I’d be ready–I got to the stadium nice and early.  I was the third person in line.  I would be the first person to reach the seating area…

Well, did you read anything about a perfect game?  Nope.  But that was a ridiculous thought… even though Haren made a similar comment to the media (jokingly).

There would be no perfect game… though Brandon Morrow got close.  This one would end up being all Blue Jays.  But let’s get on to batting practice.  I was third in line and Michelle decided to sit in the shade and read and make a couple of phone calls.  I raced in and up to the right field seats at 5:05pm.  There weren’t any baseballs to be found lying around but I did see Weaver in right field with Bobby Wilson and David Carpenter and took advantage of the empty stadium and the relative silence by congratulating him.  He responded kindly and went back to work.

And about five minutes later, Wilson tossed me my first ball of the evening.  It had a few grass and dirt scuffs and the word PRACTICE was stamped on the sweet spot.  I’d gotten several of these stamped baseballs and I turned around looking for a kid to give it to, but there weren’t any in the section.  I trotted up the stairs and handed it to an usher to give away for me–and I saw him make a little boy’s day by handing the ball over to him about five minutes later.

The next ball I caught came from [former] closer Jordan Walden.  He’d already tossed a couple of baseballs into the stands… one in particular to a little kid to my left.  Well, this little kid (who already had two baseballs of his own–one from Walden) decided to ask for the next baseball that Walden fielded.  The pitcher looked up at him and shook his head no, then I piped up, “Hey, Jordan, how about one for the big kids?”  It’s the first time I’ve ever used that line… and wouldn’t ya know it?  It worked.  He flipped up baseball #2 on the day and I gave that one away to a different usher a little while later.

Unfortunately for the BP regulars in Anaheim, the Angels have quite a few righties that can hit the ball pretty far.  I call that unfortunate because a lot of baseballs fly out to left and center fields–and there are bullpens and a pile of Disney-era rocks that prevent us from snagging said baseballs.  Boy, we sure hope Kendrys Morales (the lone bat from the left side with any power) gets taken out of the first group of BP hitters… at least Mark Trumbo and Albert Pujols hit a few the opposite way into right field for us.  I couldn’t get a glove on any other baseballs while the Angels were hitting though.

I went down to first base side of the stadium as the Blue Jays came out to throw… but no matter where I went–I couldn’t get their attention… so when a round of lefties started hitting I ran back up to right field.  I came close to snagging two baseballs on the fly… but close was all I got.  One was a shot to the first row of the pavilion by Adam Lind.  The other was a bomb about five or six rows back that San Diego ballhawk TC snagged since my leap was about six inches too short.  Speaking of TC, you can see him in this photo:

But the real reason I took that is LOOK AT HOW MUCH SPACE THERE WAS!  I should have been close to double digits–note the time–the stadium had been open for forty-five minutes.  It was just a struggle to snag anything through Blue Jays BP.

The day would pick up for me a bit at the end of batting practice though, as I got three baseballs thrown my way as the Blue Jays ran off the field.  The first came from pitcher Drew Hutchison as he headed down the dugout steps.  I quickly put that one in my pocket and, as the coaches finished rounding up all the baseballs from BP, hitting coach Dwayne Murphy threw me a ball in the fourth row.  But a huge guy with a beard in the third row reached out and caught that one in front of my face… then he looked at me and said, “You already got one.”  Well, actually, I’ve already got three.  Then Murphy, who must have seen what happened, lofted another ball my way–this one with a much higher arc.  And I caught it by reaching out as far as I could, shocking the bearded fellow in front of me.  I went on my way to track down my lovely wife, who’d found a spot in the sun to read her book on the field level in foul territory.

We grabbed sandwiches (which were delicious… and cost us $9.75 each) and some Cracker Jack and headed out to left field.  Pujols was still sitting on zero home runs for the year so I figured he was kindly waiting until I was in attendance so that he could hit it to me–ready and waiting–in the left field corner.

For pregame throwing I hung out by the Angel dugout.  Only one pair played catch (Trumbo and Howie Kendrick) and the second baseman kept the ball.  I ran to the visiting team’s side and watched as Brett Lawrie threw with Kelly Johnson–then Johnson went into the dugout and Yunel Escobar took over.  Well, I was on Lawrie’s end of the dugout, a few rows back, and Escobar ended up with the ball.  I was the only one asking if he could toss it up though–so he did… from about forty feet away.  Escobar underhanded it about twenty feet high and everyone seated around me just stared as it fell perfectly into my glove.

The blue circle represents where Escobar was standing and the red circle shows where I actually caught the ball.

Want to know what happened during the game?  A blue Jay homer for three runs and a Mark Trumbo error for two more.  And that was it.  Morrow limited the Angels to only three hits and shut them out.  The 28,000 people had little reason to cheer throughout the evening.  So, when Michelle got a phone call from her sister we walked over to the concourse behind the Blue Jays’ dugout in the eighth inning.  By the ninth I was here:

And I watched as Trumbo doubled–but that was as much of a rally as the Angels got going.  That was their third and final hit of the night.  Trumbo was stuck on second base and Morrow got his complete game shutout.  By that point I was here:

Right behind the Blue Jay dugout as they came off the field.  But I didn’t see any souvenirs come my way.

It was a pretty lousy night for Angels fans–I made a young kid’s evening a little happier by giving him a baseball I’d brought with me from a previous game as we left the stadium.  I’m always up for a ball game but this particular one wasn’t even close to being up there amongst my favorites.  Michelle and I enjoyed our time together–and I simply hoped the next Angel game we’d attend would have a better outcome.

