9-24-09 Progressive Field
After leaving PNC Park around 1:25, I made it to Progressive Field in Cleveland, and was in line at 3:32. I was second in line. This would be my second game of the day.
When I ran in, I didn't find any easter eggs on the ground. I paced up and down each aisle and did manage to find ball #1 and ball #2 laying in seats. The second ball was an International League (AAA) ball - which the Tigers are known to use in lieu of major league baseballs. I was pretty happy because I didn't have any of these yet this year. After snagging 300 some regular major league baseballs this season, any variation is a welcomed departure from the mean.
Within the span of a minute, I lost out on three home run balls in center field. All three balls bounced on this six foot wide concrete platform seperating the outfield wall from the seats:
The balls took huge hops and landed about 15 rows back, and I wasn't able to get to any of them in time.
Ball #3 was thrown by an Indians pitcher (standing on the left of the two pitchers).
He snagged a ball, inspected it, then turned to throw it to the "crowd." I was about five rows back, and held up my arms to get his attention. He threw a nice arc right over those in the front row, and right into my glove.
I used the term crowd loosely because when the gates opened at 4:30, there were only six people in line. This was the scene at 4:50:
About mid way through the Indians BP, a left handed batter hit a towering high fly ball to right field. Of course, the ball bounced on that blasted platform again, and took another high bounce. Due to the angle that it hit, the ball went almost straight up in the air.
I actually had to run down a few steps to get into positon for this ball. These two guys were camped directly under neath it, waiting for it to come down:
They got in each other's way, and the ball bounced directly to me on the richochet. It was ball #4. I was happy to see that it was a Twins' Metrodome commemorative baseball. The Indians and the Tigers had both played the Twins last week, so there was sure to be plenty of their baseballs mixed in.
Ball #5 was a home run that I caught on the fly off the bat of Shin Soo Choo. When he hit the ball, I had to put my head down and run to the spot it was going to land. I got there just and time and made a nice catch. I quickly looked down to see if it was another Metrodome ball. It wasn't. That turned out to be a bad choice, because Choo hit the next pitch towards me, but I didn't see it hit, since I was inspecting the baseball I just caught. I picked the ball up at the last second. I made a reaction play to run over and catch it, but it hit off of my glove and bounced several rows down. One of the guys that I beat out for ball #4 got it. "You can't get them all," he said.
His next time up, Choo hit a ball into the Heritage Park trees in center field. Since he was blistering the ball, I waited until he was done hitting, and then made my way over to Heritage Park. I was worried that some other ballhawk would've ran over and got the ball. Luckily, there was basically no one in attendance, so the ball was still waiting for me about two minutes later.
I used my "Cleveland Stick," a collapsible 6 foot measuring device, to move the ball closer so I could grab it. It was another Metrodome ball. It was also ball #6. More importantly, I had reached double digits for the day - having snagged 4 balls earlier in the day at PNC Park.
I got ball #7 from Indians' pitcher Chris Perez. A ball rolled to the wall and I asked for it along with a man who was playing the "how about a ball for a man on his 50th birthday" card. Luckily the guy was a Tigers fan in Detroit gear, so Perez tossed me the ball. It was yet another Metrodome ball.
The Indians finished hitting, and batting practice was only half over. I would have a decent chance at double digits for the game.
By the way, here's the crowd at around 5:25, when the Tigers began to hit.
By the way, see that Progressive White SUV in the background? It shoots out four t-shirts everyday at around 4:45-5:00. I was easily able to snag a t-shirt, my second one this season. Anyway...
I got ball #8 off the bat of an unknown Tigers lefty. The ball was a home run ball that landed in an empty row to my right.
I had competition from behind, with two guys trying to reach other the seats to grab the ball. I got to the ball a split second before them, snatching it with my bare hand. Guess what? Another Metrodome commemorative!
Things then slowed way down for me. I wouldn't get another ball for the next half hour.
I watched Miguel Cabrera pepper the left field bleachers with home run balls. There was only one usher there picking them all up, and he had his work cut out for him.
One of Cabrera's homers nearly hit the scoreboard. It landed in the very top row of the bleachers (as marked by the red X in the picture below.)
