Results tagged ‘ a's ’
Angels vs. A’s – Sept. 28, 2010 – Last night game and BP of the season
A little over a week ago I got back out to LA from Chicago. I have been to 7 games in that time and luckily for me they have all been thanks to FREE tickets. The Angels had a Mexican Heritage Fiesta this past weekend that gave me tickets for the last couple of games with BP this season as well.
| Date | Home Team | Visiting Team | Stadium | BP? | Attendance | # Balls | Comp Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2010 | Angels | Athletics | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Yes | 43,000 | 3 | 129,000 |
| Sep 27, 2010 | Angels | Athletics | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Yes | 40,414 | 1 | 40,414 |
| Sep 26, 2010 | Angels | White Sox | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Yes | 42,686 | 1 | 42,686 |
| Sep 25, 2010 | Angels | White Sox | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Yes | 40,758 | 5 | 203,790 |
| Sep 21, 2010 | Angels | Rangers | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Yes | 41,707 | 1 | 41,707 |
| Sep 20, 2010 | Angels | Rangers | Angel Stadium of Anaheim | Yes | 41,404 | 3 | 124,212 |
9/26/09 – A’s @ Angels – 1 ball + the CSC security guard story
Saturday night was pretty uneventful during BP however in the game it was a different story. How do you go from up 9-2 to down 15-10 and lose?
It will be a short postseason if they keep this up!
I will write more about this night including a looooooong rant on the JACKASS CSC SECURITY GUARD in the visitors dugout and what he did towards the end of the game.
Ok ……….. so during BP it was pretty quiet ………. I got one ball that ricocheted off about 3 different people and the seats. That would be the one and only ball that I got during the entire night.
So lets go on and talk about this CSC Security Guard ******* in the picture below:
In the 8th inning I made my way down behind the visitors dugout. A fellow Ballhawk was down there and there were a few empty seats plus the usher is a really cool guy.
In between innings a ball was tossed up over the dugout. No one moved for it. I was at least 5 rows back and didn’t run after it because I thought for sure someone would grab it quickly. After about 10 seconds a guy laid across the top of the dugout to grab it. It wasn’t like he walked across the dugout or pushed someone out of the way diving across the dugout. He just laid across it to grab the ball.
This ********* pictured to the left then took his job Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to far. He acted like a secret service agent calling all of his pals because he was to much of a bitch to just ask the guy not to do it again. Instead 2 other CSC security guards came down and started talking to the guy.
The fans all around were yelling at the security guard on the field to get his dumb *** back in the dugout. After talking to the guy for a couple of minutes and him saying he was not going to leave they decided to retreat and the case was closed …… or was it????
Nope they came back with reinforcements, you would have thought that this guy just tried to kill someone. They were rude and not only told the guy, WHO HAD A TICKET FOR THE SEAT, and his friends also had to leave. Worse than that THEY TOOK THE BALL from him.
I had a thought for a minute to give him the ball that I had gotten earlier however there is a bit of politics there. I don’t want to show up the ***** and him be a bigger ****** to me in the future. Yes if you look back in my blog you will see another post about this idiot security guy.
Ok so why I am so heated over this because this is the same usher that pinned a 13 or 14 year old kid against the wall after he ACCIDENTLY fell over the wall during batting practice.
YES 100% real, this kid was going after a ball that was rolling along the warning track, he leaned over to far and fell onto the warning track. This ****** ran over, grabbed the kid and pinned him against the wall. I was not down there to hear what was said but from other accounts he was an A-hole about it.
You probably make about $10 an hour and you have to realize that YOU ARE NOT A COP you are a freakin security guard……..if you hate people that much that you have to be an A’HOLE every time you come in contact with the fans then get the F out!! The Angels are a classy organization and don’t need some DICK like you ruining the fans experience!!
Rant over ……………… now onto Tuesday nights Rangers / Angels game that was even more boring that tonights A’s / Angels game!
Ooooh it’s so much more interesting with the *** than what I actually say 
SIDE NOTE: CSC signs a $493 Million Dollar contract with TSA to provide security at the Nations Aiports ………. now maybe he can throw an old lady against a wall in an airport too!