But on this particular day I was just me, the guy who tries to catch as many baseballs as he can at each game, and the Dodgers (who’d be facing the Washington Nationals–both teams were in first place at the time) were using commemorative baseballs for their fiftieth year at Dodger Stadium.  And I wanted one.

I parked outside the stadium and hiked up the hill with Devin.  We crossed the parking lot and headed down some stairs…

We went inside the Field Level gate as the Dodgers were hitting (and some pitchers were warming up and it was great–we were severely limited in where we could go–but there was such a small crowd that I had plenty of room to run around (even though they kept us along the left field foul pole).

Check out the ball in this pitcher’s glove.

Might that be a commemorative logo?!?

I had a shot at my first ball of the day when Kenley Jansen (owner of the photographed glove, above, who was long-tossing with an unknown pitcher, maybe Scott Elbert) overthrew his target.  I watched the ball as it was sailing through the air and yelled, “HEADS UP!”  I ran toward where I thought it would land, a section to my right, lost the ball for a second, watched as it hit some seats… then bounced away from me.  But I tracked it down in the fourth row and took a look at the logo… it WAS commemorative!

I was thrilled… but my joy was short-lived.  I looked toward the field and Elbert (or whoever) flapped his glove at me.  I knew what this meant.  They weren’t done long-tossing and needed the ball back.  Cool, I flipped it to him, willingly, and figured he’d get it back to me when they were finished.  That’s what had happened plenty of other times.  Then I looked over my shoulder.  Apparently, the errant throw had grazed a lady who was, get this, sitting in the second row and not paying attention.  She was lucky it hadn’t broken her face… but she wasn’t complaining… just rubbing her shoulder a bit.  I felt badly… I knew she should get a ball.  But would it be my ball?  The commemorative one I’d just given to the pair of Major Leaguers to use on the field?  I could have kept the ball and been done with it–and at that point I’d probably have noticed the lady and debated whether or not I should have given it to her–and scolded her for not paying attention to the on-field activity.  But I never got the chance.  Jansen finished his throwing, walked toward the lady, and apologized to her.  And then signed the baseball I’d given to him and Elbert to use… and then neither of them acknowledged me.  Think about it, loyal readers, am I overreacting?  Should I not have counted the ball?  Because I counted it… and I’m a bit irritated that such careless behavior gets rewarded.

Anyway, Devin beat me out for a liner that went foul as we almost tumbled over a row of seats together.  But then, when a couple Dodgers played catch further toward the infield I had another shot at a ball I’d actually get to keep.  Mark Ellis warmed up with Adam Kennedy and when they finished I yelled out, Hey, Mark!  Over here!”  Ellis threw me the ball over all the box seats along the third baseline and I caught it chest high–it was a great throw–then grabbed it out of my glove and checked it out:

BAM!  And this one was all mine!  I wasn’t giving it up.  I quickly ran back to my backpack, stored it safely, and went back to snagging with a feeling of relief.  Mission accomplished.  If I didn’t snag another ball all evening, I’d be fine.  But the Jansen ball was #395 and the Ellis ball was #396.  So I started actively thinking about the big 4-0-0.

Some unknown Dodger drove a ball into the left field corner that came to rest on the warning track about 10 to 12 inches away from the wall in fair territory right near the bullpen gate.  The drop to the field is probably about a foot or so more than in Anaheim so it takes a bit more athleticism to scoop balls off the warning track in Dodgertown than it does at the Big A.  But I figured that I should give it a shot–no one else figured they could get it.  After a couple of fans let me squeeze by them, I set my bag down, jumped up and balanced myself on the wall, leaned out and over stretching my left (gloved) hand as far as I could while steadying myself on the wall with my right hand and arm.  The ball was just out of reach, so I adjusted my position on the wall, shook my glove so it was on the end of my hand instead of comfortably wedged on there… and just got the tip of it on the ball.  I rolled it toward me a few inches and then snagged it and pulled myself back to my feet.  I got a nice little round of applause from the nearby fans on that one–and the ball was a standard Selig ball.

About that time Devin decided to head up to the LF bleachers (where his ticketed seat was located) and we parted ways.  We kept in touch throughout the evening though.  As the crowd grew and BP became a bit less lively, I set my bag down and was looking through it when I heard a THWACK nearby.  I looked up as I was kneeling near a staircase just in time to see a baseball bounce right toward my face!  I grabbed it, barehanded, and then looked around.  Had a kid dropped it?  Was it meant for another fan?  I asked a few people near me where it had come from–and no one knew.  It didn’t sound like it had hit the seat with enough force for me to determine it was a home run.  Maybe a ground rule double into the LF corner?  Maybe it had been thrown from the bullpen?

Oh… and it was another commemorative ball!  Sweet!  It had been rubbed with mud… and it had a dirt scuff on it.  So, it’s possible that a pitcher had been using it and then tossed it into the seats.  But I have no idea–this is the first ball I have ever entered into myGameBalls.com with the listed method of snagging as “Unknown.”  Totally weird–but I’ll take it!

That was #398… and I was totally focused on #400… so I didn’t mind that I was unsure of who hit my next ball.  It was some lefty Dodger that flared a ball into the box seats just past third base.  The ushers nearby (who were all super friendly–much more so than in past seasons) let me dart after it and check this baby out:

50th!  Woo!