At 6:00, I ran over to those left field bleachers to look for some easter eggs that the usher potentially may have missed. I searched the rows at the bottom, and watched as one teenager found one. I then ran up towards the top of the bleachers, and found this waiting for me, three rows from the top.
Yes, another Metrodome ball - my fifth commemorative of the day, and ball #9.
Things in left field weren't going well, so I made my way back over to right field as the final lefties were finishing up.
Curtis Granderson ( i think - a black left handed batter ) - hit a deep home run to my left in right field. Again, it was going to be about two sections over, so I put my head down and ran over to where I judged it was going to land. I ended up making a really nice catch on the run for ball #10 of the day. I got a nice hand from the few people that were still in right field watching batting practice. It was also my fifth consecutive Metrodome ball snagged, and my sixth commemorative of the day.
Two pitches later, Granderson hit another home run to right field. This ball was high in the air, and I had plenty of time to weave and correct my route so I'd be in the right spot. I caught the ball with a basket style catch for ball #11. It was the last hit of BP, as the Tigers then ran off the field. I quickly snapped this picture right after batting practice ended to show all the room I had.
I love weekday batting practices at Progressive Field.
I left after batting practice, happy that after snagging 14 yesterday, I had snagged 15 today (albeit over 2 games). It was a new "one-day" record for me.
On my way out of the stadium, I had a few reminders from the trees that fall was here, and baseball season was almost over.
Farewell Progressive Field - See you next year
Today's baseballs:
Sweet spots
STATISTICS:
Game: 11 balls (8 hit, 2 thrown, 1 device)
Season: 390 balls (208 hit, 117 thrown, 65 device)
Games: 78 games (9 of which didn't have BP)
Average: 5.00 balls per game
Career: 556 balls
Streak: 93 consecutive games attended with at least 1 ball snagged.
Attendance: 23,516
Race for 400 in 2009: Need 10 in 3 games, 3.33 per game
When I ran in, I didn't find any easter eggs on the ground. I paced up and down each aisle and did manage to find ball #1 and ball #2 laying in seats. The second ball was an International League (AAA) ball - which the Tigers are known to use in lieu of major league baseballs. I was pretty happy because I didn't have any of these yet this year. After snagging 300 some regular major league baseballs this season, any variation is a welcomed departure from the mean.
Within the span of a minute, I lost out on three home run balls in center field. All three balls bounced on this six foot wide concrete platform seperating the outfield wall from the seats:
The balls took huge hops and landed about 15 rows back, and I wasn't able to get to any of them in time.
Ball #3 was thrown by an Indians pitcher (standing on the left of the two pitchers).
He snagged a ball, inspected it, then turned to throw it to the "crowd." I was about five rows back, and held up my arms to get his attention. He threw a nice arc right over those in the front row, and right into my glove.
I used the term crowd loosely because when the gates opened at 4:30, there were only six people in line. This was the scene at 4:50:
About mid way through the Indians BP, a left handed batter hit a towering high fly ball to right field. Of course, the ball bounced on that blasted platform again, and took another high bounce. Due to the angle that it hit, the ball went almost straight up in the air.
I actually had to run down a few steps to get into positon for this ball. These two guys were camped directly under neath it, waiting for it to come down:
They got in each other's way, and the ball bounced directly to me on the richochet. It was ball #4. I was happy to see that it was a Twins' Metrodome commemorative baseball. The Indians and the Tigers had both played the Twins last week, so there was sure to be plenty of their baseballs mixed in.
Ball #5 was a home run that I caught on the fly off the bat of Shin Soo Choo. When he hit the ball, I had to put my head down and run to the spot it was going to land. I got there just and time and made a nice catch. I quickly looked down to see if it was another Metrodome ball. It wasn't. That turned out to be a bad choice, because Choo hit the next pitch towards me, but I didn't see it hit, since I was inspecting the baseball I just caught. I picked the ball up at the last second. I made a reaction play to run over and catch it, but it hit off of my glove and bounced several rows down. One of the guys that I beat out for ball #4 got it. "You can't get them all," he said.
His next time up, Choo hit a ball into the Heritage Park trees in center field. Since he was blistering the ball, I waited until he was done hitting, and then made my way over to Heritage Park. I was worried that some other ballhawk would've ran over and got the ball. Luckily, there was basically no one in attendance, so the ball was still waiting for me about two minutes later.
