Results tagged ‘ ball hawk ’
Updates coming soon ……….. 1 MLB game and 2 MiLB games
The last couple of months have been pretty crazy, changing jobs, a visit to my mom who has breast cancer AND is beating it and just a million other things going on as well.
If you just found me through the Sports Illustrated article and you want to learn more ………
Check out my book available on Amazon.com! BUY IT using the link above!!!
Have you ever wished that you were the guy or girl catching the milestone home run ball? Have you always wanted to get autographs at a baseball game and didn’t know how to go about it? Now there is a book out there that will help every baseball fan do it.
“Taking Home A Piece Of The Game” is for every fan that hopes to get an autograph, catch a foul ball or grab game used items at a Major League Baseball game. Now there is a book out there that will help every baseball fan do it.
Major League Ballhawk, John Witt gives fan’s the information needed to accomplish all of this. John Witt has caught 4,868 baseballs at Major League games over the past 32 years. 2,829 of those baseballs were caught at regular season MLB games and 99 of those baseballs were game home runs. Witt has also collected 1000′s of autographs, game used items and other various goodies as well. With his information, tips and stories of his greatest catches he hopes to help and inspire future collectors.
Taking Home A Piece Of The Game, the Revised Edition is a fan’s guide on how to get cool stuff at a Major League Baseball game. Inside you will find the essential items to take to the ballpark. It also helps put together a plan of attack for a day at the ballpark. It even has a new Spring Training Section that includes tips and information to help you plan a spring training trip and how to make the most of each day.
“Taking Home A Piece Of The Game almost guarantees that fanswill take home a baseball, an autograph and/or game used items from every Major League Baseball game that they attend.
One of the interesting aspects of the book is where Witt shares stories about some of the more memorable home run balls that he has caught. Witt’s biggest moment came on September 13, 1998 when John grabbed Sammy Sosa’s 61st home run of the season on Waveland Avenue outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago. Witt has also caught home runs hit by Eddie Murray from both sides of the plate in the same game in 1987, the last roof-top home run at Old Comiskey Park and even a Mike Schmidt home run ball at his first ever Dodger game in LA.
In the back of the book there are photos of some of the “Pieces of the Game” that Witt snagged in 2008. John also offers information on “Ballhawking 101″ which is where fans can go to a baseball game to put all of the tips and information to use. Witt even guarantees that fans will get a baseball at the game or the fan will receive a full 100% refund of the “Ballhawking 101″ fee.
Taking Home A Piece Of The Game – the revissed edition is currently available through createspace.com at https://www.createspace.com/3360721 and should be available on Amazon.com by February 1, 2009 – $4.95 (paperback)
New- Revised Edition – Spring 2009
Publication Date: Jan 15, 2009
ISBN/EAN13: 1440472971 / 9781440472978
Page Count: 90
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 6″ x 9″
Language: English
Color: Black and White
Related Categories: Sports & Recreation / Baseball / General
For those of you just finding my blog for the first time …. WELCOME!!
After looking at my website stats today I noticed a lot more traffic to my MLBlog and to my website …. www.mlballhawk.com . I am sure this is because of the Sports Illustrated article I mentioned in my last post!
First I want to welcome everyone to my MLBlog which is simulcast on my website as well.
So now a little background on me and my ballhawking. In 1977 while at a game with my parents and their friends I got a ball during batting practice. I was in a horrible position to get a ball but got lucky when a security guard stuck out his foot and the ball jumped over the people in the first row and into my glove. Later in that same game Chet Lemon was playing centerfield and threw a warm up ball back towards the bat boy. The ball got past the bat boy and ended up on a tarp by the bullpen. I leaned over the wall and grabbed it! So my first official game as a Ballhawk and I ended up with 2 baseballs.
After that I was always chasing baseballs, I can remember my first game ball as well. It was a foul ball down the 1st base line at Old Comiskey Park in Chicago. The ball went about 3 rows above the aisle and into the seats. I ran up to where aisle near where the ball went in and low and behold the ball rolled right down under the seats to me. I believe this was a game in 1979.
My first game home run was a Mike Dave (A’s) home run ball that went into the upper deck at Old Comiskey Park in 1986. Ironically over the past 15 years I have worked in minor league baseball and got the chance to work with Mike as he was the hitting coach in Mobile AL when I was the clubhouse manager there in 2002.