The Dodgers were about to leave the field.  And I saw the Nationals starting to warm up on the far side of the stadium.Unfortunately, because Dodger Stadium has weird rules, that side of the stadium wouldn’t open until 5:40pm… ten minutes is a long time to wait around.  I tried to get a ball from Ted Lilly as he finished some throwing… but that was all there was to do. And then I spent another eight grueling minutes waiting for the ushers to let the maddening crowd head toward first base.  I ran that way and was the first one out to the seats in the right field corner–but I found no Easter eggs and the Nationals were being pretty stingy with tossups.  And the sun was brutal:And I didn’t snag another batted ball all evening.  At least there was a Stephen Strasburg sighting…

It was really important to me that I identify who my next baseball came from.  It was a mini-milestone for me.  I had snagged baseball number 100 on August 28th, 2009 at Angel Stadium.  And I have no idea who hit it to me.  Ball #200 was thrown to me by Kanekoa Texeira of the Seattle Mariners on May 28th, 2010… again in Anaheim.  And my 300th baseball was hit to me by Peter Bourjos on May 20th, 2011 at the Big A.  I thought to myself, “I need to know who gets this next ball to me”  And it would also be the first time I’d snagged a milestone baseball (for me) outside of my “home ballpark” down in Orange County.

Wouldn’t you know it?  Throughout all of Nationals’ BP I didn’t snag another baseball…

Until the last few players ran off the field… and I was standing near the dugout… and Jordan Zimmermann tossed me this one as I leaned over the concrete partition that separates the haves from the have-nots.

My sixth ball of the night–and #400 in my lifetime.  Woo!

With that, it was off to the restroom–and then I took a seat to rest for a while before the game began.  And what a great pitching matchup: Clayton Kershaw vs. Ross Detwiler.  And If you’ve never sat up close and watched Kershaw pitch–man, it’s epic!  A 95 mph fastball and a 73 mph curveball.  It’s just not fair.  This was my view for the first pitch:

And then I sat here and tried to get a ball from A.J. Ellis after Kershaw struck out the side in the first.No luck.

The only blemish on Kershaw’s record was a two-run homer he gave up to Adam LaRoche… which tied the game after Andre Ethier hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the first.  The difference in the score would turn out to be an RBI single by Juan Uribe.  That was it for scoring… 3-2 Dodgers.

And tried to get LaRoche to toss me a third out ball.  No dice–damn that partition!

But I had a great view of the action…

See the concrete partition that keeps folks away from the dugout?  Lame.

And there were plenty of open seats around me.  At one point I had a whole row open to my right.  I shifted seats twice once the game started but there certainly weren’t over 44,000 people there… even though that was the announced attendance.

Um… Matt Kemp is very good at baseball:

Fast-forward to the top of the ninth inning… Jansen came in to close the game out (since Javy Guerra apparently isn’t the closer any longer because, well, he took a line drive off his face).  And he made it interesting.  He got the first out by inducing a fly ball to center off the bat of Mark DeRosa.  Then, Danny Espinosa turned on a fastball at hit it to the seats… about ten feet foul into the right field corner.  He nearly tied the game with that almost-homer… but eventually flied out to center, as well.Jansen then drilled pinch hitter Chad Tracy on the wrist with a mid-nineties fastball.  Tracy was pulled from the game.  Because the Nationals called up Bryce Harper but he hadn’t arrived in L.A., the team played with only twenty-four men on the squad, meaning there was one less bench bat available, and Edwin Jackson was forced to pinch-run for the Tracy so that final bench option, Rick Ankiel, could pinch hit in the pitcher’s spot if the inning got that far. But Jansen ended up striking out the catcher, Jesus Flores, in the next at-bat, and the game ended.

I shouted for a toss-up at the dugout as the Nats left the dugout but nobody even looked my way–and the bullpen guys coming in ignored me, too.  A kid on my left said, “I think they’re upset because they just lost.”

So I ended the game with six baseballs snagged–and I’d gotten some commemorative balls and snagged #400.  I wasn’t disappointed by any means.  I didn’t plan to stay for the Friday Night Fireworks–I needed to get home–but I did want to take advantage of one cool thing that Dodger Stadium does…

I got into a line and ended up on the field.  The Dodgers let a certain quantity of fans watch the fireworks from the outfield grass.  I took a few photos, like this one from the field looking up at the stadium:

And I touched the grass–a major league field feels so nice!  And then, the the confusion of the ushers… I asked to leave.

And they had to open a special gate so I could leave.  I snapped a picture of the explosions in the sky as I headed through the parking lot to my car… and was on the road before most people even got out of the stadium.  I had a long drive back to Orange County… it’s roughly an hour with no traffic.  But I’ll be back to Dodger Stadium this season–probably when the Marlins, Astros, and Mets come to town.

A successful night.

I was off to left field as soon as the gates were open.  I knew the Angels would be facing a lefty and that everyone (except Bobby Abreu) would be batting from the right side.  I figured there was a pretty good chance someone would pull a ball or two down the line so I stayed near the foul pole.

The Machine (aka Albert Pujols) was taking his hacks and just as I thought to myself, “Man, it would be great to snag a ball from Prince Albert,” I got my chance.  He hit a screamer down the third base line that bounced off the wall twenty feet from me and headed my way.  I reached out and balanced myself on the wall–I was really hoping I didn’t misplay this one.  I stretched as far as I could and nabbed it as it skittered across the warning track.  Then, I lifted myself back to my feet and took a look at my prize from Pujols:

Awesome!  Not a Camden Yards ball–but a commemorative baseball is a commemorative baseball.  I won’t complain.

Unfortunately, that was the only ball I could get during the twenty or so minutes I saw of Angels BP.  They ran off the field and I ran to the other side of the stadium, where the O’s had come out to warm up.

