Results tagged ‘ Red Sox ’
9/25/09 Yankees vs. Red Sox
I arrived a couple minutes late to this game. I don’t think I should’ve arrived late because when I entered the stadium there was early batting practice going on.
This was a good thing because I didn’t want to get shut out this day. Not only were the Red Sox in town, but I injured my leg and it required stitches, I’ll spare you the details, so I wasn’t going to be able to move that well.
But I moved a lot. I started out on the Right Field side because that is usually the place to be, but it turned out that Left Field was the place to be, so I hobbled over there.
I noticed that Mick Kelleher had a ball in his hand and a bat in the other, so I called out and asked for a fungo. He wouldn’t give me one, I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but it was something along the lines of:
“I don’t need to hit you one, they will.” Pointing to the batters in the cage. But I didn’t get them to hit me one; I got a translator who had tossed me a ball earlier in the season to toss me another ball, my 1st ball, who is to the left of the ball in the photo below.
The Yankees pitchers started throwing, so I considered that that was my way to get another baseball. I went back over to the outfield and made my way along the seats in case a ball was hit. I stood above the Legends seats and positioned myself in line with Josh Towers and Mark Melancon, hoping that nobody else would know who they were (the pair on the right).
Nobody else knew who they were, but it would be a difficult challenge to get a ball. I was hoping that the closer person, Josh, would end up with the ball, but Mark ended up with it. He was more than 100ft from me, but I still called out. Mark tossed the ball and gave me a shot, and he threw a perfect throw which I caught for my 2nd ball.
Normal BP was underway by that point so I moved back out to Right Field. There was only one lefty hitter, Hideki Matsui, so there was no real point to focus except when he was up. He seemed to hit a home run in my direction each time he was up, and one time it deflected off of my wrist. The other time he hit it a little bit to my right. I drifted with it and got in line with it, and a ‘hefty’ man in front of me reached out to grab it, you can see in this photo from afar the I am the yellow arrow and he is the red arrow, the ball is in his hand.
He deflected it, causing it to land in his row. I tried reaching for it, but it was just out of my reach. He was going to get it so I did the only thing I could’ve, I just climbed onto the seats and almost fell into the row. I reached down and barely got it, my 3rd ball.
I got the ball, and only my chest got scrapped up, my leg was fine (well, as fine as it already was). A-Rod and some more righties were in the same round, so I decided to head over to Left Field for him. After taking a minute or two to get there I walked through the tunnel that lead to the aisle in between the bullpen and the seats. And I am telling you; as SOON as I got there a ball was hit that was coming directly to the seats near me. The ball was coming, and this section was fairly empty, and it hit a seat on the end of the 3rd row. I was thinking, how cool would it be if the ball went directly to me? Well that is exactly what happened, it bounced off the seat and went right to me. I just reached out and grabbed the ball, my 4th ball.
It was perfect timing. Had I not had my injured leg I may have not gotten that ball. It was weird thinking that an injury got me a ball, only happened once before. And while I was thinking about my luck, I heard a thud behind me, so I turned around. What I saw behind me was another baseball.
The batter (Nick Swisher) hit home runs to the same aisle on back-to-back pitches. There was nobody around so I walked up the steps and grabbed the ball, my 5th ball.
That was my last ball for Yankees BP, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira failed to hit home runs. I had to wait for the Red Sox to come out. I got an autograph from a Red Sox…I don’t have any clue who he is. Here is the body:
And here is the autograph:
Who could he be? He didn’t say he was employee or something, so he was a coach? I don’t know who he was, but he was my 1st autograph.
The Red Sox didn’t have much going in their batting practice. There were a few home runs hit on the Right Field side, but they were near the foul pole. There was one home run hit into the bullpen,
So I stood by the bullpen waiting for someone to get it. I noticed that bullpen coach Gary Tuck was walking towards the bullpen so I waited until he got in. When he went inside I asked him for the baseball. He held up his finger to indicate “one second” and then he went over to put some stuff down. He went back, picked up the ball, and gave me a toss, which fell short and hit the netting. He then just handed the ball to me through a small opening, my 6th ball, but since the ball was just a bit too small to go through a police officer tossed it over to me.
Remember how I said the Red Sox were dead during BP? The hit a few balls to the wall, none really out. But some of those balls stayed at the wall when BP ended. I positioned myself about the one that was closest to the wall. I noticed that a groundscrew member was walking right towards the ball, and when he got there he reached down and picked it up. He looked right up, and my glove helped me be the longest one to reach down, so he put the ball right in my glove, my 7th ball, and last one, of the day.
