Results tagged ‘ jon wilhite ’
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!!
8/27/09 – 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 24, 2009 – Angels vs. Tigers6 Balls – 6 Autographs
Today would have been Nick Adenhart’s 23 birthday!
Today I left for the ballpark around 1:00pm and got there right around 1:30. I went up and bought a ticket for today which was $5 with using the password , SUMMER. I also bought a ticket for Thursday which was $3 using the password, Vlad. Thursday’s game is the game that was cancelled after the accident that killed Nick, Courtney Stewart & Henry Pearson.
After I picked up the tickets I decided to go out back and get some more Angel autographs on the team ball that I have started. The first guys to walk up to the ramp in the left field corner were Robb Quinlan and Kendry Morales. Both of these guys were nice enough to sign for the 7-10 of us that were there when they arrived.
Shortly after that it was over to the players parking lot. Kevin Jepsen came in and signed for everyone and shortly after that Jason Bulger came in next and signed for everyone as well. Then it was time for Torii Hunter to come in and as he does a couple of times each homestand he too stopped and signed for everyone that was waiting. There was close to 30 people out there when he came in and he smiled and signed everything! I got him to sweet-spot a ball that I am trading with a friend for a park hopper ticket to Disneyland for tomorrow.
For those of you that don’t know, tomorrow is not only Gary Matthews Jr.’s birthday but it is MY BIRTHDAY TOO!
The only 2 guys left to come in at this point were Bobby Abreu and Jered Weaver. I figured that since it was now close to 3:45 that Abreu would be in shortly. I was also sure that Weaver would be close behind but then again maybe not since he was the starter tonight. A few minutes later Bobby drove up and stopped to sign and like the others earlier he signed for everyone!
After this I was ready to walk over to McDonalds for a restroom break and to get a drink. While I was there a Father Son duo that was getting autographs broke the news to me that Weaver came up as I walked away ………. go figure!
After McDonalds it was time to head back to the Stadium. I got back to the stadium just as Joe Morgan (ESPN) was walking in. Morgan signed for a decent sized group of people which was cool to see. As I was sitting under the Big Hats I saw a black Lincoln Town Car pull up. A small group of people got out and I recognized 1 of the people, it was Frank Robinson. I knew better than to go ask him for an autograph. Frank is a guy that is simply mean. He rarely signs anywhere or for anyone, at least in my experiences with him. Hell, my father chased him for 3 years and he had field access back in the day. Not a big deal, I have no desire to obtain a FR autograph regardless.
Now it was time to get in line for the park to open. It had already been a big day but I had a feeling that it was going to get better. While I was in line I saw Matt (http://bloggingboutbaseball.mlblogs.com) and his wife of 3 months, Michelle. Rob another of the regular Ballhawks walked up about 2 minutes before the gates opened as well.
So the gates opened and I ran to the gate, but wait, I’m missing something!! I left my damn glove sitting on the garbage can!! Had to turn around and go grab it and I was still one of the first ones into the park. They handed us Home Depot Mystery gift cards and I ended up with 5 of these by nights end! I got out to my favorite spot in the right field corner and it was time for the fun to begin!
The first ball I grabbed was a one hopper into the seats off the bat of Chone Figgins. I watched it go off of the top of a girls glove and then it rolled through the seats. The ball basically rolled right to me and I scooped it up! BALL#1
The next one came shortly after that and it was another ball that bounced around in the seats although this one was hit on the fly by Kendry Morales and then ricocheted all over the place. I scooped it up for BALL #2 of the day!
BALL #3 was a grass cutter that was smoked to the opposite field by Angels catcher Mike Napoli. It slowly rolled across the warning track and I leaned over the wall and grabbed it!
A few minutes later Angels BP was over and in just the first 30 minutes the ballpark was open I had 3 balls. When the Angels were done I decided to go up into the Right Field Pavilion seats and see what would happen. In the first group there were a handful of lefties and Clete Thomas was one of them. He ripped a shot that went about 7 rows into the RF Pavilion seats and bounced around. I got to it and trapped in between my feet then bent down and picked it up. BALL #4
After this group of hitters finished up I decided to go around to a spot that I have never been during BP before, the left field pavilion seats! I went there because Ordonez, Cabrera and a couple of other guys were crushing balls into the seats there last time Detroit was in. This time however it was a different story, they only got one ball into the seats and it bounced in!
A ball was hit close to the bullpen and I same #36 Edwin Jackson walking towards the ball. I yelled out his name a handful of times and he turned and tossed the ball right to me. It was a little bit short but I managed to make the grab for Ball #5
There were a couple of guys near me that had been yelling at a pitcher that was standing in left field during BP. I am still not sure if he was trying to get a ball to them or not but when I chucked it up into the seats it went 4 rows over their heads. I ran up and grabbed it and to my surprise it was an INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL!! Damn times must be tough if teams are using minor league balls! That was BALL #6 and the last ball I would grab for the night.
Bobby Abreu did homer late in the game but it was 25 feet to far to the right and into the open area between the corner and the left field pavilion.
Tomorrow it is looking as if I will be headed to DISNEYLAND for my birthday since you get a free ticket on your B-day. A guy that I work with, Jeremy, traded me a 1 day park hopper pass that he had for my Torii Hunter autographed ball. That was cool because it would have been pretty boring going by myself. This way I get to take the wife and enjoy the big 40 with her!
It is unlikely that I will make the game tomorrow. I might try to sneak away to go to the day game on Wednesday but then I will have to miss Fridays game because of an agreement I made with the wife 
Here is a picture of the 6 baseballs that I caught tonight.
Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out BASEBALLS 4 MADD!!!
With tonights balls caught we surpassed the $600 mark and are on our way to $1000!!
A pledge can help save a life! It can be a penny or a dollar ….. everything helps!!
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.
Upcoming milestones and more …….
As of today I am just 12 balls away from 2900 regular season MLB balls & 46 balls away from 5,000 total balls caught at professional baseball games over the past 33 years.
I should easily reach the 2900 mark early this week. The Angels are home and most with me being off of work I should get out to a few games. If I would have had a decent couple of days last week I might have had a chance at 5000 this week. I still might have a shot at it however I try not to BEG for balls and I can’t and WON’T us DEVICES (aka Glove trick) to get baseballs.
So we will just have to see what happens this week.
BASEBALLS 4 MADD update …………
I will be updating the totals and pledges this week for Baseballs 4 MADD. We are about to pass the $600 mark and we still have new pledges coming in!
Hopefully we can get over the $1,000 by the end of the week!
SATURDAY AUGUST 29th …………… Jon Wihilte, the lone survivor of the crash that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson, will throw out the first pitch at the Angels game vs. Oakland.
For me this is a big night because I missed Jon Wilhite night with the Orange County Flyers. I would like to finally get the chance to talk to Jon and his family. I am pretty sure that they are aware of Baseballs 4 MADD as there is a pledge from someone with the last name of Wilhite.
I lost a friend to a drunk driving crash when I was a kid, I also worked in baseball and even worked for a team that played on the same field that Jon’s college team played on. When the accident happened, only a mile from my home, this was the least that I could do. I still have a hard time when I drive past the crash site and I hope that anyone that goes out to drink will simply think before they get into a car and drive home!
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!
Wilhite and MADD Get Support From Angels and “Ball Hawk” – OCweekly.com
Just a few minutes ago I was checking my email and saw a Google alert that read
Wilhite and MADD Get Support From Angels and “Ball Hawk”
Mon, Jul 27, 2:54 pm
It is a story with a piece from Friday Nights Angels game which Jon Wilhite attended and then a little about Baseballs 4 MADD and me raising money for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
You can get all of the information by reading the article by clicking the link above and then going to the links provide either at the top of my page or the links in the article!
St. George Roadrunners vs. Orange County Flyers – 7/5/09 – 3 balls + more
Last night I hit an Independant Minor League Baseball game in Fullerton, CA between the Orange County Flyers and the St. George Roadrunners.
I grabbed 3 balls, the lineup cards that the managers exchange at home plate with the umpires and even a free DOUBLE DOUBLE from IN N OUT!
I have finally caught up on the other posts and like those this is going to be a quick short version. I will get back to writing more in my posts with pictures etc next week.
Tonight as it says I grabbed 3 balls. I found a Major League ball out behind left field as I walked up around 3:00 when the Flyers were taking some early BP. Shortly after that they stopped hitting and I left to get my step-daughter from her friends. After a short nap I made it back to the ballpark around 5:30.
Tonight was a double-header so even though it was 30 minutes past 1st pitch there was still plenty of baseball left. I ran across an old Ballhawking friend from Angels games back in the late 80′s, Roger, so we went inside to chase foul balls. Usually we hang out around the back of the stadium to get Home Runs but for some reason we went in.
Evidently it was the right choice because there was only one home run hit all night and it hit the net behind right field and bounced back onto the field.
In the first game there were not really any foul balls anywhere near us. In the 2nd game we took the Ballhawking a bit more serious walking from side to side when lefties and righties were up. IN the 3rd inning a lefty hit a foul ball that went outside of the park behind home plate and into an area with some plants and bushes. I looked around and just before a swarm of kids got there I found the ball. That was my second ball of the night and a nicely rubbed up game ball. Shortly after that a ball came out almost in the same spot and it got burried in some weeds along the fence. I kicked around and again just before the kids made it out I grabbed it. Another nicely rubbed up game ball and my third and final ball of the game.
After the game the Flyers held a Diamond Dig for everyone that wanted to participate. They gave everyone a spoon and you had to dig up a box with a number in it. The big prize was a 1/2 Kt diamond. I went to a spot near 2nd base and thought I had a decent chance to find something when a Flyers employee told me it was in the area I was in. As I was digging around some big ole’ lady came in a within 5 minutes she dug up the box near where I was. Oh well, I would have just pawned the stupid diamond anyway!
3 balls – puts me at 65 total balls for the season at all games I have attended. More than that it is raising money for MADD.
Please check out the BASEBALLS 4 MADD link on my website at WWW.MLBALLHAWK.COM
Tomorrow I will post an updats about BASEBALLS 4 MADD and the new pledges that came in from Jon Wilhite night with the Orange County Flyers.
Baseballs 4 MADD – the first donors are IN!
If you made a pledge and don’t see your name please email me at baseballs4madd@mlballhawk.com there was an issue with the online form over the last day or so and it is being fixed.
The list growing fast and I am pretty sure there are more waiting to be added. I am still working on having the website update itself as the donors fill out the online pledge sheet. For now I have to update it by hand as I get the info from my contact with MADD.
There will be an official press release that they are going to put out in the next couple of days. Once it is up on their site I will place the link here as well!
Obviously this should pick up steam. I will be counting both Minor League and Major League baseballs that I get this season towards the total to raise money for MADD!
Follow along as I work on my goal of raising $10,000 for Mothers Against Drunk Driving!!
To make your pledge please go to http://mlballhawk.com/Baseballs_4_MADD.html
Questions? More information? Please email baseballs4MADD@gmail.com
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