa. I got his autograph for my 2nd autograph. He’s a celebrity. He counts.
Stats:
- 5 MLB Balls Today
- 1 MLB Autograph Today
- 1 Total Autograph Today
- 100 MLB Balls in this Season
- 116 Total Balls in this Season
- 76 MLB Autographs in this Season
- 80 Total Autographs in this Season
- 5 BP
- 3 Thrown, 2 Hit
- 47,967 People
- Competition Factor: 239,835
- 5.9 Balls / 1 Game
- 7 Consecutive Games with at least 1 MLB Autograph
- 17 Consecutive Games with at least 3 MLB Baseballs
(P.S. I have created an account at My Game Balls if anyone is interested…)
6/6/09 Yankees vs. Rays
I arrived early for the first time in eons.
And I saw that. It was sad. But let’s go on!
I went in through the Great Hall just to settle some curiosity. I asked an usher if I could get into the main level now.
“At 11 O’Clock,” he said. “Right now you can visit the Yankees museum on the second level or go to Monument Park.” I started to walk away… “Oh, and you can go into field level.” I choose the later of all the places I could go.
When I went into the field level seats, I waited for B.P. to start. And when it did I went over to the Yankees dugout. Why? Tony Pena, Mick Kelleher, and a pitcher were throwing, in front of the dugout.
I didn’t get the ball, nor did I get a ball from when the Yankee pitchers were throwing.
My 1st ball was a lucky ball. I saw a bullpen session going on in the Yankees bullpen. Some balls were hit there. At the end of one of the two bullpen sessions, I pointed out a ball to Dave Eiland and asked for it. He walked over and tossed it to me. I then had to work it around the corner spot because the ball wouldn’t fit in the opening.
Another over-aggressive adult was here tonight. Let me tell you his story!
I was standing in the front row because Aceves promised me a ball and I was determined to get one. So when a ball was caught by him I asked Aceves for it. He looked at ME and he pointed at ME and then he tossed the balls towards ME (have you gotten yet that it was intended for me?). Well this “adult” shoved me out of the way, and grabbed the ball. Aceves glared at him and what did the “adult” do? Stood right next to me and continued to ask player’s for balls. A ball was hit RIGHT at ME. I didn’t have to me. Well guess what happened. He reached out and bobbled the ball, which dropped onto the field. I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad he didn’t get it. I was going to jump up and deflect each ball in the vicinity of him, and if a ball was thrown to his side I would block him from moving. Well when he stepped out of the first row and I took his spot. I think a 5’7″ kid wearing a 12 ½” glove can deflect balls if needed. Well having the annoyance blocked off I was able to get my 2nd, well-deserved ball from Alfredo Aceves (and 91st on the season), who this time put it into my glove (who knows maybe the adult would grab the ball from Aceves’s hand and say “IT WAS FOR ME!”)
After that I went to left field because Tamp was throwing.
I didn’t get any balls (except 2) because there were too many people. I didn’t get any autographs (except 1) because I was trying for balls the entire time. All the excepts came at the end of throwing, all within 5 minutes of each other. Here is what happened.
Randy and Lance Cormier finished throwing. Randy took the ball, put it in his glove, and started signing. I asked him a couple times, but he said no. So figuring he wouldn’t give me the ball, I hid my face, stuck out my hand, and had him sign two autographs (my 1st autograph).
Well when he was finished he ran off, placed the ball, my 3rd ball, into my mitt, and then ran into the dugout. Then a trainer from a distance got my attention. Tom Foley, him, and Evan Longoria had been doing drills.
I didn’t even ask for a ball, but he tossed me my 4th ball. You wanna know how close the time in between getting the two balls was? When the trainer got my attention I had my 3rd ball in my mitt. Wow.
Then B.P. ended. The Rays weren’t taking B.P. apparently, so I wandered over to the bullpen just to look, and I saw bullpen catcher Scott Cursi.
He tossed a ball to someone nearby and I asked him for one also. He said he can’t, but when he walked back into the bullpen I asked him again. This time he wandered over to his bag (in the back right corner of the bullpen),
took out a ball, and walked towards me.
“See if you like this one,” he said and he tossed me my 5th ball. I liked it because it wasn’t what I expected. What was it?
LAST YEAR’S Yankee Stadium commemorative ball! I only had one other of these (rolled to me across the dugout last year by Alexie Ramirez), but this one is mint, except for a “Practice” stamp.
