Results tagged ‘ home run ball ’
Charlie Sheen – The Ballhawk
On April 16, 1996 Charlie Sheen became a Ballhawk. In hopes of catching a home run ball he bought out the entire left field section at Anaheim Stadium (now Angels Stadium of Anaheim).
The KID, The CATCH and The STORY!
10 By John Witt
year old Jake Shuster snags a homer at his 1st MLB game
After I read Alan Schuster’s post on www.mygameballs.com
from Monday Sept. 6th I felt, like Alan, that this youngster
deserved the applause and accolades that go with catching a home run ball
especially when you are in a sea of adults. We set out to find out who the little guy was that caught the Brad Hawpe home run on Saturday September 4th, 2010 at Camden Yards.
I posted Alan’s column from Monday on my MLBlog and my website
and later that morning I had a note from his uncle. A couple days later and I
had talked to his mom and aunt as well and this is the Story of Jake Shuster
and the Brad Hawpe 9th inning home run on Saturday September 4th,
2010 at Camden Yards.
Jake Shuster and his family were headed on a trip to see
his Aunt. Jakes 10th birthday was less than a week away and the
weekend before it he was headed to Baltimore. Jake’s mom, Stacie Shuster had
not seen her sister in a while. Her sister Sami was excited that she was going
to get to see her niece and nephew the weekend of September 3rd -
5th. The family knew that part of the trip was going to be a trip to Camden
Yard’s to see the Orioles play the Tampa Ray’s on Saturday September 4th.
This would be Jake’s 1st
Major League Baseball game ever!
As the family left their Freehold, New Jersey home someone
immediately realized that something was wrong. Oh no, Jake had forgotten his
baseball glove. Why did this matter? Jake knew he was going to go the game and
he wanted to catch a baseball. “I told him it was a one in a million chance for
him to get a ball” said his mom Stacie. “He had his mind set on getting a ball
and I just hoped he wouldn’t be to hurt when he didn’t get one.” Luckily for
Jake his grandpa’s baseball glove was in the trunk of the car so he would not
be gloveless at the game.
Saturday night the Shuster family, with relatives in tow, headed
out to Camden Yards. They did not get there for batting practice and walked in
the park just as the National Anthem was being sung. Jake’s mom Stacie recalls
that Jake was constantly asking “Do you think I can get a ball”. Her answer was
the same “It’s a one in a million chance.”
They went to their seats which were in the 2nd row of
the centerfield bleachers. There was a chance that they could get a ball but it
would have to be hit right at them. As the game went on the Orioles built up a
lead and as the game headed into the 9th inning the score was 8-2
Baltimore. Stacie Shuster wanted Jake to go home with a ball so she headed over
to the bullpen area just a few feet away from their seats and asked a coach for
a ball. The coach tossed one to her and she dropped it, he threw it again, she
dropped it again. “This is the last chance you get lady!” the coach said. He
threw it the 3rd time and she caught it. Jake would have a baseball
after all.
Just then Jakes sister ran over to her mom and said “Dad just
got a ball from BJ Upton for Jake!” As Jakes sister said that Stacie held up
the ball that she had gotten Jake as well. Now the little guy had 2 baseballs
that his parents had snagged for him. With the goal of the night seemingly
accomplished the family was thinking about leaving. Just then a couple of seats
opened up in front of them in the first row. Jake immediately hopped over the
seats and sat down with his dad. At that point Matt Joyce was up and the count
was 3-2 and there were 2 outs. Joyce launched a ball for a home run about a
section and a half to their left.
With that I am guessing that there was no way Jake was going to
let anyone leave the game before the last out. Brad Hawpe now stepped in and
the count went to 2-2 on him. What happened next is something that most fans
and Ballhawks dream about. Brad Hawpe launches a ball to centerfield, right at
Jake and his dad. Jake’s dad starts leaning in towards Jake and the ball and
then all of a sudden puts his hands up. Jake is now leaning over the wall in
the direction of the baseball and he still has the ball that his dad got from
BJ Upton in his non glove hand. Jake leans out over the wall, the ball hits his
glove, he squeezes it as tight as he can and pulls it in.
Immediately Jake is a celebrity, a man with a video camera from
either the Orioles or MLB just happened to be standing taking video and got it
all on camera. Jakes mom comes running over and grabs him and gives him a big
hug as you see in the photo. Fans were taking pictures and giving him HI 5′s.
