September 2008
Goodbye to Yankee Stadium
Tonight it became official. There will never be another baseball game played at Yankee Stadium. I have never been a Yankees fan but I feel like something great is disappearing. It seemed inevitable that the Yankees wouldn’t make the postseason due to the lineup-and-pitching-staff-altering injuries they suffered throughout the year, but as the Red Sox defeated the Indians tonight at Fenway, it actually happened. For the first time in the 14-year career of Derek Jeter, his Yankees, New York’s Yankees, will not be playing baseball in October. Certainly, many people wanted the Yanks to make it… to extend their legacy… but it wasn’t in the cards. Luckliy, there was a tremendous spectacle made of their final regular season game. It took place against the Baltimore Orioles on the twenty-first of September this year. The Yankees won, 7-3. It was a great way to go out… but it wasn’t what they wanted. They wanted a World Series… well, too bad. Their money and their new stadium will get ‘em one of those someday. For now, my Angels are heading to October!
Speaking of the Angels… I had the privilege to attend a game at Yankee Stadium once–the Angels played the Yankees. I am pleased to say that I got to visit that grand stage in July of 2005 while on vacation with Michelle. It was a special trip for many reasons, but Yankee Stadium surely was one of them. Michelle and I had less-than-stellar seats, and I didn’t get to wear any Angels gear for fear of being shanked. But it was a great baseball atmosphere and I am glad I got be a small part of the history of that cathedral.
A look back…
The first thing we did when we arrived was find our seats. Above, there’s the view from ‘em… not too shabby, but not great. Michelle and I were simply thrilled to be there.
The Angels were taking batting practice so I wanted to get close to the field and maybe snag a ball. Mind you, this was before I knew any tips and/or tricks… so I came up empty-handed. Still, I got to get close enough to some of the players to hear them talking about that night’s game. And I got a great perspective… look at the stadium. It’ll be gone by next season. Kind of makes ya sad, huh?
After batting practice we headed back up to our nosebleed seats to enjoy the game… we looked around, of course, but I was there to see baseball. It was a great game and we had a lot of fun.
Michelle and the stadium: Michelle and I enjoying the game:
The Angels beat the Yankees 4-1 that night! It was the only game of that series they won and Michelle and I were glad to get to see them win on the road.
It is, and will always be a part of baseball history. Yankee Stadium. It was great to experience a day there and truly added something to special to an already fantastic vacation.
Goodbye, Yankee Stadium.
9/14/08 at Angel Stadium
It seems like I was just here… blogging… because I was. This was my fourth game in four days. I’d never been to more than two consecutive games before this weekend. I was tired but determined to make it a great day, as it might be my last game of the year (unless someone hooks me up with playoff tickets). I arrived at the stadium a little later than I would have liked. It had been open for five minutes or so when I headed inside. To my surprise, I saw this:
The Mariners were taking batting practice! I wasn’t really prepared for that so I quickly put on my Seattle hat and ran to right field. I debated between heading up to the pavilion and staying down on the field level. I chose the field, which ended up being a good call because no baseballs made it up to the pavilion except a couple that got tossed up there… and it was crowded. Each Sunday home game the Angels have Family Sunday and kids get all kinds of cool stuff and get to participate in fun activities. So, Sundays at Angel Stadium = lots of kids. I hung around near the foul pole. I just missed one that scooted by me off the bat of an M’s lefty.
Then, the Mariner pitchers started throwing right in front of where I was standing.
R.A. Dickey began warming up and I asked him if he could teach me how to throw a knuckleball. He laughed and said, “That would take too long.” I’ll assume he meant that in the it’s-hard-to-learn way and not the you’re-not-good-enough way. I like that guy. I like anybody that can throw a knuckleball. Here’s some trivia for you:
- R.A. stands for Robert Alan.
- Robert Alan Dickey is MISSING the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm (which is the one that gets replaced when a player has Tommy John surgery).
- There are only 3 players in the big leagues currently that throw a knuckleball. Can you name them?
Anywho, I watched R.A. for a while and saw Ryan Rowland-Smith throwing a few yards further down the field. 
