Mariners / Angels - Angels Stadium - 9/11/08 - 5 balls
Another great night out at the BIG "A" for me!Since the Angels clinched the division on Wed. tickets for the rest of the year are almost less than Minor League prices. $3 for almost every seat in the upper deck and $8 for most of the seats in the lower deck. I chose to simple go out and pay $3 to get in but I was only going to stay for BP (Batting practice).
The gates opened at 5:00 and I went to my usual spot in the right field corner. In the first 10 minutes of BP every choice I made was a bad one. Someone had beaten me to my regular spot. Instead of just staying in the spot to his right I moved around. Every time I changed my positioning a ball went to the spot I was just in. The kid that got my usual spot got 2 balls that I could have easily snagged. Then it was my turn with a roller hit down the line I leaned over the wall and stretched out to snag ball #1 hit by Kendry Morales.
I responded to him with "Look, I have been coming here for 20 years and I know the rules." He then proceeded to tell me that some things have changed. I had about a million things that I could have said but you don't want to piss off a minimum wage security guard! Anyway, I have to admit he was cool since he gave away quite a few balls to fans both young and old. I know that he could lose his job for that but I won't tell anyone that he did it.
Shortly after that ball Morales hit another ball that slowly rolled towards the wall. It sat about half a foot from the wall and easily within reach if I leaned over the wall. I went over to the spot where the ball was and leaned over and scooped up my 2nd ball of the day. Shortly after I got it the Security guard comes over to me and says "You can't lean over that far."
I responded to him with "Look, I have been coming here for 20 years and I know the rules." He then proceeded to tell me that some things have changed. I had about a million things that I could have said but you don't want to piss off a minimum wage security guard! Anyway, I have to admit he was cool since he gave away quite a few balls to fans both young and old. I know that he could lose his job for that but I won't tell anyone that he did it.
Ball #3 came off the bat of Ichiro as he hit in the first group for the Mariners. Ichiro hit a nice fly ball into the corner near the foul pole that hit on the warning track and bounced into the seats where it hit a chair and rolled away from the guy chasing it and right to me.
About 3 swings after ball #3 was snagged Ichiro hit another fly ball down the right field line. For those of you that don't know Angels stadium during BP in the right field corner you are looking directly into the sun. As this ball went up not only did I have to deal with the Sun but it was headed right at the foul pole. As it started to come down I lost it behind the pole and then in the sun. I stuck out my glove but the ball sailed past it, hit a seat and flew back onto the field.
Ball #4 was my second of the night hit by Ichiro and it came in his final round of BP. Ichiro launched another fly ball towards the foul pole in right. I was back a couple of rows in the seats and as it got closer I knew that it was going to hit close to the wall. The guy that had snagged a couple of balls that I should have had was right next to me as the ball came down. We both reached for it and thankfully it ended up in my glove!
My 5th and final ball of the day came off the bat of Tug Hullett. Tug is the son of former Major Leaguer Tim Hullett who played for the White Sox and Orioles. In fact some of the baseballs I caught in my younger days were hit by his dad at Old Comiskey Park in Chicago. Anyway, the ball that Tug hit went well over my head and I was just about to give up on it when all of the sudden I see it flying right back at me. It had hit a seat back and rebounded right at my head. I stuck up my glove and made the grab!
So for $3 and just staying for BP I did pretty well. I ended up with 5 baseballs of which 3 are almost brand new and good for autographs!
On a side note on Wednesday I went down to the stadium to get autographs. I hung out by the Angels parking lot and the only guy that stopped to sign was Chone Figgins.
- 3 consecutive games with 4 or more baseballs
hello governor, TC here on a roll ,2hr in 2 days can i get 3 in 3?got sandoval on the beach fri.sweet.isnt ichiro xlnt for bp .i miss this week.dam.that ballpig guy shut down ,just block him follow him stand behind . is it mark?
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