Weird I stopped making posts here after we got engaged? … hmm

That was followed by their Dolphin Show at the Aquarium – nice and indoors too – because it was scorching out!

After that we went back to our Hotel room and then off to Camden Yards – where our “Season Ticket Holder” tickets got us in at around 4:40 because there was a Season Ticket Holder “State of the Orioles” meeting with the O’s Team President taking questions from the audience before batting practice. The only answer that stood out to me was when he said that “no player is untouchable” while the players were stretching, playing catch, getting ready for BP in right field. You can see the view here – pre BP.

Meanwhile, in Center Field Jake Arrieta was having a catch with a bullpen catcher. Once he finished throwing he started to walk in towards the bullpen so I called out for him and asked for the ball. Being practically the only one there… he tossed it right to me.

Behold the first ball I’ve ever caught outside of New York!

A little briefly after that BP started – the crowd started to fill up a little bit and the O’s starting hitting them out to left. Camden Yards is small and both teams make it look that way – you need to be able to move amongst the seats and not be that close to the front rows to grab homers here. So here I am waiting for the O’s to start hitting them out.

Here was my view for much of Orioles’ BP.

So about a third of the way into BP, Ty Wigginton laces a shot towards my section. I race down about 3 rows where there’s a small crowd developing in the row below (very competitive for homers here – especially on a Saturday), stick my glove out and reach for the highest point and ‘smack!’ my first Camden Yards home run caught on the fly!

Then later in the Blue Jays portion of batting practice – I had moved down a little and was in practically the same section. A righty smacked one deep towards my section, I scooted down into an open aisle and as people below me were reaching up and missing the ball – it landed in the palm of my glove on the fly. Home Run #2! ALSO – first time I’ve caught more than one home run on the fly in any park. Pretty cool eh?

What was really cool was the ball was one of the cleanest I’d ever seen! We took a picture when we got to our seats – here take a look!

Jenna and I went and grabbed Lemonades after BP – I drank through all of mine quickly (shocker) but Jenna had hers still with her at the game. We bought an O-shaped pretzel along the first base side of the field level (practically behind our section that night – 17). But back on topic – in about the middle of the game – there’s a family next to us (mother – grandmother?/aunt and daughter) who are about to go walk down to the concourses so we needed to get up. So they’re walking down the aisle and the little kid says “ooo” and takes Jenna’s lemonade, Jenna starts to look at me (I didn’t notice yet) and gives me a weird new signal I haven’t seen before. So I let them pass as I’m standing out of the aisle for them. So when I sit down, Jenna tells me “she took my lemonade!!” We had noted how everyone was so friendly in Baltimore but we didn’t realize this would happen – we laughed it off – a lot. Then when they came back, what did they have? A new Lemonade.

We had to leave early out of this game to go have dinner – our pick for the night? Fogo de Chao – a Brazilian steakhouse nearby. This (blurred) picture is the best I got of how they serve you …

everyone walks around with skewers and asks you whether or not you’d like a piece. See here Jenna is trying the Brazilian flavored steak. A great place to go! Here was my plate after a little while.

We also tried the fried polentas and they were good too! Overall a great place to go for a good meal. I know where I’m going again when I get a chance!

The other good news was: since the O’s had a malfunction in ordering the Brooks Robinson Jerseys promotion – we got vouchers for sending out to get a jersey which comes with a coupon for discounted tickets in September/October!

3 balls (1 home run)
1 – Jake Arrieta (Left Center)
2 – Ty Wigginton HR (Left)
3 – Blue Jays TBD HR (Left)

10 straight games with at least one ball

With that, guess what is now full?

Jenna’s gift to me of a baseball holder is now filled with baseballs! (Chronicled before here Baseball Collection)

So far this year I have been to…
7 Games
26 Baseballs  (3.7 per game)
(of those ones I’ve caught they have been
2 Game Balls
6 Home Runs – 5 of which were caught on the fly

First I met Greg again (who I saw on Tuesday) and we eventually all made it in the park… We were both there for the opportunity of all… Twins baseballs – since they opened their new park “Target Field” this year- we were hoping to grab a Target Field commemorative baseball.

Jenna met me at 6 – by that time I already had 5 baseballs. The first one I asked for by a #62 on the Mets who was shagging flies in left field. I asked for it and he turned around and gunned it right to me – pretty hard too – I almost wasn’t expecting a throw that fast. So I caught two balls in Mets portion of BP – not bad for a Friday – but once I saw the Twins out I had a goal to hit the Twins dugout.