I yelled, “Ryan, will you sign an autograph when you’re done?” He turned. He had on those crazy-huge-baseball-player-day-game-sunglasses. He gave me a nod. True to his word, as soon as he was done he game over and signed a ticket stub from Thursday night’s game for me.
Well, the players finished throwing and the shortened BP session ended and I walked down near Seattle’s dugout as I had each of the past three games. I sat near some Mariners fans, chatted and waited for some guys to play catch after the anthem. They came out, as usual:
But, alas, I couldn’t get their attention as they headed into the dugout. No baseball for me… but I had a whole game to go! It was a bright, sunny day in Anaheim and that meant that spectators weren’t sitting in their awesome field level seats because they wanted to stay in the shade. I didn’t mind, and hung out in the fifth row for the whole game! I didn’t have to move at all.
Ervin Santana pitched well, striking out three and walking one while allowing two runs through seven innings. He was in line for the win after Mark Teixeira absolutely KILLED a ball to dead center. It went 432 feet and was his 10th home run as an Angel, his 30th this season, and his 200th career blast. Angels 3, Mariners 2.
As Big Tex touched home plate:
Then Scott Shields blew the lead in the eighth. Ugh. 3-3 tie and I thought, “Hey, maybe we’ll see some free baseball today.” Tied in the bottom of the ninth, Reggie Willits (one of my favorite Angels) led off as a pinch hitter and grounded out:
After that, I saw M’s first base coach, Eddie Rodriguez, with a baseball in the dugout (I’d gotten down to the first row). I asked him if he could spare it and he rolled it to me across the dugout–and some punk teenager tried to snag it from out of my glove. Eddie wears #1 for the Mariners, you can see him in action in many of my photos from previous entries, and he used to work for the Nationals/Expos. I had almost given up hope for a ball. Sweet!
Then Sean Rodriguez hit a deep drive. A walkoff home run maybe? No, Ichiro went back on it, tracked it, jumped at the wall… and it bounced off the wall about a foot above his glove! Rodriguez made it to third. Wow! Triples are freakin’ exciting to watch. That hit prompted Seattle manager, Jim Riggleman, to do something I’d only ever seen a couple times, and never actually witnessed in person. He opted to go with the five man infield by pulling Ichiro in from right field to play between shortstop and second base! Crazy, right! I love it when rare stuff happens at a ball game. Stuff like that keeps people (or me, at least) fascinated with the game. Here, count the infielders:
It didn’t matter though, Chone Figgins was up next and he hit one to the wall in right field that scored Rodriguez.
I saw two triples, two walkoff wins, a knuckleballer, a record breaking performance, and a sweep by the Angels, all in the four game series!
The Halos celebrated in the infield with Figgins and I almost got a second ball… J.J. Putz tossed one just to my left as he trotted in from the bullpen. Then, Sean Green, who’d thrown me a ball the night before, started signing a few autographs. I got him to sign a stub from that day’s game. 
All in all, I did what I set out to do: I had a great time at the game! Now it’s time to gear up for school. UC Irvine starts up again soon. Go Anteaters!
Psst… in case you were wondering, the three knucklers are R.A. Dickey, Tim Wakefield (you knew that one, didn’t you?), and Josh Banks (he plays for the Padres). According to the knuckleball article on Wikipedia, there are a couple of players in the minors right now that throw it, too.
9/13/08 at Angel Stadium
This entry is going to rock! Just watch… are you ready? OK, awesome.
I went by myself to this game. Nobody to talk to but LOTS of pictures!
Before this game, I drove to Howard’s in Laguna Hills to an autograph signing. Mike Scioscia and Howie Kendrick were signin’ and I got them both to autograph cards… plus I got an Angels beach mat and two free tickets (lousy tickets, but free) to the Angels/Rangers game on the 27th… I might just go… we’ll see. So, all that was in the morning AFTER I’d gotten up at 5:00am to help my mom set up for a yard sale she was having at her house. Ugh.
To the game!!! OK, it was a 6:05pm start. When did I arrive? 3:00… yep. Waaaayyy early. Here are some photos:
Walking from where I park to the stadium.
The Big A.
The stadium.
Staff members setting up for the night’s giveaway: Angels salsa bowls.