As Troy Patton finished throwing with a trainer I asked him for the baseball they had been using.  He nodded to me and cocked back his arm to toss it my way but in that instant the trainer he’d been throwing with must have called his name.  Patton turned his head to the side and then, sadly, tossed the ball to the trainer–who handed it to a kid in the first row.

“What a tease!” the usher near me said.  But Patton saw that he’d gotten my hopes up so he pointed my way and actually said to me, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you one.”  Then he headed off into right field.

Sweet!  But now I was confined to the foul line so I could be in the vicinity when Patton fielded another ball… even though the Orioles had started taking their hacks.  I was conflicted.  I pretty much had a guaranteed snag coming my way–but I wanted to run up to the pavilion to try for batted balls.  I decided to wait–hopefully my guarantee wouldn’t take too long.  I tried to make a play on a foul that a righty flared off my way but an older fan grabbed it when it ricocheted right to him.  The same thing had happened to me earlier on the other side of the stadium when Abreu had fouled one off.  I ended up only being stuck for another five minutes because Patton finally fielded a baseball near the warning track and then, from seventy feet away, waved at me and I flapped my glove and he threw me a ball–that almost didn’t make it to me.  I had to scoot over to the middle of the row I was in (about the sixth) and lean forward over the seats in front of me to make a basket catch.  Apparently, that impressed Patton because he gave me a fist pump and yelled, “Nice catch!”

All right, Mr. Patton.  I’m a fan of yours now–thanks for giving me credit… and a baseball (which you can see over on the left).  And I looked at it hoping to see a commemorative logo but it was just a standard Selig ball.  I started to run up right field at that point but then realized everyone in the current O’s BP group was right-handed.  So, after longing to escape the foul line I opted to hang out there a bit longer, hoping for another shot at a foul ball.  Well, wouldn’t you know it?  A righty O fouled a ball toward me in Section 130… and I ran up the steps for it and snagged it as it bounced around.  I ended up giving that ball away to a young fan… in a Cardinals shirt… weird.  And he thanked me–then went to show his family–then came back a minute later and shook my hand and told me he really appreciated the kind gesture.  Wow!  You’re welcome, kid.

Off to right field I went where, inexplicably, I didn’t snag another baseball for thirty minutes.  Ugh.  The Orioles just didn’t hit many that way and I couldn’t get a single toss up from any pitchers I saw in the outfield.  And I got shut out at the dugout after BP, too.

So… three baseballs.  Not too shabby, but not great.  About that time my lovely wife showed up and we ate dinner together in the seats.  Then I tried to get a ball from each team at their dugout during pregame throwing… but failed.  Out to left field I went, in search of my first game home run.  Here was the view:

The pitching matchup was Jerome Williams against Brian Matusz.  And Williams fared better than he did in the Bronx his last time out.  He checked the Orioles on three runs in 6.2 innings… his farewell was a two-run homer he gave up to Nolan Reimold… but at that point the Halos had already put up six runs of their own, highlighted by a three-run double by Howie Kendrick (who I am confident will hit .320 this year).  Reimold’s homer was the only one of the game at it went to right-center.  Nothing close for me.

Since it was a Big Bang Friday–there would be fireworks after the game–Michelle and I relocated to the seats directly behind the Oriole dugout for the ninth inning.Jordan Walden shut down the O’s to earn his first save of the year.  And, although I couldn’t convince Buck Showalter to toss me the lineup cards, I did manage to snag something else at the close of the game.  I’d jumped into the first row and got the attention of the relievers as they walked in.  Not wanting to repeat the circumstances of my last game, that ended with a fan reaching in front of me as the relievers entered the dugout and a baseball was tossed my way, when Tommy Hunter tossed me a ball before heading down the steps I leaned way out to catch it before anyone else could stick their hand in front of my glove.  And just like that I upped my total to four.  It was a rubbed up ball, too!  Then I jogged back to Michelle and watched the fireworks–set to the music of The Beatles–light up the sky.  Also, I have no idea what’s on that child’s head…

This particular fireworks show incorporated lasers into the mix.  It was neat–nothing too spectacular… though I’m a sucker for a fireworks finale–I mean, who doesn’t love a good fireworks show, huh?

We booked it out of there right after the finale and were in our car and on the way home before most people had even left the stadium.  I was thrilled to watch the Angels get a win.  They have been off to a pretty poor start… and Texas has been winning left and right.  Yikes!  Sadly, as a buddy of mine mentioned on Facebook recently, he is tied with Albert Pujols in home runs this season.  Prince Albert’s still sittin’ on a goose egg in that department.  I figure he’s just waiting until I’m at another game… how considerate of him!

Hey, I’ve been to two Angels games and they’ve won ‘em both.  As of this posting I’ve been at 33% of their wins.  And 50% of their home wins.  I guess I should go to more games…

Here are the three baseballs I kept:

Next up–a trip to Dodgertown!

My first game of the 2012 season had finally arrived.  It would be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (boy, I hate that name) against the Oakland Athletics.  Jered Weaver would be pitching against Brandon McCarthy and I would be there, first in line, ready to go, when the gates opened up.  I was psyched.  I packed my bag for the first time–team rosters, bottled water, my camera, and the assorted accouterments associated with attending an Angel game… or any MLB game, I suppose.  I small-talked with a few of the Angel Stadium BP regulars while I waited.  Rob, Eli, Terry, Lou… a bunch of guys I’d have never know had it not been for this fun hobby I developed way back in 2008.