The other baddest (I know it is not a word) mark is this:
Can you see it? I can barely.
Skip forward to during the game since nothing else happened…
Aybar hit a home run into the Rays bullpen. I ran over there and into the bleachers. I asked the always generous Bobby Ramos for:
“La pelota home run”? How do you say “home run” in Spanish? Well he walked over, picked up a ball lying on the ground, and tossed it to me from a considerable distance, my 6th ball. It wasn’t the home run ball, just a regular MLB Ball.
Now earlier I saw Will Ferrell in the Legends. I read an article previously about him being the worst celebrity signer. It’s true. After some hard work to get over there, he blew me off, along with a little kid right next to me. I didn’t like that. I had to get a stub for section 122, row 25, seat 8 and work my way into the right spot for him. Oh, well…
Stats:
- 6 MLB Balls Today
- 1 MLB Autograph Today
- 95 MLB Balls in this Season
- 111 Total Balls in this Season
- 75 MLB Autographs in this Season
- 78 Total Autographs in this Season
- 4 BP, 1 Pre-Game, 1 During
- 4 Thrown, 2 Hand-To-Hand
- 46,205 People
- Competition Factor: 277,230
- 5.9 Balls / 1 Game
- 16 Consecutive Games with at least 3 MLB Baseballs
- 6 Consecutive Games with at least 1 MLB Autograph
Here is a little picture show for you…
He doesn’t look any different. At all.
5/17/09 Yankees vs. Twins
Normally I am lost in the sea of people wishing to get into the Legends Seats, but today, as a present for a special occasion, I was among the chosen ones, sitting in the Legends Seats.
See that white thing in my glove? More on that in a bit.
When we got into the Legends there were only 2 other people in the seats. One of them was a kid who I recognized from last season and he was always in the secluded area behind home plate (and he recognized me as getting a Derek Jeter Wristband from 2 YEARS AGO), and he ran over to the Twins dugouts. I followed him and when I was there, I saw Francisco Liriano walking over to sign. I got him on two for my 1st autograph so far. Now as in my last entry, I forgot to upload my small camera pictures to the computer, so not everyone or thing is captured on a camera.
There was no other action, so I went back over to the Yankees dugouts. What sucks is that you can’t go into the corner of each dugout at ANY POINT unless you have tickets there. So I waited, along with other, as close as we could get.
There were only Yankees whose autographs I haven’t gotten: Mark Texieria, Francisco Cervelli, and Ramiro Pena. Make it two.
Ramiro came out of the dugout, talked to some people, and then came over to sign. I was able to get him on two baseballs for my 2nd autograph.
I stayed over there until there was some action in front of the Twins dugout, but I did get some more autographs over there. Robinson Cano came over and signed two for me for my 3rd autograph that day and my 56th MLB autograph on the season.
Now after that, at 10:59, Derek Jeter started bunting. B.P. was underway. That B.P. policy wasn’t only the first hour of B.P. It was the entire Yankees B.P. Well I went over to where some Yankees were throwing in hopes of getting a ball. Even though there were maybe 4 balls in play in the Legends area, and my only competition was a father-son team with a pen, I only got one ball. I got rejected twice by some players, but then the always generous, but not the best, Jose Veras came along.
I asked him for a ball when he finished. He looked at me and wanted to throw it, so I pulled up the netting beneath and stuck out my glove. That convinced him and he tossed me my 1st ball of the day.
Now nothing else happened Yankee-wise for me because I was over by the Twins dugout. They were dumping balls into the bucket, and I was looking for some twins commemorative baseballs. I maybe saw a couple of them, but what amazed me was the dozens and dozens of Yankees commemorative. Then two coaches took a ball from the bucket and started throwing. While throwing, I could see something on the ball (it was being held by Steve Liddle), it was a NYY commemorative. Here we go…
Steve is the one with the 9 on his back, right next to the bucket.
Well I must’ve blanked out for a bit because when I snapped back into reality Steve wasn’t holding a baseball, but he was still there.
“Steve can I have the ball that you were using?” I asked.
“Where ‘ya from?” he asked me, looking at my Twins hat.
“I’m from New York,” I said while nodding.
He then took a ball from the bucket, looked at it, put it back, and then looked at and picked up another one.