An empty walkway because I’m there THREE HOURS before the game.
No one else in line!
I was the first person in line to enter the stadium… I’d never been the first in before.
While I waited I read a book… kind of. I examined my surroundings. Panorama (crudely done) time.
I kept my eye out for Rex Hudler. Though he’d signed my hat already ( see 9/11/08 at Angel Stadium) I wanted him to sign an old baseball card of mine. He must’ve already been inside the park because usually he enters through the main gate. Oh, well. The crowds began filing in… and by about 3:55 it looked like this:
Then came 4:05pm. I headed in, received my salsa bowl, and bolted toward the seats in left field. Since the Angels were taking BP first (as home teams do) and the Mariners were starting a lefty, I figured that there would be mostly righties batting. I was right. Did this help me get a ball? Nope. Nobody pulled anything out toward the foul pole where I was. I DID get to watch some of the Angels pitchers act pretty goofy:
But they were not tossing balls to fans… not even any kids! Only three baseballs came out that way. I had a shot at the first but it kicked off the wall at a funky angle and ending up in the glove of a guy ten feet from me. Then, the Mariners started prepping for BP. After watching the M’s take BP for two days I knew three things:
- Ichiro hits first and in the first round.
- Ichiro pulls EVERYTHING he hits in batting practice (and is very precise).
- Ichiro hits the ball HARD.
That being known, I ran… RAN… to Section 135 in right field, positioned myself a few rows behind the foul pole, and waited for what I knew would happen. Sure enough, the second time Ichiro took his swings he smacked one hard and high that hit the warning track and bounced over everyone by about fifteen feet. I got a good jump, not good enough to catch it before it hit the seats, but good. No one was within twenty-five feet of where it landed (except me) and it didn’t bounce too crazily off the seats. I snagged it with my non-glove hand and felt pretty good about myself. By the way, snagging baseballs at games is great exercise! See, rockin’ so far, right? Then number 51 hit ANOTHER one toward me. It was drifting just foul and I raced to where it would land… again, I couldn’t catch it on the fly but it bounced pretty much straight up and I made a running grab. Two from the future Hall of Famer!!!
After Ichiro was done hitting I felt no need to stay so close to the foul pole so I headed up to the pavilion in right. There were twenty or thirty people there. I almost caught a
couple up there, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades (so says my father). Some Mariners relievers were shagging fly balls just ahead of me on the field.
After a ball came to rest on the warning track, I asked the player getting it to toss it up. My exact quote was, “Could you please toss that up here, sir?” I couldn’t tell who it was. He was very tall, right-handed, and Caucasian. He’s also the one on the right in the above photo. When he looked like he was just going to throw the ball back in I added, “Hey! Look at my hat!” He did… and my hat happened to have a Mariners logo on it and he lobbed me the ball. Turns out it was Sean Green. I thanked him… and then BP died down. Nobody got anything up over that 18-foot wall… so I headed down to the 3rd base line and tried to catch a ball on a bounce. No luck… had I smushed a little kid I could’ve snagged a little dribbler that rolled along the wall. The kids couldn’t reach it and I know not to push kids aside just to get a ball… so away that one went. Then BP was over and I followed the Mariners toward the dugout. No autographs or baseballs for a bit… so I sat and took some notes, listened to voicemail, and talked with the people around me. I met two nice families and sat in between them. Then three sets of M’s started playing catch… I kept my eye on them.
Here are the three on the end of the dugout I was sitting near: from top to bottom, Yuniesky Betancourt (who had thrown me a ball on Thursday AND who I had seen in STREET CLOTHES running in through the Home Plate gate ten minutes before they opened with a grin on his face), Raúl Ibañez, and Luis Valbuena. Yuniesky was looking for someone to throw his baseball to when he finished and I was right there. He looked like he would have rather thrown it to someone else but I was the only person paying attention to the fact that he WANTED to give the ball to someone. I got it. FOUR!
Then I got a text message from a UCI colleague saying that she (Ashley) and her fiance (Gavin) were at the game. The were on the Club Level… ooh, fancy. I told them I’d come visit them when I got kicked out of the section I was in. Surprise! That never happened. Turns out that I only had to move up one row and that was where I stayed for the whole game.