Stats:
- 7 MLB Balls Today
- 1 MLB Autograph Today
- 201 MLB Autographs in this Season
- 240 Total Autographs in this Season
- 295 MLB Balls in this Season
- 316 Total Balls in this Season
- 2 Thrown, 3 Hit, 2 Hand-To-Hand
- 7 BP
- Attendance: 48,449
- Competition Factor: 339,143
- 6.41 Balls / 1 Game
- 46 Consecutive Games with at least 3 MLB Baseballs
- 36 Consecutive Games with at least 1 MLB Autograph
Bats
The next event that I will be attending will be in 3 days and the next post being about 5 days away, I want to give you something to read, so here it goes… Over the course of my life I have collected numerous items other than autographs and baseballs. Some of those items include 8 Bats personally collected by me. Let me take you through each one…
Jody Gerut
My first game used bat ever gotten by me. I got it in 2003 at the Old Yankee Stadium, when he was on the Indians. Back then I was all autographs, and I realized by then that they come out to stretch before the game at a certain time. So I snuck over to that area in hopes of autographs. Well Jody Gerut walked out with a bat, and just walked right over to me and handed it to me! It was already signed and the back of the bat was splintered, rendered unable to be used in games or BP.
Mike Lowell
I remember this time one. Two years had past since the last bat, and I have realized that you can get stuff after games by that point at the dugout. I was in Boston for a Blue Jays game in this month of April 2005, and I went over to the Red Sox dugout. I was at the inside corner of the dugout easily because the Red Sox are so loose on letting you go anywhere. So while there I got a bat from Mike Lowell. I forogt if I asked for it, or if he just handed it to me, but whatever, I got it (along with a pair of batting gloves from Mark Loretta, which I hope to post later). It has a HUGE crack along it.
Willie Harris
I was in Chicago for the annual August vacation (which I will be having again this August, stay tuned). For Willie Harris, I wasn’t even trying to get his bat. Nor was anyone else. US Cellular field is like Fenway, except you are allowed at the corner of the dugout at ANY time. So I was there for BP, and Willie Harris walked out with a lot of bats, maybe 15. What did he do? He started handing each and every one out. I was lucky enough to get one of the bats. Boy o’ boy, was it cool. It wasn’t even broken, he could’ve used it for 20 more BP’s or 30 more games. It was in great condition, and I later got him to sign the bat while he was signing at the dugout.
Brian Anderson
The Old Yankee Stadium had something similar to the current Legends’ Seats, a two row barrier behind home plate from dugout to dugout. Well after one game in 2006, I hopped it. I made sure the ushers weren’t looking, and in the comotion of a Yankees win, I blended in with the crowd and ran to the visiting team’s dugout. I was all by myself, yelling at the Chicago White Sox, when I asked Brian Anderson for his batting gloves. He gave me his bat instead, which I originally thought was un-broken, but later I saw a small crack. And then an usher approached me after I got it and when nobody was left and asked me:
“Are you supposed to be sitting here?” Nope, pay more attention next time pal.
David Ortiz
My second favorite bat considering the circumstances. This has a story behind it. The year is 2007. In August, during my annual trip to Chicago, I saw the Red Sox play the White Sox. This was the make-up date of a game that was rained out the previous day, so there was NOBODY there. In fact, we were able to sit behind Home Plate because of the lack of people. And there was a kid who asked David Ortiz for his bat at the end of the game. What happened? He got the bat. That was the last game I would see in Chicago, but I would be going to Baltimore on August 31, September 1, and 2. Well the first day I didn’t have a chance to ask Ortiz, so I didn’t try to get it. But the second day, when he first went to bat, I asked him. He nodded. But I apparently couldn’t get the corner of the dugout because the first two rows, and that section was blocked off. So I went one section over and walked down to the third row when the game ended. The players went on the field to celebrate Clay Bucholz no-hitter. I went to the seat closest to the dugout and climbed down into the second row, then the first row. It was now or never. I had to wait for Ortiz to come in, but he may’ve forgot in the moment of celebration. With my luck, he went to the bat rack and stood there for a while, and I was right above him yelling at the top of my lungs “PAPI!” He couldn’t here me because of the noise (it sounded like the noise after Castillo dropped it), but at the last moment he looked up and handed me a perfect, not broken gamer.
Orlando Guevara or Brett Myers?
I had another trip in August 2008 this year. We went up to Toronto, and we also saw a Minor League game: the IronPigs at the Bisons. It was so relaxed there that I sat in a seat 3 rows back from the on deck circle, right next to the dugout. If I wanted to, I could’ve sat two more rows down, but it was too hot. At the end of the game I got a pair of batting gloves from a former major league player, and I asked Orlando Guevara, the catcher for the IronPigs, for something. He said he had nothing, but he went into the clubhouse, and came back with a bat. Guess who’s it was? Brett Myers! The Phillies pitcher who was apparently an IronPig for a bit.