8/29/09 – A’s vs Angels – Jon Wilhite 1st Pitch – 1 Ball
This homestand in Anaheim was filled with emotional moments, none of which that were bigger than when Jon Wilhite stepped onto the Angels Stadium mound to throw out last nights ceremonial 1st pitch.
Jon was the lone survivor of the accident that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and their friends Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson.
Tonights game was also the 6th game I attended this week. The great thing is that I went to 6 games this week and for tickets to all 6 games it only cost me was $8. That was thanks to a very nice lady that gave us tickets to Tuesday nights game and also thanks to the great support and generosity of the Angels and their VP of communications Tim Mead. Tim was nice enough to get us tickets for last nights game as well as a game earlier in the year to help support Baseballs 4 MADD!
Now onto my day at the ballpark. I made it to Angels Stadium by 4:05, just as the gates were opening. I went into the ticket office to pick up the tickets from Tim. A lady in the office took my ID and about 5 minutes later came back and said they couldn’t find the tickets ………. WHAT???? Precious BP time is ticking away and now I have to wait in the office for the tickets. Well, about 15 minutes went by and finally I had the tickets. Then I got to the gate with the tickets and the first one didn’t scan and said it was no good! UGH! Back to the office. They fixed it and finally I was headed into the stadium.
I went out to right field since the A’s were now taking batting practice. Jack Cust, Ryan Sweeney and all the other A’s lefties only managed to hit about 10 balls into the seats. I did have a play on one but a guy jumped in front of me and I never saw the ball once he jumped up. It hit the heal of my glove and fell back on the field. I was afraid now that I would get shut out!
BP came to an end and I had a goose egg. Would this be the first time in my life I got a goose egg on back to back days? I was determined to get a ball so I headed over to the bullpens in left field. There were 3 balls sitting in the Angels bullpen and just 1 in the A’s bullpen. When some of the Angels players and coaches came into their bullpen they tossed the balls all over the place but not towards me. Then it was time for the A’s to make their way into the bullpen.
A’s catcher, and college teammate of Jon Wilhite, Kurt Suzuki was the 1st A’s player to make his way into the Bullpen. As Kurt walked past the ball on the bench I asked him if it was possible to get the ball. He looked back and motioned towards another A’s player to toss him the ball. That player tossed him the ball and then he tossed it over the wall to me. How awesome was that, on the night that Jon Wilhite was going to throw out the first pitch I got a ball from his friend and college teammate.
After Kurt tossed me the ball I walked down near where he was getting ready to warm up the starting pitcher. Since he was right by the fence I thought I would thank him for the ball and let him know what I was doing for MADD.
I told him that the ball he just threw me helped raise money for MADD through Baseballs 4 MADD. I told him that I had caught almost 5000 baseballs at professional baseball games and that every ball I caught this year would help raise money for MADD. I mentioned that I had started doing this right after the accident and that I felt it was my way to help out after the accident which was only a mile from my house. He said, “Thanks, thanks alot, that’s really cool!” That made my entire night and the entire season worth the effort that I have put into Baseballs 4 MADD.
Unfortunately I did not get to meet Jon or even talk to him or anyone else that was there for the ceremony. I know that time will come and for now I just hope that they know that there are a lot of people that feel he is a true miracle. He is someone and something that we can believe in and gives us hope in everything good or bad in life. He has shown us that having the will to live and a never give up attitude can go a long way! God Bless you Jon!
The ball from Kurt was the only ball I would get tonight but it is a ball that I will hold onto! In fact I hope that in the near future I can get both Jon and Kurt to sign the ball!
Please make a pledge and support BASEBALLS 4 MADD and help bring an end to the senseless crime of DRUNK DRIVING!!
8/28/09 – A’s vs. Angels – Zip, Zilch, None, Nada
This will be a VERY short entry!
Went to Cantina Lounge to get free tickets from AM 830. Finally got the tickets at 5:30, got to the ballpark at 5:50. The good thing was that the Angels did not take BP so I didn’t miss much. The bad thing there were next to no balls hit near me in the remaining 30 minutes of BP that I got to see.