The security guards arrived and got the gates prepped… and I talked to them about the new rule at Angel Stadium that any security personnel that are on the field need to wear helmets.  Does anyone know if this is all across MLB?  And they weren’t even cool MLB helmets… they were, like, bicycle helmets.  I wish I’d taken a picture.  UPDATE:  Haha… I did!  Here’s TJ (the Angels Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick joking about the stylish new trend:

Well, I got my bagged checked… and headed inside to the folks with the ticket scanners.  All this anticipation, I’m the first one through the gates, and, wouldn’t you know it?  The lady I went to was having scanner problems… ugh.  I watched as people in other lines flooded in past me before snatching my ticket from her and thrusting it into the next ushers face and telling him, “Hers isn’t working.  Please scan my ticket.”  He did–I was direct but polite, after all.  And I took off running.  As I rounded a corner on the Terrace Level I could see a couple of guys were already scouring for Eater eggs in the right field seats so I decided to change my strategy.  I took a hard left down some stairs and that’s when I looked at the field for the first time.  It was beautiful–perfectly manicured, actually–but there was something very wrong.

The hometown Halos weren’t hitting.  There wasn’t a single Angel on the field.  As it turns out, they’d gotten in from New York at about 3am so they had decided not to do a full BP session.  I quickly changed tactics and ran straight down to the front row along the third base line as the A’s started to play catch.  Virtually the whole team was out there–and a few of the coaches were near the dugout playing catch, too.  As I knew the coaches would finish first, I got the approval of an usher to head over there to ask for a ball.  A few moments later I got my first baseball of the season tossed to me by an A’s coach–not sure who–but it wasn’t Chili Davis, Mike Gallego, Bob Melvin, Tye Waller, or Chip Hale.  So that leaves Rick Rodriguez, Chris Pittaro, and Curt Young.  I’m going to go with Rick Rodriguez.  So, thanks, Rick!  He tossed it to me a it skipped off the roof of the dugout.  I bobbled it to my feet and then quickly snatched it up.  I’d say that is about as close to an error as I want to get all season long.

As the players finished up their throwing and began to make their way to the cage I got baseball #2 on the day from Josh Reddick after he finished playing catch.  He lobbed the standard Selig my way in the second row of Section 128.  Eric Sogard (who has been on the A’s roster for three years but only made the Opening Day starting lineup this season) started signing autographs and I got him on my ticket.  My next baseball came my way just a few minutes later as the pitchers finished throwing.  Fautino de los Santos hooked me up with a ball in Section 127–I didn’t know who he was at the time but checked through some photos online to confirm it was him.

After that I ran up to the pavilion in right field with the hope that the A’s (and their several lefties) would show some pop.  It’s clear that’s not what they were planning on this day, however, as only about four or five home runs came nearby–and I was out of range on all of them.  I did manage to get a brand new pearl of a baseball from Tyson Ross while I was standing in the third row of Section 239… and then the A’s finished hitting at 6:12pm… much earlier than I’d expected.  I wasn’t able to get to their dugout in time so I sat down, made some notes, got some water, and waited for the Angels to take the field.

First uniformed Angel siting of 2012:

Once they did come out to get loose, I saw Howie Kendrick’s son getting handed over to his dad from the seats–he wandered around on the field a bit and greeted the players.  My coolest photo of the night?  Howie’s kid giving Torii Hunter a high five:

But I couldn’t get a warmup ball from the Angels–nor could I get one from the A’s about ten minutes later after the national anthem.  I checked out the concourse of the stadium and notices the Halo front office had upgraded a few things… like these digital menu boards in the concession stands:

Six bucks for peanuts?  Yeesh–I buy ‘em for two bucks a bag at the grocery store.  It was about this time that Michelle, who had been at work, arrived at the stadium.  I met her at the Left Field Gate and we found seats in the left field corner.  My goal this year is to catch a home run.  It’s something I’ve never done and I figure that 2012 is the best year to do it.  Last season, around the Big A, I was simply focused on snagging as many of those commemorative 50th anniversary balls as I could.  They’re still using some of those in BP, I’d learn, but this year–it’s all about the game home run ball.  And Albert Pujols was still sitting on zero home runs for the year–maybe I could catch his first!  Here was our view:

See that aisle with the vendor in the yellow?  I was ready to jump up and run down it with each pitch.  We stayed in the same spot throughout the game, chatted, ate food that we’d brought into the park (I’m so glad the Angels still let you do that), and watched the action. Kendrys Morales hit his first home run since May of 2010–a three run shot that just barely cleared the fence in left-center.  Albert hit a drive to the warning track… but didn’t go yard.  The A’s just couldn’t muster any kind of rally.  We got to see a pretty cool moment: Jered Weaver’s 1,000th career strikeout.

It was Josh Reddick in the sixth inning, in case you were curious.

After having not scored since that Morales homer in the first inning, the Angels were able to put up three more runs in the eighth.  The healthy 6-0 lead was plenty for Weaver, who was excellent yet again and went six and two-thirds innings, and three relievers.

Michelle had to leave around 9:15 to head home so I walked her to the gate and we parted ways (it was still only 3-0 when she left).  I returned to the seating area, stayed in the outfield seats for a bit longer but then decided to move.  After a half-inning behind the Halo dugout, I ended up behind the Oakland dugout for conclusion of that evening’s contest:  And when Erick Aybar grounded out to first baseman Daric Barton to end the 8th, I was about five rows back and he lofted me ball #5 on the evening.  I looked closely at it and realized he must have kept the gamer and tossed my the infield warm up ball because it was pretty beaten up.

LaTroy Hawkins came in for the ninth inning and, though he loaded the bases, closed out the game with the shutout in tact.

And I snapped photos of all the guys on defense, including the one below that I really like of Pujols and Kendrick ready for a pitch to be delivered… Kendrick’s on his toes with anticipation.