Johnny Damon
My favorite bat, hands down. Better story than Ortiz. This actually started on September 20, 2008. I knew someone high up in the organization and he let me stand about 30 feet closer to where the players enter than normal people. Some people actually came over to sign, like Reggie Jackson and Johnny Damon. When he came over to sign my mom said:
“You have always been nice to us, no matter where we are.” Johnny appreaciated it and asked if we would be going to Toronto to see the Yankees. We weren’t, but I didn’t get the bat on the 20th; I got it on the 21st.
The Final Day at the Old Yankee Stadium… It was a great day. I arrived at Gate 6, and I was one of the first people in. I saw a couple Yankees coming off the field and going to the clubhouse (through the concourse) and I got Wilson Betemit and another Yankee. I forget how, but I was able to get to the Yankees dugout, and I found an aisle seat which NOBODY was sitting in. The person who was supposed to be sitting there was a dad who left early with his son, and the wife was on my right. She was incredibly nice and she let me sit there the whole game AND she even let me borrow her ticket stub to go get some food and use the bathroom. Well since the Yankees were going to win, at the top of the 9th I took off to a better spot along the dugout. And at the end of the game, I ran down and found a spot on the dugout. Some people came to sign, and one of them was Johnny Damon. The guy he was signing for didn’t have his sharpie, so I let Johnny borrow mine. Well after he signed it, he disappeared into the dugout, with the sharpie. I started to look for him because you don’t forget you have a pen in your hand. Well soon enough Johnny popped out, tossed me the pen, said “Enjoy” and slide me a signed game used bat. It was one of the best moments in my life, and it was even captured on video.
Michel Hernandez
Ahhhhhhh, this bat. The date? Game 4 of the 2008 World Series. Not only did I get the Final Ball used in this game, but I also got a bat. During BP, I stayed by dugout. My position was right next to a hardcore Tampa Bay fan. I’m talking that this guy had seats 3 rows behind the dugout for this game, was at Games 1,2, and 3 of this World Series, and was a season ticket holder for the Rays. He was also decked out in Rays gear, and had already gotten a bat from Jason Bartlett. He was also incredibly nice and he let me borrow his hat for BP and throughout the night. So I was thinking about getting a bat also, and I specifically focused on Michel Hernandez because he was spanish. So the Rays fan looked up how to ask for a bat in spanish on his iPhone, and when Michel came in I called out for him and the bat in spanish, and then he smacked the handle on the top of the dugout and slid it across to me. Success (a Pirates bat?)!
Here is the link to a photo taken by a camera guy from that game.
What are YOUR stories about getting stuff? Post it as a comment below.
5/5/09 Yankees vs. Red Sox
Finally I now have some time. I now can start catching up on my entries. This one will be short.
We arrive late. 30 minutes late. I didn’t expect anything to be happening, but there is. There are some Yankees throwing and a Red Sox bullpen session in left field. When I get there:
“Do you want to take pictures?” an usher asks.
“Oh, well I, uh, there’s a ball down there, and I was wondering if I could try to get it?”
“Go ahead, but come back up.”
When I get there, the only ball I see is Penny’s warm-up ball. But when John Farrell shows him some mechanics, I see another ball. I ask John for the ball, but he just looks up.
But since it is wet out, Penny and Farrell exchange balls, so then Farrell takes the water ball used by Penny and tosses it to me for my 1st ball.
I go over to the area above the black because I see one ball in Center.
When I get there, I see an elderly worker pick up the ball. But there was another one I didn’t see. When I was leaving, I saw a Red Sox walking back towards the dugouts with a ball. Too Late.
And then there is nothing until the Red Sox start throwing.
My 2nd ball came when a guy (bullpen catcher), who looked like Alex Cora, finished throwing. I didn’t know his name, so all I did was hold up my glove and he tosses it to me.
Then Takashi Saito finished throwing. This time I just laid off a bit and I just held up my glove, inside the legends area (I was in the corner spot) and he tosses the ball exactly towards me, and I catch it for my 3rd ball today and my 62nd on the season.
“Aw, come on. I was brave enough to wear a Red Sox hat here,” a fan with an army colored Red Sox hat said after my catch.
“Hey, I’m brave enough to wear a Red Sox hat and a Red shirt here,” I reply.
“You got me there.”
Just then I move over a bit to where Hunter Jones and the no longer on the Red Sox Javier Lopez are finishing throwing. When they finish, I call Hunter’s name. He wants to throw it to me, but there are people around me. I hold my glove low and he throws it at me, but the people next to me knock it to the ground! And I don’t get it.