Before the game A’s players were playing long toss and a ball got by them and came to rest in centerfield. It sat there during the National anthem and I was sure that I could get Torii Hunter to throw it to me. The Angels ran onto the field and after warming up Torii walked over and picked up the ball. I stood there with my glove in the air and he threw the ball right at me. The only problem, it came up about half a foot short and bounced over my head and into the crowd.
That would be my only shot at a ball …… oh well…….. tomorrows another day!
8/27/09 – A’s vs. Angels – Ball #2900 (regular season)5 balls, 3 Angels HOF plaques, 2 autographs
Around 2:30 I started my walk over to the local bus stop to take it down to Angel Stadium. It was not a fun walk since it was 106 degrees outside. Thankfully it was only about a 20 minute walk and I had taken a shower just before I left the house so it kept me pretty cool.
The bus got me down to the stadium around 3:30. The Angels flagship station was doing a live remote out front and I noticed long time Angel Stadium Ballhawk Roger hanging around talking to the guys on the radio. I asked Roger if he was going into the game tonight and he said probably not. I told him that he should since there were still $3 tickets available. Roger walked over and bought a cheap seat and then we walked over to the Adenhart memorial and I layed down a “Baseballs 4 MADD” T-shirt and a game ball that I had grabbed earlier in the year.
Tonights game was the make-up game from April 9th which was the day that the tragic accident occured. This Saturday the lone survivor of the accident, Jon Wilhite, will be thrownig out the first pitch. The Angels will also be holding a blood drive in memory of Nick Adenhart.
The gates opened a little after 5 which was surprising as game time was set for 7:25 instead of the usual 7:05. The reason for the later game time was because the Angels were inducting 2 fan favorites into the Angels Hall of Fame. The inductees were Chuck Finley and Brian Downing. Chuck Finley I was never a really big fan of however Brian Downing was one of my favorite players.
From 1987 to 1989 I spent a lot of time at Angels Stadium. We had season tickets in the Left Field family section and in that time I caught 5 Brian Downing game homers. Way back in the day (1977) my father was a sports photographer in Chicago and he had befriended Brian. In 1978 Brian actually sent my brother and I autographed baseballs at the end of the season. The cool thing on those balls ….. they were sent in small boxes with Bobby Grich’s address on them.
Ok so back to going in the stadium ……………we got int just after 5 and I went to my favorite spot in the right field corner. Mike Napoli stepped in and hit a trail blazer through the grass that just barely rolled across the warning track and right to me. BALL#1 (2898)
As Angels BP was coming to an end I decided to go up into the Right Field pavilion. Roger went up to RF as well and the usual cast of characters was up there too! Rob, T.C., Chris P and a couple other regulars. Shortly after getting up there Jack Cust launched a ball that hit in the seats and ricocheted around and I ran across my row and picked it up. BALL#2 (2899)
So sitting on 2899 I was hoping for a long fly ball to catch on the fly for #2900 at regular season games. Did I get it that way??? Of course not! Someone from the A’s hit a ball into the gap between the RF Pavilion seats and the seats down the RF line. I walked over and looked down to where the ball was. There were actually 2 balls sitting down there. A groundskeeper walked over and picked one of the balls up and tossed it into the seats down the RF line. He picked up the other one and tossed it in my direction. It was about a foot and a half short of getting to me and fell back down to where he was. He picked it up and tossed it to me. BALL#3 and #2900 (regular season) of my Ballhawking career. Here is a picture of me after the game with #2900.
Now that I had #2900 it was time to start the final march to ball #3000! Just a few minutes after I got my 3rd ball of the day someone hit a ball into the seats to my right. I ran through the section and got a nice bounce and picked up the ball from between the seats. BALL#4
Batting practice ended around 6:15 and there was now basically an hour and 10 minutes to kill before game time. Roger and I signed up for the designated driver program so we could get our free drinks. Then we walked around to the bullpen area since there were 2 balls sitting in the Angels bullpen and 6 in the A’s bullpen that I wanted to take a shot a getting when the players came out.