During the top of the 4th inning something interesting happened that’s worth noting. A beach ball landed on the warning track in left field and Reggie Willits, a player I think is fun to watch, grabbed it once time was called and threw it back to the fans! He got a lot of cheers. You don’t see that kind of behavior too often. I appreciated it, is all.
The Angels had a 4-2 lead when Jon Garland departed after the sixth and then I headed up to Ashley and Gavin’s club seats… courtesy of their extra ticket, thank you very much. Before I left I borrowed a ticket stub from a teenager I’d been sitting next to named Jake. He and his dad, Brad, had been talking to me all through the game. I left my glove with them as collateral and said I’d be back. Ashley, Gavin, and I chatted and watched as the the bullpen was solid. Oliver, Shields, and then Frankie, the man everyone was waiting for. I headed back to the field level. On Thursday he had tied the saves record (57) and with a 5-2 lead he needed to get three outs to make history. Needless to say, I was on the edge of my seat… so was everyone else. See Frankie on the mound out there?
The flashbulbs were popping with every pitch. He started off rocky, giving up a double, then a walk. Then, Ichiro grounded into a fielder’s choice. Runners on first and third. Then, Ichiro stole second and K-Rod got a K. Two outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd, Ibañez up to bat, everyone on their feet chanting, “Frankie! Frankie!” He struck him out with a changeup and Angel Stadium erupted! It was great, everybody high-fived and cheered, the players gathered on the mound, fireworks shot off… wow! I took a video on my camera… but here’s a photo from just after the celebration died down a little:
Then I scoured the stands for ticket stubs, said goodbye to Brad and Jake and Ashley and Gavin and then roamed the concourse for a few minutes. I saw an open tunnel and decided to snap a photo of the empty stadium. I saw a guy walking along the first base line in street clothes… it was José Arredondo. Weird.
Just walking around, I guess.
Another game tomorrow. It’s the dreaded “day game after a night game” but I am fully prepared to have a blast!
9/12/08 at Angel Stadium
This will be a shorter entry, I think, as I am tired and have another game to go to tomorrow. I’ll just get this out of the way. I DID NOT snag a baseball tonight at the game. I know, I know, tears and heartache. You know what? I still had a great time! First off, I got to attend this game with my fiancee, Michelle. This was the last game we’d get to see together until next season… school’s starting up soon (we’re both grad students at UC Irvine). Secondly, I got an autograph. Not from a player, but from a pretty important figure in the Angels organization. Third, the Angels won in dramatic fashion. Fourth, there were fireworks! Woo!
Here we go.
Michelle and I got there at about 4:35 and waited for the gates to open. Outside the stadium I saw John (aka 
At 5:05 we were all off to the races. It was a strangely cloudy afternoon and pretty humid for SoCal. Plus, there were two lefties as the starting pitchers (I didn’t know that before the game, I should’ve checked). So, while Ichiro hit bombs into right, like always, not much else came to the right field seats. It was a day of close calls. I almost caught this and that. A lot of the players had coverups on. While I could recognize the Angels easily, I couldn’t really identify many of the Mariners. I got a big zero for BP. Sad day. Oh, well. I headed down to the third base line, then the dugout, trying to get a player to toss one. Just as Yuniesky Betancourt and Bryan LaHair finished playing catch, an usher asked me to “return to my seat.” Bummer… another close call. Betancourt threw the ball right where I’d been. It would’ve been cool to get two in two days from him. I snapped this picture, though, right before the national anthem:
The game was tight and ended up being tied 3-3 in the ninth. No chance for K-Rod to get a save… a few people left, but not many, as there were fireworks after the game. The good news: Mike Napoli crushed a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to win it! The bad news… no extra innings (aka FREE BASEBALL). The Angels celebrated on the field and then headed in before the postgame festivities.
Michelle and I moved closer to the Angels dugout to get a better view of the Big Bang Friday fireworks. They were great! Who doesn’t love a free fireworks show? A cool end to a cool (and relatively chilly) night in Anaheim.
I’ll be at both Saturday and Sunday’s games! My last two of the regular season…
In case you couldn’t guess… the autograph was from Arte Moreno, owner of the Angels.