I used my "Cleveland Stick," a collapsible 6 foot measuring device, to move the ball closer so I could grab it. It was another Metrodome ball. It was also ball #6. More importantly, I had reached double digits for the day - having snagged 4 balls earlier in the day at PNC Park.
I got ball #7 from Indians' pitcher Chris Perez. A ball rolled to the wall and I asked for it along with a man who was playing the "how about a ball for a man on his 50th birthday" card. Luckily the guy was a Tigers fan in Detroit gear, so Perez tossed me the ball. It was yet another Metrodome ball.
The Indians finished hitting, and batting practice was only half over. I would have a decent chance at double digits for the game.
By the way, here's the crowd at around 5:25, when the Tigers began to hit.
By the way, see that Progressive White SUV in the background? It shoots out four t-shirts everyday at around 4:45-5:00. I was easily able to snag a t-shirt, my second one this season. Anyway...I got ball #8 off the bat of an unknown Tigers lefty. The ball was a home run ball that landed in an empty row to my right.
I had competition from behind, with two guys trying to reach other the seats to grab the ball. I got to the ball a split second before them, snatching it with my bare hand. Guess what? Another Metrodome commemorative!
Things then slowed way down for me. I wouldn't get another ball for the next half hour.
I watched Miguel Cabrera pepper the left field bleachers with home run balls. There was only one usher there picking them all up, and he had his work cut out for him.
One of Cabrera's homers nearly hit the scoreboard. It landed in the very top row of the bleachers (as marked by the red X in the picture below.)
At 6:00, I ran over to those left field bleachers to look for some easter eggs that the usher potentially may have missed. I searched the rows at the bottom, and watched as one teenager found one. I then ran up towards the top of the bleachers, and found this waiting for me, three rows from the top.
Yes, another Metrodome ball - my fifth commemorative of the day, and ball #9.
Things in left field weren't going well, so I made my way back over to right field as the final lefties were finishing up.
Curtis Granderson ( i think - a black left handed batter ) - hit a deep home run to my left in right field. Again, it was going to be about two sections over, so I put my head down and ran over to where I judged it was going to land. I ended up making a really nice catch on the run for ball #10 of the day. I got a nice hand from the few people that were still in right field watching batting practice. It was also my fifth consecutive Metrodome ball snagged, and my sixth commemorative of the day.
Two pitches later, Granderson hit another home run to right field. This ball was high in the air, and I had plenty of time to weave and correct my route so I'd be in the right spot. I caught the ball with a basket style catch for ball #11. It was the last hit of BP, as the Tigers then ran off the field. I quickly snapped this picture right after batting practice ended to show all the room I had.
I love weekday batting practices at Progressive Field.
I left after batting practice, happy that after snagging 14 yesterday, I had snagged 15 today (albeit over 2 games). It was a new "one-day" record for me.
On my way out of the stadium, I had a few reminders from the trees that fall was here, and baseball season was almost over.
Farewell Progressive Field - See you next year
Today's baseballs:
Sweet spots
STATISTICS:
Game: 11 balls (8 hit, 2 thrown, 1 device)
Season: 390 balls (208 hit, 117 thrown, 65 device)
Games: 78 games (9 of which didn't have BP)
Average: 5.00 balls per game
Career: 556 balls
Streak: 93 consecutive games attended with at least 1 ball snagged.
Attendance: 23,516
Race for 400 in 2009: Need 10 in 3 games, 3.33 per game
Okay, you're a HS spanish teacher right?
Didnt school start like a month ago?
How can you go to day games? Shouldnt you be teaching?
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Puck,
We have off school due to the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Had we had school, I wouldn't have been able to make those Thursday games or the Friday game (due to coaching). The G20 really helped me out ballhawking wise.
-Erik
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Dear Erik,
Those Metrodome symobl baseballs are very cool! I am a ballhawk, but in Triple A Baseball, there isnt a Pro team in Portland. How many of the Metrodome Final Season balls did you catch this year? That ball was one I tried getting all year, but I couldnt go to any Twins games because my parents couldnt take me to Minnesota or Seattle. I hope maybe that somehow I get one. Were they used during all of batting practice?
Morgan P
Oregon
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