I asked manager Bob Melvin for his lineup cards but he ignored me… and the A’s relievers came in from the bullpen and Brian Fuentes had a baseball in his pocket.  I shouted to him, “Hey, Brian, could you toss me a baseball, please?”  He got a few steps closer, lobbed one my way… and a female A’s fan to my right leaned out and nabbed it just an inch in front of my glove.

Wow–I guess I should have been more aggressive.  I was a little bummed about that one but I was pretty pleased with my haul.  I ended up giving away the de los Santos ball to an usher who said she’d be certain to find a deserving youngster to give it to… and I headed home.

A pretty darn good first game of the year–it felt good to knock the rust off.  Here are the five baseballs (I gave the one away at my most recent game–so I still had it at this point):

I’d be heading back to see the O’s and Angels on Friday.

I, unfortunately, did not have a ticket to the game.  That didn’t mean I couldn’t be a part of baseball activities on this fine Spring day, however.

My day started early with a drive up to the Big A, where AM 830′s The Sports Lodge with Roger Lodge was broadcasting.

And they were giving away tickets to the first Angels home game of the year–that’s why I was there.  I entered my name in a drawing and listened to the live broadcast.  I grabbed some Rally Monkey Bread provided by Katella Grill–it’s monkey bread (thick, biscuit-like dough baked with butter, cinnamon, and sugar) and waited for the drawing–the first one took place at 8:30am… the second took place at about 8:50am.  I didn’t win.  So I headed to my car and drove down the road…

To Downtown Disney!  That’s where Colin Cowherd was broadcasting on ESPN 710.

His show’s called The Herd and I entered a drawing to win some free tickets–to random events across Southern California.  Disneyland tickets, LA Galaxy tickets, gift cards, etc.  I actually ended up winning four tickets to USC’s Spring Game on April 14th–but I knew I couldn’t use them since I was going to have to work that day so I gave them back to the ESPN folks so I could still be in the running for Disney tickets.  I should’ve kept the football tickets–I would have sold them on eBay or StubHub or something… oh, well…

So, I watch Colin end his show (they gave out tickets during each commercial break) and he took a few questions from audience members… then I went to work.

I had planned on a half day… and in the early afternoon I drove back to Angel Stadium and headed to the player’s parking lot.  The guys were arriving for that evening’s game and I had assumed that they’d be thrilled to sign autographs on the afternoon of the first home game of the season.  But most of the players ignored the 15-20 fans that were asking them to please stop and sign.  There were a few guys who took the time.  First, the new primary catcher, Chris Iannetta,  parked and then walked down to the barrier near the driveway to the lot  to sign for us.  I had a new baseball (ready for the 2012 season) that he signed.  My team ball had begun!

While waiting I spoke with a fan named Alex who, as it turns out, runs a blog/website called Think Red Instead that I’ve been reading sporadically over the last two years.  What a nice guy–and he’s helped me out indirectly in the past by publishing the skinny on some autograph signings.  Thanks, Alex!

Later, Mark Trumbo signed for all the fans at the back gate through the bushes that obscure the players’ lot from the rest of the parking areas.  And, lastly, Rich Thompson stopped in the driveway and signed for everyone while seated in his classic car.  Stylish, Rich.  And I had three autographs on my team ball!

After a bit of time at the parking lot I headed back to work for a bit… then ended the work day and stopped at a cupcake bakery called Sprinkles since they were doing a BOGO deal for anyone wearing Angels garb.  I happily walked through the door and got 4 cupcakes for the price of 2–don’t worry, I shared with my wife.  And, together we made dinner and ate cupcakes and I watched the Angels win on Opening Night from the comfort of my sofa at home.  A 5-0 victory for the Halos behind a strong outing from Jered Weaver.  The season’s shaping up to be a good one!

Angels and Rangers on the final day of the 2011 regular season.  Truthfully, neither side had anything to prove.  At the time of this 4:05pm game, the Rangers were in and the Angels were not.  The Rangers had clearly been the better team all season… much to my chagrin.  Nevertheless, I was back at the stadium promptly as the gates were preparing to open.  After another round of catch with Greg (while his dad held our spot in line), we were off to the races again.  I headed for right field where this was my view:

Since the gates only opened 90 minutes prior to the first pitch, we didn’t get to see the Angels hitting–but as the Rangers took their hacks I got my first ball of the day, a commemorative Angels ball, from reliever Mike Adams.

After about ten more minutes I got another ball tossed to me by Scott Feldman a bit deeper in center field.  This one was commemorative, too, but the logo was smudged in a weird/cool way.  Take a look:

I ran to the dugout but didn’t snag anything else there.  During the lull between the end of BP and the start of pre-game throwing I got some water and rested.  Then, I chatted with some other ballhawks and took a few photos.  Around 3:30, the players finally emerged for their warmups.  I stood in the fourth row on the aisle and ended up getting a ball thrown to me by Mike Trout for the second consecutive day!

Trout’s in the center with the ball in his hand in the photo above.  Then, I ran to the Ranger dugout and just missed getting the ball Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler used during their pregame throwing.

With three baseballs snagged, I found a seat behind the Angel dugout to watch the game.

While the Rangers started all of their regulars, the Angels lineup featured several backups (Mike Trout, Bobby Wilson) and some minor league callups (Gil Velazquez, Efren Navarro, Jeremy Moore).