And then nothing. I try for stretching, but this usher asks me for my ticket. I show him my 130 ticket, but he makes me stand in 130. I can’t move over a couple seats before game time. It’s stupid because you can’t cross and imaginary line he made. I could rant about him more, but I’m tired. Here’s his photo:
I dislike him.
So my B.P. sucks. I get no more autographs. I really really hate that usher for that. But here’s a story to tell you. At around the 3rd inning, I went to the grandstand and saw some elevators. I looked and saw one of the stops was the Legends Seats. When I get on the first stop is the Delta Sky Suite, the best foul ball spot there. I was shocked and I could’ve gone, but I didn’t. The doors close and the next stop is: The area between the Legends restaurant and the gates. There is a woman checking tickets there, so I can’t get there anyway. I would’ve kept going on the elevator, but an usher controlled it. I go back upstairs again. I see the Delta button pushed, but it doesn’t stop there. So I end up back in the entrance and take some photos. Nothing really happening there. On Thursday I’ll try again.
Now the rest is summarized in bullets:
- Get stub for sec 123, Row 18, Seat 6.
- Sit and Hope for a 3rd out ball from the 6th inning on.
- No third out ball, only one ball tossed into area above the partition
- No ball after the game
Not the best day. I am pissed at a bunch of things. I really want Thursday to be good. I may need a little extra help…
Stats:
-
3 MLB Balls Today
-
49 MLB Autographs in this Season
-
52 Total Autographs in this Season
-
62 MLB Baseballs in this Season
-
78 Total Baseballs in this Season
-
3 BP
-
3 Thrown
-
Attendence: 46,810 people
- Competition Factor: 140,430
- 6.2balls / 1 game
- 10 Consecutive games with 3 MLB Baseballs
2009 AL Season Predictions
I’ve decided to do what many other people are doing, picking how the season goes. Most of the detail focuses on the AL East, since that is where I live and the teams I pay closest attention to. I’ll first start off with the AL East.
I have bias towards the Yankees, so I’ll try to put it aside. First off the Blue Jays. They aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. They didn’t get any better by loosing Burnett. Then the Orioles. They can obviously match up. Ty Wigginton = A-Rod, Jeremy Guthrie = C.C. Sabathia, and Cesar Izturis = Derek Jeter, how can they lose?! The only competition is the Yanks, Rays, and Sox.
The main thing about the AL East is you need a good rotation. The Rays showed they had that last year, and they only lost Jason Hammel this year. The Yankees have a solid rotation, and aquiring two new starters this year, but my guess is that A.J. blows his arm about halfway through the seaons. Then you have the Red Sox. Jon Lester is blossoming into a great pitcher my predictions:
AL East Predictions:
1st: Red Sox
2nd: Yankees
3rd: Tampa Bay
4th: Blue Jays
5th: Orioles
Now the AL Central
White Sox:
Good Hitters, Ozzie is a leader, Some Nice Pitchers.
Indians:
2 Star Pitchers, Some All-Star hitters, Reliable Closer, Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee.
Tigers: Best and ONLY good pitcher is Verlander, Some good hitters, can put together most of a nice starting line-up, this year’s Lions
Royals: Young and Good Pitchers, Good prospects, Very able roster, this year will ALMOST be Tampa-Bay
Twins: Has to be a last year at ballpark Cinderella story thing, but many no-name players.
AL Central Predictions:
1st: White Sox
2nd: Royals
3rd: Indians
4th: Twins
5th: Tigers
Now finally the AL West.
Angels win, nothing said. Power Line-Up, good Bullpen, not even Matt Holiday can stop them.
A’s have some no-name pitchers, but good batters.
Texas seems pretty good. Josh Hamilton and Kinsler are the best batters. Expect them to be good.
Mariners, I like their Starters, but the line-up isn’t as good as the others.
AL West Predictions:
1st: Angels
2nd: Rangers
3rd: A’s
4th: Mariners
Postseason:
Red Sox over the White Sox in 4 games in ALDS
Yankees over the Angels in 5 games in ALDS
Yankees vs. Red Sox in ALCS
I’m not sure who wins the ALCS. I mean by now, A.J. is healthy after blowing out his arm, and they now fully have A-Rod. But if the Red Sox lose a starter, they always have another to take his place. This is hard to decide, but if I really had to choose, I would say…
The Yankees. They are going to ride the New Stadium and all its amenities to keep them healthy, while the Sox are cramped in the Fenway clubhouses. Also, the Yankees have Tex, C.C., and A.J. They also know have Joba in his first season. The Sox only have some new, sort of realiable, All-Star pitchers, Jed Lowrie is going good, and now they have Bay for the whole season. But that isn’t enough to reign over the Yankees.
I hope to see some good ‘ol fashion fun with each other though!
I’ll try to do the NL from Baltimore…
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