Jake remembers seeing Orioles outfielder Corey Patterson looking up at him and
Jake asked his mom, “Is he mad at me?” She quickly assured him that he was not
mad and was likely just as amazed by Jakes grab as everyone else. In fact if
you look at the video replay of it Patterson seems to take a double take after
seeing that such a little guy made a great grab!
Jake’s mom and aunt both mentioned the fact that he signed
several autographs after he caught the ball. “It was truly amazing” both Stacie
and her sister Sami said. Sami also added that she is the proudest Aunt ever.
“Maybe I am making a big deal of it but to me it was pretty impressive.”
The story doesn’t end there though, Stacie’s sister wanted them
to go check out her work, a nearby hospital. As they walked into the hospital
someone in the lobby looked at Jake and said “Hey you’re the kid that caught
that home run ball!” Then Jake let go of the comment of the night “Mom, I am
almost, like, famous aren’t I?” All she could do is smile and tell him that yes
indeed he was now famous! The entire family could only think one thing “If you
set your mind to do something and you want it bad enough anything can happen”
and for Jake it did!
Jake caught that ball a couple days before school started this
past week and he could not wait to get home and show all of his friends the
video clip and the ball, A true Ballhawk indeed!
Congratulations Jake! An awesome catch! We just hope that now
his parents understand what they are in for. It has been 34 years since my
first catch and I am still at it, I am sure Jake will want to go to a lot more
games now that he knows now that he can get a baseball on his own without mom
and dad’s help!
MyGameBalls.com is all about giving Ballhawks their 15 minutes
and in this case it is a well deserved 15 minutes. Jake truly deserves to be on
Leno or Letterman in our opinions and don’t think we won’t give them a call
this week!
We
hope that this is not the end of Jake’s story so stay tuned ….. We might just
have something else up our sleeves on this one!
The 10 year Ballhawk in Baltimore has been found and confirmed!
This should be a pretty cool story! I am working on it right now and I will post it here just after it runs on MyGameBalls.com
Since I know the debate will start over …………….. Game HR toss-ups
11 Years ago today – Sammy Sosa’s 61st HR
It was 11 years ago today that I caught Sammy Sosa’s 61st home run on Waveland Avenue outside of Wrigley Field. As I sit here today I can remember it as if it just happened.
The night before I was at a party about 8 blocks away from Wrigley Field. I had $8 in my pocket and really had no intentions of going to the game. I drove down Kenmore towards Waveland and saw legendary Ballhawk MOE MULLINS standing by his van. I talked to Moe and he asked if I was going to hang around. I told him that it was unlikely and he said that I should hang out.
In the first inning of the game Sosa hit a long fly ball down the left field line and onto Waveland Avenue. There was a trail of at least 100-150 people that ran after the ball. I can remember thinking to myself that the only chance i had at getting a Sosa HR was if it rolled right to my feet. (remember that)
A side story to all of this takes place on the Mississippi Belle II Riverboat Casino in Clinton, Iowa. Knowing that I was a huge baseball fan and that I had caught numerous baseballs at MLB games the staff there would always ask me what I thought a Sosa HR would be worth. My response, “I’ll let you know when I catch one!” That was my response each and every time they would ask. (remember this too)
Onto the 5th inning of the game …….
Sosa steps up to bat, I am now leaning against Moe’s van which was parked near the firehydrant on the corner of Waveland and Kenmore. I am watching a TV that Moe had set up inside. Sosa takes a big swing and immediately you heard the crowd roar. I turned to my right and looked up and saw the ball in flight. I headed between two cars hoping that I had a chance.
There were two guys coming up the street as I came between the cars. I saw the ball hit about 5 feet from the building, hit off of one of those guys shins and then, IT ROLLED RIGHT TO ME!! I had just become one of only 3 people (at that time) to have caught someones 61st HR in a season.
Immediately after I made the grab with my glove I cradled it like a football. A few of the regular Ballhawks and Ballhawk groupies circled me and got me into Moe’s van. I can remember Jeff Idleson from the Hall of Fame coming to look at the ball and taking a few notes on it. I was also interviewed by a couple of reporters as well.
The funniest part of the whole scene was the long line of people that wanted to shake my hand, offer me free dinner at their restaurant or just wanted an autograph. That went on for almost 40 minutes.