“Take a look at this one,” he said and tossed me my 2nd ball. When I looked at it,
it was a Yankees Inaugural Baseball. Essentially Flawless. Only 1 small mark. Wow. It was a thing of beauty, but I also wanted a Twins commemorative.
I asked a nearby coach, Joe Varva, specifically for a Twins commemorative. What does he do? He looks at and takes a ball in the bucket and rolls me my 3rd ball across the dugout roof. It wasn’t a Twins ball, it was a Yankees ball, my 3rd one of those this year.
This was the worst I could find on this ball:
Do you see it? It is that barely noticable brown mark.
The Twins started throwing, so I went over there. Jose Morales came over to sign, so I took out some baseballs and got him to sign my 4th autograph.
Melky Cabrera then came over to sign, and I got Melky’s autograph for my 5th autograph. I got him on one inaugural baseball and two of that day’s give-a-way, bats.
I wasn’t able to get any of the balls being thrown around, so I went back to the dugout. There were a couple people who came and were just standing there trying to get Denard Span’s attention. I got Denard’s attention for them, and they got his autograph, so I tossed Denard a ball also and he signed me my 6th autograph. That was it for during Twins B.P.
Carlos Gomez is on the right, Denard Span is in the middle, and Jason Kubel is on the right.
At the end of B.P, when everyone was coming off the field, I got 3 more autographs.
The First One: Michael Cuddyer was walking in. I got his attention and tossed him a ball and he signed my 7th autograph. He took some time to write his good signature, and I got antsy because standing close to him were about to be a former M.V.P. and Rookie signing: Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.
The Second One: Justin Morneau was just about to go in, but I tossed him only one ball. He signed my 8th autograph and then went inside. I then ran over to get the last Twin signing, Joe Mauer.
The Third One: Joe Mauer was gladly taking his time, but he was about to go in. Luckily he saw my Twins hat and signed two for my 9th autograph so far.
(that took like 7 tries to load)
After they left, I went over to the bucket. I asked for a ball from the guy emptying it, but I got nada. I recognized coach Jerry White and I asked him for a ball. He looked up and tossed me a Yankees Commemorative ball for my 4th ball. Every ball, except the first one, has been a Yankees commemorative, and all the further ones I get will be so also.
And now I break double digits in autographs. I went over to where the Twins were stretching. I asked Matt Tolbert to sign after he was done. He walked over and signed me my 10th autograph of the day, and then continued to sign for a couple more people. I have now broken double digits in both balls and autographs at the New Yankee Stadium.
Since I thought the Twins side should be reserved for third out balls, I spent the pre-game throwing at the Yankees Dugout’s inner corner. A-Rod came out to throw and I knew who was going to end up with it… Well when A-Rod came in he tossed me his pre-game warm-up ball, and my 5th ball, a NYY commemorative.
Game Time!
I decided to try for a 3rd out ball from each side, on the outer corner first. I got a commemorative ball on the Yankees side, but it wasn’t a third out ball, it was most likely a foul ball.
While at the Yankees side, Mark Texieria ended up with the ball, a groundout. He tossed that to someone else, but I noticed a guy beneath me in the dugouts had a ball. I asked him for it, and after pondering it for a bit, he flipped the ball to me, my 6th ball and 73rd on the season.
Since it was commemorative, rubbed, and had a big black mark on it, I assumed it was most likely a foul ball rolled towards the dugout. So since I had gotten a ball at both sides of the Yankees dugout, I went over to the Twins dugout.
Time: End of the Bottom of the 4th.
Location: Outer Aisle of Minnesota Twins Dugout
Person Holding Subject: Justin Morneau.
Subject: A Commemorative Third-Out Groundout Ball Retrieved by Justin Morneau.
When Justin Morneau ended up with the ball I rushed down to the front row. It was easy. Justin spotted me and tossed me my 7th ball, and my final ball of the day.
Yes final.
I got nothing afterwards because of the unexpected, but enjoyable, walk-off home run by Johnny Damon. He is one the nicest players in baseball, so I am glad he hit it, and not a jerk.
Here is my final haul from inside the stadium:
Inside
But wait! Don’t go! There’s more! Since we had nothing to do, and it was a day game, we stayed after for autographs. After waiting for a while, Paul O’Neil came out. He went to the other side of the barricade almost immediately, but he still signs. I rushed over there and got him for my 11th autograph of the day.
Then we saw Blyleven. Since I didn’t have the balls out, and the ones that I did weren’t related to him at all, I got Bert on two tickets for my 12th autograph that day.
