9-22-09 Yankees vs. Angels - 1 Ball - A few autographs

This won't be a long post but Tuesday night was a lot of fun!

I got to the ballpark around 1:15 in the afternoon. Instead of going after Yankee autographs right away I decided to go and get some Angels autographs. It was pretty uneventful until about 3:15 when Torii Hunter drove up. Let me just say that Torii is the class of the organization and possible the entire league. Every time I have been out there that Torii signs he always has a smile on his face, he is always fun and talkative with whoever is out there and you can just tell he loves this game! THANK YOU TORII for being such an awesome ballplayer but more important being an excellent role model for the kids that watch you play!

Here is the ball that I had Torii sign:

About 15 minutes later Bobby Abreu stopped by and signed a few autographs for the 4 or 5 of us that were waiting by the Angels players parking lot. I had Bobby sign an old game ball from earlier in the season.

Then it was around to the front of the stadium once all of the Angels players were in. It was now around 4pm and basically all of the players were in the park. We did see the final Yankees team bus go around back a little after 4. Then about 4:20 (yes I said it) MR. OCTOBER pulled up. As he walked up to the main gate he signed some autographs while telling everyone to shut up. Partially because he was talking on his hands free device for his cell phone. It was actually more likely because he didn't want to hear the guys saying "Please Mr. Jackson it's for my kid" YEAH RIGHT it is for you and will be on Ebay next week!

Anyway, here is the ball that I got signed by R-E-G-G-I-E!

That was it for autographs before the game it was now time to head into the stadium. The usual cast of characters was in line Rob, Chris, myself and a few other regular Ballhawks.

I went into the right field corner for the end of Angels BP and there was only 2 balls hit down there. One took a hop off a seat and away from me and the other wasn't close. I headed up to the right field pavilion for the Yankees. Yankees BP is always tough because of the amount of people out there. However I know that I will get a ball regardless.

I just had to be patient and find the right spot. I stood along the wall in a spot where I have seen many balls hit by the Yanks in the past. While I was standing in this spot I watched a shot hit down the right field line. I believe it might have been Robinson Cano that hit it.

Anyway, this shot went into the first row of the stands. There wwas a Yankees player signing autographs nearby and most of the fans were not paying attention. ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO BP!

The ball nailed a fan in the head just above the eye opening a big gash and blood everywhere! The fan fell to the ground and players, fans and ushers began waving arms and hats to get help there. It took the EMTs on site almost 10 minutes to get there. In the meantime the Yankees players (yes the hated Yankees) brought over towels and ice to the people attending to the fan while they waited for EMT's.

About 25 minutes after getting hit the fan was taken out on a stretcher. I belive at least that part of it might be on You Tube somewhere. It was definitely a scarey sight since we heard the ball hitting the fan about 120 feet away from it!

A little later in the group Nick Swisher stepped in and hit a ball right at me. I had to stretch out as far as I could to get in front of the other 6 or 7 gloves and hands but I did and it was in my glove! This would be BALL#1 and the only ball I would snag that night!

The game was exciting with the Angels making a comeback from a 5-0 deficit and then losing 6-5 in the end. After the game I hung around to get some more autographs. I got a handful of Yankees on a ball that already had Mark Gardener and Robinson Cano. The players I got tonight were Ian Kennedy, Shelley Duncan Jose Molina and a couple others.

So it was a good night for autographs and as long as I get one ball I am happy!