At one point someone from WGN came over and wanted to take me into the ballpark to be interviewed on the telecast. When we got up to the press box Bill Murray was leaving and said to me, “Give it back to him (Sosa)”. I then came across a guy that asked if I was the one that caught the ball. I told him yes and he asked if he could check it out. Feeling safe since I was in the press box I decided to let go of the ball. A few minutes later a guy came out of another room and the guy I gave the ball to said, “Hey Chris, check this out, this is the Sosa HR ball!” He tossed it to “Chris” and he checked it out.
It turns out that it was actor Chris O’Donnell. As he was walking out after singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame I asked him to sign my hat. I thanked him for the autograph and he walked away. Just as I was about to walk into the TV booth with Steve Stone and Chip Caray I heard Chris’ voice, “Hey John, can you sign my hat!” Of course I signed it!
By the time the 9th inning rolled around I was standing by the fence of the Budweiser house just hoping that Sosa would not hit ………. SWING AND A LONG ONE . …… so much for that …. #62 flew out of the park, into Moes hands and then he got mauled for the ball.
I had actually talked to a collector on the pay phone by the firehouse a little after getting #61 and he offered me $10,000 for the ball. Now there was another ball out there, what would I get for mine? When I got to the collectors office later that night I heard a voice mail from the guy that ended up with 62. They might be buying both balls and I knew I wasn’t getting $10,000.
I could have given the ball back to Sosa but I had been kind of screwed over by a Cubs minor league team (that I worked for) the season before and decided giving it back was not an option. Not to mention that I was recently divorced and the extra cash would help out. So they offered me $7,500 and it would obviously help me out.
To make a looooong story short I got lucky that day, I was in the right place at the right time and had the baseball gods looking down on me.
Now let’s go back to the part about the Mississippi Belle II Riverboat in Clinton, Iowa. About a week later my mom and I went to the boat. As we walked onto the boat I heard someone radio ahead saying, “He’s here!” We walked into the 2nd deck doors and a few of the dealers that new me gave me a standing ovation!
I was a surreal moment, it was as if a celebrity walked onto the boat. Anyway, they all asked me, “So what was it worth?” I told them $7,500 and I got to share the story about my day with them!
The Sosa HR was and still is one of my greatest catches. Regardless of did he or did he not do steroids I don’t really care. He hit 66 HR’s that season to Big Macs 70. It was a great summer for baseball and I was glad to be a part of it!
There were other things that happened that day and much more that I could have added to the story but I cut it down a bit for the sake of my readers. The complete story is in my BOOK titled “TAKING HOME A PIECE OF THE GAME” — Google it or look it up at AMAZON.COM – only $4.95 + shipping.
WBC Championship Game and Semi Finals — SO FRUSTRATING!!!
This entry might take me a few days to get finished an online but it will be for good reason. No I didn’t get game home run #100 in fact that is the reason it will take a little bit to put together.
I am so frustrated that I missed CHOO’s HR by less than a foot it is making typing an entry extremely difficult!
So be patient and I will have it up as soon as I can get over the frustration!
Two And A Half Men
I just got my tickets for a taping of Two And A Half Men starring Charlie Sheen. I have been a big Charlie Sheen fan since the Major League movie. I even had the chance to see part of the movie being filmed at Milwaukee’s County stadium back in the late 80′s.
In just a couple of weeks I will be attending a taping of the show and I am definitely looking forward to it. I have been thinking about challenging Charlie to a home run derby. I guess it was a few months back that he took one of Paparazzi photogs to a local school in LA and had a HR derby against him. Obviously Charlie won since the Papper was old, out of shape and really had no idea of how to swing a bat. I think I might have a good shot to beat him!
Obviously that would only happen if I get the chance to talk to him or ask the question during the taping. I also plan on taking a copy of my book to the show to give to him. It was a few years back that Sheen bought out the entire right field pavillion section at Dodgers stadium in hopes of catching a Barry Bonds home run. So obviously he is a HUGE baseball fan and has interest in catching home run balls!
I will definitley post about the show once I get back and who knows, maybe I can get a picture or two after the taping is done. You never know what you can and can’t do at the tapings. So I guess we will just have to wait and see!