9/11/08 at Angel Stadium
This was my first game by myself. I figured it would be weird not having anyone to talk with all afternoon/evening, so I told Michelle I’d call her throughout the night… to keep me company via cell phone. Let us begin:
I left my place in Irvine at 4:00. I parked my car at my super-secret-never-have-to-pay-spot just outside the ballpark and headed in. This is what I saw when I made it to the gate:
I was about 3 or 4 people from the front of the line and I had a while to wait. Luckily, I had brought a book but I kept my eyes and ears open for a certain person. After a few minutes, the guy I’d been waiting for, Rex Hudler, showed up. He always enters through the front gate and I had brought my MLB 07 The Show hat for him to sign. I left my backpack and book and asked him, “Mr. Hudler, could you sign my hat for me, please?”
“Well, sure!” he replied jovially.
I said, “You see, it’s from the video game that you’re on.”
He replied, “Aww… that’s cool! You know, we’re workin’ on the new one comin’ up here real soon!” Then I thanked him and he headed into the stadium. Here’s the hat he signed:
At 5:05 the Home Plate Gate opened and I (on the advice of Zack Hample) did NOT go straight to the left field foul pole and instead headed for the right field pavillion. A few players were shagging balls out there and I spotted Dustin Moseley
and asked him for a ball–I was extremely polite. He told me, “If you don’t get one, I’ll make sure to throw one to you.” OK… a good start. A few minutes later a homer hit some chairs a section to my right and bounced back to the field. Dustin grabbed it and flipped it right to me! YES! Six consecutive games with at least one ball.
In center field, an Angel wearing number 71 was fielding alongside Dino Ebel (the Angels’ 3rd base coach). I asked him to throw one (from about forty feet away) and he did! Right on the money. Robb Quinlan was batting and hit a blast to the seats that hit some seats to my left. I ran over and caught it on a bounce. I had three baseballs and it was 5:13pm. Let me take a moment here to inform you that I had NEVER snagged more than two baseballs at any game… ever. I’d gotten two at an Angels/Red Sox game in 2004, at my first-ever game at Camden Yards in 2007, and twice this season (8/5/08 at Angel Stadium and 9/9/08 at PETCO Park). I had a new, single game record.
Well, the Angels finished BP and the Mariners started up. Let me tell you, Ichiro can hit the ball pretty well, at least in batting practice. Though he was wearing a coverup over his jersey, I recognized the facial hair of J.J. Putz and asked him for the next ball he got ahold of. A little while later he got one from another Mariner reliever near him and tossed it up to me. FOUR!
Later, a Mariners player wearing the number 89 threw a ball to me and then some righty smashed a ball over the fence and right into my glove. I wish I could have seen who it was… I’m thinking it was Adrián Beltre… no way to be sure. It was just after 6:00 at this point so I headed down to the right field line in the hope that Jarrod Washburn or Putz (who were nearby) would sign an autograph. They told some fans they would, but they didn’t. Bummer. I followed them toward the dugout and sat down for a minute.
As I wrote some notes about my adventure, Yuniesky Betancourt started playing catch in front of the dugout. There was hardly anyone around at this point so when he was through I simply said, “Yuniesky!” and stood up with my glove open. He saw me, he threw it. SEVEN!
I had more than tripled my record. After a Patriot Day salute, the game was underway. The players were wearing those nifty hats they had on the 4th of July… you know the ones. Ichiro stepped in to lead off the game. Then I realized just how many no-name call-ups from the minors were around. The Angels had clinched, so they were resting some regulars and the Mariners… well, can you say last place? Eliminated? So they had a few less-than-stellar players going for them. I settled in behind the visiting dugout. Here’s the view from where I sat:
The game was fun! The Angels were ahead 7-0 at one point before the bullpen gave up a few runs. Most of the fans had left early (while I tried, unsuccessfully, to play the dugouts to get a 3rd out ball) thinking it would be a blowout. Well, with men on and the score 7-3 in the ninth K-Rod came in. He had 56 saves. Boy, I’m gonna miss him when he’s not an Angel anymore… but he will make a LOT of cash somewhere. He let a run score, but notched save #57 on the year, tying the current record (set by Bobby Thigpen in 1990). Let this be a reminder, fans, don’t leave a game early! You might miss something great! He got interviewed for FSN West by Michael Eaves. I’m hoping he’ll break it this weekend.