Garrett Richards started for the Halos and did a great job.  He gave up only two hits but one of them happened to be a second inning solo homer by Mike Napoli (who continued to hurt the Angels each time he faced them throughout 2011).  The Angels came back to tie it in the 5th on a sac fly from Velazquez.  The Angels’ bullpen kept the game tied while I switched from dugout to dugout trying for third out baseballs.  And I kept snapping photos throughout… like Peter Bourjos bunting:

And Vernon Wells taking a hack:

Despite my efforts, I was stuck on three throughout the game and I would end the 2011 season with 385 total baseballs.

I got a couple cool shots of Trout on deck:

And then sliding into third base:

It got to the ninth–tied 1-1.  Bobby Cassevah and Hisanori Takahashi had combined to give up one hit and zero runs in three innings of work.  Jordan Walden came in, had a man on first with two outs–

–and then Napoli crushed a home run into the stands.

Ugh.  The stadium deflated…

And the Angels couldn’t score in the ninth.  They were swept in three games by the Rangers on their own turf.

Now–recovering from the Angels loss was easy–securing a post-game freebie from their dugout wasn’t.  Even though several baseballs, batting gloves, and even a couple bats came up over the dugout roof, I couldn’t get my hands on anything.  Later, I found out Greg’s dad had secured an Erick Aybar bat–which I would later mail back to New York for them.

I hung out in the quickly-emptying seating bowl, knowing I wouldn’t be back for several months.

It had been a fun three games.  I was sad to see the 2011 season go, but by the time you read this we’ll already be into the 2012 season.  How ’bout that?

My first game of ’12 will be on April 16th–right back at Angel Stadium.

I ran out to the seating area in right field as soon as the Home Plate Gate opened up.  I was the first one out there and I checked around for Easter eggs but there weren’t any to be found.  I focused on the hitters for a few minutes but there just wasn’t anything flyin’ out my way.  It’s a shame, too, since the seats were still relatively empty after five to ten minutes:

Soon enough, super-prospect Mike Trout fielded a ball as he was goofing around in right field and I asked him to toss it up.  He threw me a strike in the first row of Section 237.  It was a standard Selig ball that also had PRACTICE on it… but I was especially psyched to get a ball from Trout since he’s such a highly-touted up-and-comer.  Here’s the ball:

A while later I was in almost the same spot when I got a toss-up from pitcher Bobby Cassevah.  He threw it to me in the first row at the bottom of the staircase between Section 237 and Section 238.  Take note if you’re playing for toss-ups in Anaheim… that first row in either of those sections is the place to be.  The Angels just weren’t hitting anything out… I ended up giving that Cassevah ball away to a young fan after batting practice ended.

I tried left field after a while because anyone on the Angels that’s not in the first group of hitters the fans get to see that might be able to hit a ball out is right-handed.  My move yielded no additional snags, unfortunately, even though I got close to a couple of screamers down the line.  And baseballs seemed juuuuusst out of reach throughout my BP experience.

I headed back to right field for the Rangers portion of BP, waiting for their powerful lefties to connect.  The only ball I could get my glove on through their whole BP session was a bomb hit by David Murphy.  It was a commemorative ball that I caught on the fly in the sixth row of Section 238.  It always feels good to make a snag on the fly–so that picked me up after a rather disappointing eighty minutes of batting practice.

I drank some water, made a few notes, and then headed down to where I knew the Angels would warm up after I got shut out at the Ranger dugout.  The coolest thing that happened over there was that, as the Angels were stretching, someone in Howie Kendrick’s family was in the nearby seats and brought Howie’s son down to see his dad.  Howie picked him up from the first row and let him run around on the field a bit before the little tyke started playing catch with his dad.  Well, it was more like fetch… because the kid was too small to actually catch the ball that was getting tossed to him…

But that boy can throw!  I was impressed… that toddler has a better arm than some adults I know… and he appears to be (at this point) ambidextrous.  He was throwing strikes to his dad with both arms!  It was a pretty heartwarming experience… when the Angels were done throwing I didn’t snag another ball from any of them.

I found a seat behind the Angel dugout for the start of the game:

I wanted to play for third out balls… so I ran back and forth for two innings but came up empty.  I left after the bottom of the second, still on three baseballs snagged for the day.  I didn’t miss much of a game… the Angels lost (when you’re playing guys like Effren Navarro and Gil Valesquez, it’s clearly not that big of a deal to win) and the Rangers secured home field advantage in the playoffs… and I watched the game end from the comfort of my couch.

I had an afternoon game to go to the next day.

I promise I’ll have my last two entries from the 2011 season up very soon.  Two more games comin’ before you sink your teeth into 2012.

And also, my copy of MLB 12: The Show arrived in the mail yesterday.  Holy heck!  It’s pretty sweet.  Be sure to check it out if gamer + baseball fan = you.  I highly recommend it!

Sure, it’s a shorter month and the season hasn’t started yet–and I have two games to post about from last season (yikes!) but I’m thrilled.  Thanks for reading, everyone.

You can check out the full list here: http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com/2012/03/02/latest-leaders-february-2012/

I entered the day sitting on 369 lifetime baseballs.  When I approached the Home Plate Gate I surveyed the line situation to see where I should situate myself.  Upon closer inspection I saw a friend from 3,000 miles away.  I walked up to Greg Barasch and told him, “I didn’t know you were going to be here!”  Greg and I had met in April of 2010 at my only visit to Citi Field.  As it turns out, he and his father would be in Anaheim for the last three Angels home games of the year–just like me.  Greg and I played catch for a few minutes while his dad held our place in line.  Michelle had decided to sit in the shade and read for a while and I knew I’d meet up with her after batting practice had finished.

When the gates opened I immediately took of for the right field corner and within minutes, got a ball thrown to me by Hank Conger.