Baseball Totals by Stadium – 2,829 Major League Balls (includes 99 Game Home Runs)
Here is the list of Stadiums that I have caught baseballs at along with the number of baseballs caught at each one (Game HR’s in parenthesis)
Old Comiskey (White Sox) 884 (27 game HR’s)
Anaheim Stadium (Angels) 507 (45 game HR’s)
Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) 369 (1 game HR )
Wrigley Field (Cubs) 337 (11 game HR’s)
New Comiskey (White Sox) 291 (1 game HR)
Fenway Park (Red Sox) 181 (13 game HR’s
County Stadium (Brewers) 112 (1 game HR)
Jack Murphy Stadium (Padres) 38
Tropicana Field (Devil Rays) 36
Turner Field (Braves) 19
Pro Player Stadium (Marlins) 11
Busch Stadium (Cardinals) 9
Atlanta Fulton County Stadium (Braves) 8
Metrodome (Twins) 7
Arlington Stadium (Texas Rangers) 6
Tiger Stadium (Tigers) 5
Three Rivers Stadium (Pirates) 4
The Ballpark at Arlington (Rangers) 3
Kansas City Royals Stadium (Royals) 2
Being the math wiz if it is all typed correctly and added together right it should come out to 2,829 and the game home runs in () should = 99
Fellow MLBlogger Zack Hample on the Tonight Show and even I made it on TV
On Wednesday I went to the Tonight show to see fellow Ballhawk and MLBloggers Zack Hample. I have talked to Zack via email and MLBlogs for 5 or 6 years now. We talked on the phone earlier this week and finally we were both going to be in the same place at the same time to meet.
We got there in plenty of time to use the tickets I had got off of TVTIX.com . Zack was going to try to put us on the studio list however they had told him only two guests and we felt that we would get in with our tickets anyway which we did. Here is a picture of the line to get into the Tonight show to see Zack Hample. They all were there for Zack weren’t they? Sorry about the quality of these 2 photos as they were taken with my cell phone.
Once we in the studio we had to turn off all of our phones, cameras etc. John Melendez (Stuttering John from the Howard Stern Show) came out and warmed up the audience by giving away some stuff and Jay Leno came out and told us to make sure we laughed during the monologue.
In the second segment of the show after the monologue John Melendez came out to host “What the Audience Wants To Know”. All of the questions obviously were set ups for jokes but it was pretty funny. All of the people they had asking the questions were right in front of me which gave me the opportunity to get on TV. I figured that some people might notice if me if I was holding a baseball. As you can see in this photo there I am behind Melendez holding a baseball on my lap. I couldn’t make it to obvious by holding it up or I might have gotten in trouble with the production crew. So I just held it on my leg where you could easily see it.
No I really am not bald although in this picture it might look that way. After this segment Dana Carvey came out. He was on for the next two segments and most likely ran a little long causing the shortening of Zacks segment. Dana Carvey was hilarious doing impressions of everything going on in politics right now and he even chimed in during Zacks segment making fun of the people at Shea that had evidently thrown Zack out a few times over the years.
Finally it was Zack’s turn and I think Zack did a pretty good job. After the show he told me that he was not nervous at all. He said that even Dana Carvey said something to him about him not being nervous. I told Zack that he is a seasoned pro and it just comes natural to a Ballhawk.
It was definitely cool seeing a fellow Ballhawk get his 15 minutes of fame on the BIG STAGE!
After the show we met up with Zack across the street at of all places a Shell station. We talked, shared stories and took a few photos as well. I even haded Zack a small stack of Tonight Show tickets which he didn’t even know were available. I then had him sign a few of them and he OK’ed putting one or two on Ebay. So stay tuned for that …….. most likely it will be a Major League Baseball along with a Tonight Show Ticket signed by the WORLDS GREATEST BASEBALL FAN ZACK HAMPLE! I guess I should have worn a hat and tucked my shirt in! This picture was taken by Zack’s girlfriend Jona. They could have photoshoped it!
There were some funny moments with the audience gasping at the number of baseballs that he has caught. I did hear a few people laugh and say what a dork etc. but all of us that chase baseballs know that there has to be some DORK in us to continue Ballhawking!
The funniest thing was the fact that Jay said he holds the WORLD RECORD for catching baseballs. When Zack came out after the show he just laughed and told me that even he told them that wasn’t really true but they said that they were just going with it. Who really cares anyway, those of us that are “Ballhawks” are just glad to see our hobby getting recognized!
Great Job Zack and as you said we definitely need to do something together whether it is a documentry , book or even a reality show!
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