That was the first of 101 game home runs that I have caught over the past 34 summers. Some of the more memorable home run catches are:
SAMMY SOSA’s 61st HR in 1998 – the Last Roof Top HR at Old Comiskey Park hit by Ron Kittle in 1990 – Derek Jeter HR in the 2003 ALCS on Lansdowne St Garage in Boston – Kevin Mitchell HR during the 1989 NLCS on Waveland Ave. – Bob Boones 100th career HR – Dave Winfields 450th HR – Mike Schmidts 523rd HR at my very first Dodger game at Dodger Stadium and many others!
So there you have a quick summary! Don’t forget that I am raising money for Mothers Against Drunk Driving again this season and you can easily help out and make a pledge or find out more information by going to my website at www.mlballhawk.com or to www.baseballs4madd.com
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS or would you like to go to a game with me???
Just email me at JWITT@MLBALLHAWK.COM
Sports Illustrated article “The Flight of the Ballhawks”
The Sports Illustrated article that I was interviewed for just went online “THE FLIGHT OF THE BALLHAWKS” It wasn’t the 4 or 5 page article that it was suppose to have been but it is still pretty cool!!
It’s all John Witt and Zack Hample …….. more Hample than me but he can ask for a damn ball in 35 languages and uses tricks to get balls.
ME??? I just use the glove!
All kidding aside Zack and I are good friends. We each throw a few jabs back and fourth for entertainment and we both have a lot of fun pursuing one of the most ridiculous and also one of the most fun hobbies there is!
The article is pretty goo! It mentions my charity work for Baseballs 4 MADD whic is great and hopefully a few of the readers will make a pledge. This year has been a lot slower than last year with less pledges and fewer baseballs since I have been working full time (in baseball of course). I expect to be back at the Ballpark in September running all over the place to get baseballs!
Remember fans, if you want to join me at a game just send me an email and I will give you the details on how to take “BALLHAWKING 101 – The Fly along program!”
Here is where you can find the article online HOWEVER It will be in the AUGUST 16th, 2010 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED which goes on newstands tomorrow (Thursday)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1173128/index.htm
2010 Professional Ballhawk League – “Where it’s all about having FUN!”
First of all let me start by saying that this is not an attempt to “steal” Ballhawks away from the original Ballhawk League. As with minor league sports there is enough room for 2 leagues.
Eriks league concetrates on every ball you get no matter how you get it. The Professional Ballhawk League will base itself more on catching and chasing down balls than asking for them or using a device to get them. The PBL will use a point system, will have awards and even jerseys for the participants to wear if they choose to get one!
It will simply be a lot of fun! I encourage Ballhawks of all ages to sign up for BOTH Ballhawk Leagues next season. It will be fun to see how each league works itself out? Will the person with the most balls still win both leagues? Who knows!!
The following is from the 2010 Professional Ballhawk League MLBlog at http://ballhawkleague.mlblogs.com
If you are someone that takes a glove to a baseball game hoping to catch a baseball then you are eligible to play in the 2010 Professional Ballhawk League. There will be 2 divisions in the PBL. You will have the Veteran division that will consist of Veteran Ballhawks that have caught over 100 baseballs at Major League games and at least 1 game home run, foul ball or 3rd out ball caught. Then you will have the FAN Division which will consist of everyone else!
All participants must have a MyGameBalls.com profile to keep track of their 2010 Ballhawking Stats along with a MLBlog where there will write about each game that they attend and Ballhawk at
There will be awards for each division at the end of the season including Veteran and Rookie of the Year awards and the MVB (Most Valuable Ballhawk) aka Ballhawk of the Year!
To sign up please send an email to commissioner@ballhawkleague.com
This Baseball Fan Has A Plan – OC Register
This article will run in “print” tomorrow (Sunday 8/9) in the Orange County Register!!
Wednesday morning as you all know by now I went over to Cal State Fullerton to have the Orange County Register take some photos of me for a story about Baseballs 4 MADD.
By 4:30 in the afternoon the story was online at OCRegister.com. You can get to the story by clicking here. It will be interesting to see how many pledges this helps us out with. As it says my ultimate goal was $10,000 and I hope that we can put a dent in that number with the pledges that this story can help us bring in!
I am hoping that the article will also appear in print at some point this week. The reported said more than likely it would show up in the paper by the end of the week ……. we’ll see!
I also came across an article that was on the USA Today’s website about the Ballhawk League and Erik Jabs. It had comments from Zack and even named me too!!!!
Click on the photo below to get to that article
Keep watching as I intend on updating my MLBlog http://ballhawk.mlblogs.com and my website http://ballhawk.mlblogs.com ………….. hopefully pledges come in and we can crack the $1000 mark by the end of next week!
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