That ball–see it on the ground.  Conger walked over, picked it up, I asked for it and he lobbed it to me!  #370.  Just a couple minutes later a liner down the right field line took a bounce near the wall and I was able to reach out and snag that one… I have no idea who hit it.  Someone on the Angels.

I ran up to the RF seats atop that 18 ft. wall after that and quickly got a ball thrown to me by Mike Maddux–it was stamped “PRACTICE.”  Not all the Rangers were out on the field but Maddux and a few pitchers were and he tossed me this random ball that a Halo had hit.

The Angels then ran off the field a bit early and I was bummed–but I had already snagged three baseballs at I’d only been inside the stadium for about 15 minutes!

Greg’s goal was to snag a few Angels commemorative balls during his trip and I knew he’d get a couple–he’s no slouch as a ballhawk–but the first one he’d snagged on the day was a standard Selig ball.  So were the first three I’d ended up with.

Alexi Ogando tossed me baseball number four on the day–a grass-stained standard ball–

–and I was quickly racking up the stats.

Next up I caught this beauty thrown to me by Leonys Martin.

Then, the Rangers big left-handed power came to the plate–Mitch Moreland, Josh Hamilton, and David Murphy.  Well, I snagged a Hamilton homer on the fly in the first round about halfway up the pavilion.  That was career #375!  A few minutes later I grabbed a David Murphy bomb as it bounced around a row to my left.  After a few more minutes Endy Chavez blasted a ball up to me in the pavilion that I snagged on the fly.  That was my eighth ball of the day.

The Rangers headed into the dugout soon after that and I failed to get anything tossed to me as they left the field.  But I just needed two more baseball to get to my first double-digit game EVER!  Plus, I hadn’t snagged a commemorative ball yet on this day.  All eight had been standard Selig balls.

I met up with Greg and his dad after BP and we got this picture snapped of the two of us:

And we’d continue to run into each other throughout the evening.  I took a brief rest before heading over to shallow left field to wait for the Angels to throw.  Sure enough, after Torii Hunter accepted an award for citizenship, Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis played catch for a few minutes along the foul line (as did a few other Angels).

When they were done, Aybar threw me the ball they’d been using–and it was commemorative!  That would be the only commemorative logo I’d take home that night… but I was up to nine baseballs!  By the way–did you notice in that photo that the Tigers beat Cleveland 14-0?  Wow.

And here’s the lone commemorative I grabbed at this game:

I ran back to where Michelle had been sitting.  I’d heard that instead of the random ex-Angel that would be signing autographs at this game out in center field, a certain Hall of Fame member would be filling in.  I had gotten a wristband during a change in BP groups and Michelle and I quickly took our places in line once I’d finished my pre-game snagging.  I handed my camera off to her so she could snap a picture of me as I got the autograph–

–of Rod Carew!  This was actually the second time he’d signed a ball for me.  The first time had been totally random and not nearly as organized.  This time, instead of signing my ball and inscribing HOF ’91, he inscribed #29 next to his name.  Rod’s a great member of the Angels community in Orange County, even though he’s more famous (and in the HOF) as a Twin.

Eight balls snagged and one HOF autograph and the game had just begun!

I told Greg I’d see him later or at the next day’s game and Michelle and I found some seats down the first base line.

The Angels were down 4-0 in the fourth inning as we watched from here:

Dan Haren pitched well, however, giving up just three earned runs over eight innings.  C.J. Wilson pitched two innings… he’d be pitching Game 1 of the ALDS later in the week.  But, while the Angels could muster a bit of offense, they’d end up losing 4-3 and their slim playoff chances would be dashed.

Michelle would end up leaving the game early to get ready for work the next morning–I made sure to stay to the end.  I’d been trying for third out tosses all night but I’d been unsuccessful.

In the eighth, I was over on the Angels’ side… but headed to the Ranger dugout for the ninth.  Sure enough, the Rangers locked down the win and Neftali Feliz got his 31st save.

I waved at all the players as they headed off the field and they all passed by me–I watched the bullpen guys march across the field… the tallest guy had a baseball… it was Alexi Ogando.  Would he remember me from the afternoon?  He’d already given me a ball and I hadn’t changed my appearance in any way.  As the relievers lumbered in I made my best effort… hands up, waving, and I called out, “Alexi!  Right here!!”  He looked up, pulled his hands out of his hoodie, and lofted ball number 10 right to my waiting glove.  And just like that… with my 379th ball, at my 84th game at Angel Stadium since 2008 (when I started ballhawking) I FINALLY reached double-digits!  I was thrilled–and the ball from Ogando was a rubbed up beauty–pristine.  It had been rubbed with mud and never dropped, scuffed, or hit in any way.  It was perfect.  And with that I took my leave of the Big A.

I would be back quite soon.

UPDATE: I found my notes from this game AND my following two games.  Since 9/26/11 was a special day for me–I thought I’d share my notes.

This is the list I take to every game I go to.  And now you’ve got a window into how I keep these things categorized and how I remember things for my blog.  It looks like chicken scratch, I know, but you can see I write a letter L next to each player if they’re a lefty.  For pitchers, if they throw left-handed… for batters, if they hit left-handed.  Or they get a letter S if they’re a switch hitter.  The starting pitcher is circled on each roster and each ball I snag is labeled with a number and a circle.  For example, Ball #377′s note is “377 – COF (which means Caught On Fly) E. (Endy) Chavez S. 238 (Section 238 of the right field pavilion) – 3rd row – right to me prac logo w/ brwn + grn (it was a ball with a practice logo and brown and green marks on it).  Want to know more about my notes, or care to explain how you make your own?  Let me know in the comments.