Just before 7 some a couple of the Angels came out to the bullpen and tossed those 2 balls to a couple of kids close by. Shortly after that the A’s came out to there bullpen. Former Cal State Fullerton Titan Kurt Suzuki was the first one into the bullpen. I was standing right behind 2 of the balls in the bullpen. As Kurt walked up I asked, “Kurt, may I please have one of those baseballs?” He picked one up and tossed it over the wall to me. BALL#5
This was a really cool ball to get. Kurt has been doing a lot of things to help his former Titan teammate Jon Wilhite raise money to pay for his medical bills & rehab. Now the ball that he tossed me will help MADD raise money to work toward the mission of MADD which is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.
Thank you KURT!!!
That would be the end of the fun for the night. The game was extremely boring and quick. After the game I would grab autographs from both Chuck Finley and Brian Downing along with a total of 3 of the Angels HOF plaques that the team gave away tonight.
Overall it was a really good night ……….. Ball 2900 in the bag and 98 balls to go until 3000 balls caught at regualr season games. The 5 balls that I grabbed tonight also put me 32 balls away from the coveted 5000 ball mark. This is total balls caught at all professional baseball games!
Here is a picture of everything I got at the game tonight
Here is a picture of the Nick Adenhart Memorial in front of Angel Stadium
Tonights Angels Game – Remembering Nick, Henry & Courtney and supporting Jon!
Tonights game is the make-up of the April 9th game that was cancelled after the tragic death of Angels Pitcher Nick Adenhart and his friends Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson. Jon Wilhite was the lone survivor of the accident and is simply an inspiration to us all!
I am not sure what if anything the Angels will do before tonights game however I do know that Jon will be throwing out the first pitch on Saturday night. Even as I sit here writing this I get teary eyed thinking about the accident and just everyone involved. I also wanted to share something from Monday.
It was just the other day, August 24th, I was standing in front of the make shift memorial to Nick out in front of the stadium. The one thing that was really hard for me was hearing the helicopter noise from a helicopter that was practicing take-offs and landings in the parking lot. Hearing a helicopter brought back memories from the night the accident happened.
I live about a mile from the accident scene. That entire night we could hear all of the helicopters hovering over the accident site. It is the one sound for me that is now forever etched in my mind. There is not a time when I hear a helicopter that I don’t think of that night, Nick, Henry, Courtney & Jon.
As most of you know I started BASEBALLS 4 MADD where for every ball that I catch this year people can make pledges that will go to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. So far I have caught over 90 baseballs raising almost $700 for MADD. While my original goal ws quite lofty at $10,000 the short term goal is to top the $1,000 mark. There is still time to make a pledge by going to http://www.mlballhawk.com/Baseballs_4_MADD.html and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
This Saturday Jon will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Angels game. I will be there and I hope that everyone will say a prayer for Nick, Courtney, Henry and Jon!
I hope that everyone will take time to think before they drink and just be responsible! Most of us always think it can’t happen to us. In fact I guarantee you that everyone involved in this accident and their families thought the same. Don’t let it be you next time!
Leave the keys behind, take a cab, give a friend a ride (as long as you are sober) and use your head when you drink!!
AUGUST 29, 2009 – Angels Stadium
I just thought I would post the schedule of events for Saturdays game!
August 29, 2009 – Angels, UC Irvine Medical Center & American Red Cross To Host Blood Drive in honor of Nick Adenhart
From 8 AM – 2 PM, fans can stop by the Exhibition Center at Angel Stadium, located next to Gate # 6 to donate blood. Fans who donate will receive two free tickets to a future Angels home game. The event will also feature raffle prizes, including autographed Angels merchandise.
Individuals interested in participating are encouraged to make an appointment in advance by calling 1-800-GIVE LIFE
The blood drive is being dedicated to honor the memory of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, the victim of a fatal automobile accident in Fullerton, CA last April 9th. Two others, Henry Pearsonand Courtney Stewart were also killed in the accident.
Jon Wilhite, the lone survivor of the accident was treated by doctors at UC Irvine Medical Center and will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at that evening’s Angels game vs. Oakland at 6:05 PM.
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