Here’s another panorama for your enjoyment:
- 6 games with at least one baseball
- 7 baseballs at this game
- 15 baseballs in 6 games this season = 2.5 baseballs per game
- 23 lifetime baseballs
9/9/08 at PETCO Park
Last night I was at my first and last Padres game at PETCO Park this season. It was my second game ever at PETCO (I went to one last year). Who was with me? Michelle, my sister (Heather), and her boyfriend (Karl). Karl is older than I am… I will spare the exact details. And he had never caught a Major League Baseball in his life. When I mentioned batting practice, and that I had gone to four consecutive games where I’d caught at least one ball, he was in. Hands down.
We walked from his place to the park and got to the beach at 4:40pm. Heather and Michelle were going shopping and told us they’d meet us when the game started. Well, the coolest thing I noticed as we walked in was the sand sculpture to our left. Take a look:
Not a lot happened after that. I think three baseballs ended up on the beach. Chip Ambres threw one, Dirk Hayhurst DID NOT pick one up that rolled across the track… a Dodger fan tried to get it through the chain link by walking it up with his fingertips… Dirk watched him (and so did I) then he grabbed it and gave it to the very determined guy. Then somebody threw one as the Padres ended their portion of BP.
We had tried to head over to left field at 5:05 but were informed that it wouldn’t be open until 5:30. Well, at 5:30 Karl and I were right there, first in… and I had told him to check the rows for “Easter eggs.” We didn’t find any but somebody had run all the way toward the fould pole and snagged one. Well, at this point I was worried that neither of us would have anything to show for our diligence. Luckily, the Dodgers can hit home runs to left field… and they did. 
Russell Martin blasted one that I didn’t think would get to me. There were three fans in front of me that wanted this BP homer. They didn’t get it. I did. This was the 15th ball in my collection and the first home run ball I had caught on the fly since I started keeping track of this kind of thing. I caught one from Manny… that Manny… when he was on the Red Sox during BP at Angel Stadium a couple years ago. That was my first ball ever. Michelle was with me that day. I was thrilled. I actually caught a second one that day… but I can’t remember the details. Anywho, this ball stung a bit because someone had bumped my arm up just enough that I didn’t catch it full on in the pocket of my glove. Karl came over, thrilled, and we high-fived. He’s seen it. My next thought was, “He’s gotta get one today.” It didn’t take long.
Karl was to my left and I saw a Dodger righty smash one that I could tell was going to get out. Karl had been sitting down in the first row. Was he still? I looked and he was on his feet… he saw it and that ball looked like it was meant for him. All he had to do was catch it.
I came in, he held his glove up… and caught it on the fly. He didn’t have to move to the side or jump up. He got it shoulder height. Perfect. It was his first ball. He stared at it in his glove and I ran over shouting, “YES! That was awesome, man!” We laughed, high-fived, then it was back to work. I had asked Takashi Saito in Japanese for a ball. My accent must’ve been lousy but I at least got him to look at me and smile… but no ball. I watched him throw against the padded wall in the outfield for a while. Then I heard a CRACK! I saw a ball falling… it wasn’t going to make it over the wall but it WAS going to bounce on the warning track. I darted to my left and saw it hit the track, I couldn’t get my open glove around it but I heard the ball hit the wall and slammed my glove against the ball, the wall, and another glove. I thought I’d have to fight for it, the ball wasn’t IN either glove, but was sandwiched between the two. I looked–it was Karl! No fight, we just made sure we could pull it in and he let me have it. That was my second ball!
I was next in line and Kemp headed into the dugout to change for the game. I couldn’t believe it!!! I guess you’ve gotta stop signin’ sometime. Eventually, we got kicked out of the section and headed to our seats in the 2nd row in left field. I figured we’d get a home run or two out there. Before the game started and the ladies got there I headed to the Dodger bullpen where Hiroki Kuroda was prepping for his start.