“Pull my finger,” he said, finger as in the pen cap.
After waiting a bit more, some Twins players come out. They are Carlos Gomez, Jose Morales, and someone whose name in on the tip of my tongue. After Carlos skipped me (intentionally?) a couple of times, he finally signs me my 13th autograph. That player whose name I couldn’t remember, I looked it up and it turns out it was Luis Ayala, so I asked, and got him, to sign my 14th autograph so far.
A lot of people have left, but others, my family included, are waiting for somebody: David Wells. You see, May 17th, 2009 is the 11 year anniversary of his perfect game. So when people started running off somewhere, it was to David Wells (and Cone).
I got David Wells on the bat for my 15th autograph and then I got David Cone on the baseballs for my 16th autograph so far.
That was it for the day. My next game will be a Baltimore Game.
Stats:
- 7 MLB Balls Today
- 74 MLB Balls in this Season
- 16 MLB Autographs Today
- 69 MLB Autographs in this Season
- 72 Total Autographs in this Season
- 90 Total Baseballs in this Season
- 3 BP, 2 Pre-Game, 2 During
- 7 Thrown
- Attendence: 44,804 people
- Competition Factor: 313,628
- 6.2 Balls/ 1 Game
- 12 Consecutive Games with at least 3 MLB Baseballs
(P.S. Just to tell you, the Legends isn’t much better than the outfield. It’s not really that much of a difference on the average number of balls a game.)
4/7/09 at the Intercontinental
Today, I decided to find out where the Yankees are staying. Yesterday, some people at the ballpark told us that they got autographs at the Sheraton. We saw somebody in the Sheraton who was at the Hyatt. The Hyatt told them that the Yankees were at the Sheraton. But there was no sign of the Yankees whatsoever. And the lady at the Front Desk said the Yankees were staying at the Renaissance, which is my hotel, and they weren’t. And also, when we were leaving in the morning, I saw Edwar Ramirez walk through our hotel and then into the mall. I was so confused, so I asked the doorman if he knew. He told me that he positively knew that they were at the Intercontinental. So off we go to the Intercontinental!
We saw some people in Yankees gear outside, so we know they are there. One of the people was the kid who said I wasn’t getting any balls yesterday. First we see Cody Ransom walk out with his family. I don’t ask him since he’s with his family, but another kid asks him and he signs for him, so I ask him and get him on both for my 1st MLB autograph of the day
Then we see Edwar Ramirez walking down the street, so when he gets close enough, I get him for my 2nd autograph today. And then Tony Pena comes in, but I am not getting coaches so he just walks by.
It is very cold. Extremely cold. My hands make me jump when they touch my face. So I decide to go into a store to sit down and warm up. I stay there for a couple minutes, but I jump up when I see Xavier Nady walking by. When I get out I hear him say:
“I can’t sign now, but I will when the bus comes.”
Oh, so there’s a bus?? The next people I see are Melky Cabrera and Jose Veras walking down the street, heading for the hotel. When Melky approaches I ask him to sign two, but he signs only one, my 3rd MLB autograph of the day, and 1912 MLB autograph of all-time, and my 2320th Total Autograph of all time.
Jose Veras is almost in, but I rush over and get him on 2, my 4th of the day.
Top to Bottom: Cody Ransom, Melky Cabrera, Jose Veras, and Edwar Ramirez
Then the team bus comes and parks outside. It stays there for about 30 minutes and then the team comes out. I see some people, but I don’t get them like Cody Ransom and Ramiro Pena. But Nady kept through on his promise and signs two for my 5th auto of the day.
Then Joba comes over, while Nady is still there, and signs my 6th autograph of the day. I wonder where they are going because everyone is in suits. One guy says:
“How long is this trip to the White House?”
After the bus leaves, we go back to the hotel, but we come back later to see if anyone is there coming back from dinner, but no one is there. Johnny Damon comes out with his wife, and since I’m the only one there he signs for me, my 7th MLB Autograph today.
Then we go to dinner, and we see Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada leaving from our restaurant. I can’t get the baseballs out in time, and by the time they do, they are 200 feet away from me. That’s okay though, I already have them.
P.S. Tampa Bay is staying in my hotel starting Thursday, yay!
- 7 MLB Autographs today
- 21 MLB Autographs this season
- 24 Total Autographs this season
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