Rick Honeycutt and Ken Howell were there, too, but ignored me and threw balls to a few little kids. Whatever. Then I headed to my seat right behind Brian Giles/Andre Eithier.
My streak is now officially a streak.
- 5 games with at least one ball.
I’ve got tickets to all four Angels/Mariners games this weekend.
Michelle will be with me on Friday. Garrett will be joining me on
Sunday. I’m psyched–though the Angels just clinched their division
with a loss by the Rangers after my Halos beat the Yankees. K-Rod will
be going for his record-tying and record-breaking saves. Who’s
excited?!? ME.
Oh, and the Dodgers won. It ended up being 6-2 after the Padres bullpen blew a 2-1 lead in the late-goings. So, the Dodgers won by four runs just like they did when I went to Dodger stadium last week. Oh, and I’ll close with my first blog-related Photoshop image. I’m new at this:
9/2/08 at Dodger Stadium
Here is why I was excited about this game:
1. I had the chance to hang out with my buddy, Josh, at a ball game.
2. I was trying to extend my baseball streak in a new venue.
3. I was hopefully going to meet Zack Hample and get him to sign a copy of his book for me.
Here is why I was not excited about this game: It was a Dodger game at Dodger Stadium.
Allow me to explain. I’m not a Dodgers fan… I have nothing against the team. They’re a good team. I do, however, have an issue with Dodger fans (and I’m generalizing). Mostly, they are OK… but I can’t ever go to a Dodger game without the sneaking suspicion that I might, just might, get shanked in the kidney by some drunk, illiterate tool that can’t handle the fact that his (or her) team might not win every single game.
I’ll give you an example of a Dodger fan at his worst in just a bit.
Josh and I got to the stadium at 4:45pm for a 7:10 game. The parking lot hadn’t even opened yet, so we lined up Josh’s car to get in. Here’s Josh:
We played catch, ignored some dudes trying to sell imitation Dodgers gear, chatted, offered to let a kid throw the ball once (and he did… right down a hillside.. he was only six years old)… and then the gates opened at 5:10. We had a Preferred Parking Pass that we got along with our tickets via uclaterry on eBay… a new favorite seller of mine. I would have preferred Field level seats but Josh was buyin’, so I couldn’t complain.
We parked in the lot and hurried down to the left field bleachers. The Dodgers have an interesting approach to BP: they open up the field. Like, you can stand on the warning track in center field and try to snag. We determined that would be way too crowded, though, and that more balls would head for the seats in left anyway. Well, we must’ve been right on because as soon as I headed up the stairs to the stands I saw a guy in a Padres cap and shirt wearing his glove just waiting for a ball to snag. I had to do a doubletake, but sure enough, it was Mr. 3700 baseballs, Zack Hample. I watched him for a second and then introduced myself.
“Hi. Are you Zack?”
“Yeah.”
“Hi. I’m Matt, I’ve left some comments on your blog and I brought the book like you said.”
He was cordial, but hard at work, too. He seemed like a cool guy and had a very firm handshake. I told him that as soon as he had some time I would love to have him sign my book and he said he, of course, would be happy to. As I scurried along for my own snagging I kept an eye on Zack, watching his technique. 
After a while I convinced Mike Adams, a reliever for the Pads, to toss me a ball. For comparison, I saw Zack snag three in that time (plus he got one before Josh and I even got there)! Later, Dodger fans started giving Zack some crap because he wouldn’t give any balls to kids. They didn’t know that he usually DOES after BP is over. Whatever.
I asked him, “People hassling you?”
“Yeah,” he said, “but they don’t get that I give away baseballs all the time.” The guy bending down on the right side of the photo was a real jerk to Zack.
Dodger fans. Yuck! And now for MY story of confrontation.
Zack had signed my book and wished me luck (and Heath Bell of the Padres could’ve signed my book, too, apparently)… but he had to run to the Field level before the end of BP. It involves that walrus-sized dude in the red shirt right there. So, I attempt to catch a ball that clears the fence and my glove is outstretched next to another glove. Our gloves bump, the ball hits ‘em, and neither of us gets the ball. Bummer, no big deal, right? Wrong! I see this HUGE Mexican guy next to me and he starts swearing up a storm. F this and F that and F you!!! In front of his little kid that he was trying to catch the ball for!!! I’ll give you an exact quote from this walrus:
“What’re ya f***in’ pushin’ me for? I’m f***in’ tryin’ to catch the f***in’ ball for my kid, eh?! You, back the f*** off! I’ma f***in’ throw you over this f***in’ railing. You want that?”
I didn’t want that, obviously, but I also knew that he was probably all talk and if I stayed a few yards from him he couldn’t hit me if he wanted to. A Dodger personnel person saw it and told me he knew I didn’t push anyone. I just said to the fat dude, “Nice mouth in front of your kid.” And I was done. Who the f*** wears a red plaid shirt to a Dodger game anyway?
Well, that was it for me for BP. One ball (shown to the right), but my streak was alive and well! Josh and I headed for our seats in foul ball range on the Loge. And in the first inning Juan Pierre smacked one that curved juuuuussst a little too far from us. The game went on… at one point the Dodgers were up 8-0. Manny hit ANOTHER home run. Andre Eithier had a chance at the cycle but was a double short. Most fans left after he grounded out in the 8th. And another foul came really close but was just out of my reach again.
I saw Zack snag a few more balls at the Padres dugout during the game. He ended up with ELEVEN. That man is insane! The score ended up being 8-4 Dodgers. I had a great time! One of the best parts about going to a non-Angels game is that I usually don’t care who wins or loses and I can just enjoy baseball. Ah.
Next up… PETCO Park on Sept. 9th! I hear it’s good for snagging. I’ll be there with my sister, her boyfriend, and Michelle. Woo!
Field of Dreams
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a week or two. As you may know, I was on a trip through Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan not too long ago with my fiancee, Michelle. Well, during our visit to Iowa City, IA to see our friend, Helen, we took a trip 90-some miles north. We went to a town called Dyersville.
It’s a small town and there is really only one thing worth noting about this town. It is the town where Field of Dreams was filmed. Before a random Stumble I would have never known anything about Dyersville. One day, about a month or two before our trip, I was informed of a place that I knew I would HAVE to visit. The Field of Dreams Movie Site is, indeed, still in existence and still kept up as a beautiful baseball field in the middle of acres and acres of corn. The farmhouse is still there, the bleachers are still there, the field is still there and if you are ever in Iowa and you care at all about baseball I recommend that you take a trip to see this piece of movie/sports history.
We rounded a bend in the road and I saw it. There is a bright sign welcoming visitors to this little piece of baseball bliss.
I stepped out of the rental car (Helen and Michelle were slightly less excited) and I felt drawn to the green grass. The sky was a pristine blue, families of all sorts were hitting to each other, playing catch, or just wandering the field. I had wondered if the experience of going to this field would be worth the drive, worth the time… I had no doubt once I saw it.
I wondered if there was a protocol. Were there rules? Guidelines? I stepped onto the infield grass as a father tossed a ball to his son. The right side of the infield was open. “I’ll get second,” I said as I jogged to my new, self-proclaimed position.
I realized that there was no agenda at this time and place. Aloof, carefree, relaxed. These were the words that described the setting. By this time the girls had begun to drift around the outfield where the manicured grass ended at the foot of cornstalks taller than the two of them.
After a while I offered to shag baseballs for a family in the outfield… later they decided to hit some from the infield. The father of that group offered to let me hit. Michelle and Helen took some shots of me trying to “hit one to the corn.”
Well, I didn’t. 
I smacked a couple of doubles into the gap in left-center though. I never had really been much of a power threat. It didn’t matter. I was in a very happy and beautiful place physically and mentally.
I’ll end this entry by saying that the trip was more than worth it… and I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to Dyersville, IA. But that afternoon was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a long time. Now that you know about it, make the trip if you can. “Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa.” Well… it comes close.
Enjoy Labor Day, everyone! I’m planning to be at the Dodgers-Padres game on Sept. 2nd in L.A. and then the Padres-Dodgers game on the 8th or 9th down in San Diego. I’ll be seeing my (most likely) last games of the year at Angel Stadium when the Halos play against Seattle on Sept. 11th through 14th. Wish me luck!
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