For a few minutes I got to watch Ron Gardenhire and his coaches throwing knuckleballs to each other in front of the Twins dugout before their BP started. We exchanged a brief hello, which was cool, and then once he finished throwing – I don’t remember if I even had to ask, but he tossed the ball right to me.

From there I went out to right field because the Twins have a lot of lefties and they were (I hoped) ready to put on a show. A few balls trickled down – I asked Matt Guerrier to toss me a ball and got it in the right field corner. Then all of the sudden – a home run comes almost directly at me off of Justin Morneau’s bat. People behind me were already playing for it, I was caught on the edge of one of the walls that extends out to the Modell’s part of right center… so I got ready real quick as people were ready behind me and stuck out my glove as high as I could and ‘smack!’ caught it on the fly.

Then as batting practice was about to end – I took my usual favorite nesting spot in right center by the bullpens – got Nick Blackburn’s (I believe it was him) attention and he threw a ball about 30 feet to get it to me. That’s 6 – one shy of my Citi Field and current high.

Here they are…

These were our seats for the game… a good view.

Here were the six…

The game went by really fast – so fast that we only snuck down during the 9th inning. Which is where I saw Greg again and we made sure to stay out of each other’s way. This was our view in the 9th.

After the game ended – we waited for the Twins relievers to walk back to the dugout and, low and behold, Matt Guerrier tosses me my seventh ball of the day – since I was the only one decked out in any Twins gear. Matched the record! Then I got this photo with Jenna with #7 on the day.

7 balls (1 home run)
TIED PERSONAL HIGH
NEW SEASON HIGH
1 – #62 ? I’m not sure who he is but he gunned it right to me!
2 – ? (it was in center though!)
3 – Ron Gardenhire (Twins Dugout)
4 – Matt Guerrier (Right Field)
5 – Justin Morneau HR caught on fly (RF)
6 – Nick Blackburn? (I believe it was him in Right Center)
7 – Matt Guerrier (Twins Dugout – Postgame)

9 straight games with at least one ball

So here was the line to get in at around 4:55, right before the gates open at 5pm. Ouch by the way, you only get to see 30 minutes of Yankees batting practice. Here is their bag check, by the way…

So it took me about 2 minutes to get in, get to the right field seats and get a ball tossed to me by Mark Melancon (who got optioned to the minors the next day- ouch) but I already thought, hey this Yankee Stadium must not be that bad – and Thank goodness I’m not shut out! After that, I went over to the left field seats (since the righties were hitting) and tried for a few home run balls. Came very close, even with me still keeping on my ankle brace on for safety, to two homers but just missed out on them. Very different to get homers at Yankee Stadium than Citi Field, since you’re judging where the ball will come down about 10 feet lower than you would at the giant walls of Citi.

You’re right on top of the field which is nice. Soon enough TJ got there, the Orioles went on the field and the crowd started to fill up.

Soon enough, security emptied everyone out of the section who did not have a ticket… somehow I got by that (TJ did not, ah the magic of sneaking past by the row) and soon enough a ball hit the warning track, my only competition was another security guy asking for my ticket. So I fumble around, forgetting where it went, and by the time the ball lands I ask if I can go ask for the ball… he says “you can try.” That made me run over and roll my eyes, thanks to you driving everyone out – me and 3 others are the only ones here. So I go over in the above corner, near the bullpen, ask (who I believe was) Matt Albers for the ball and he flips it right to me. Twice as many as I was probably expecting at Yankee Stadium.

After that we went picture crazy, this is TJ and I before the game and the next one is our seats (twice)…

Now the one comment I had about this place was… everyone had a beer in hand. Even going to the bathroom, people were holding a beer and going to the bathroom. It was a very different experience. The Yankees won in what turned out to be a very fast game, who knew the Yankees could play a 7:05 game that ended before 10pm?!?

6 straight games with at least one ball

So this day was special for many reasons. First off, I got to see my good friend TJ who I don’t get to see often anymore. He’s busy teaching in the Bronx for now so he got out and got to Citi Field as fast as he could.

So he met me around 5ish. Another fun fact about the day, my cellphone was on low battery from when I got to the park until it finally died at about 10:30.

So onto our day at the park, I got there and I of course saw good buddy Zack Hample getting geared up for the season. There I met a few of his friends and got to know Greg, Matt and Ben and we posed for a photo after collecting balls during BP. That can come after this first photo, Zack took of me and Matt getting ready for the first game of the season! I was excited probably from 3:30 on once I left work to get to the park and finally get the year underway. Yeah I’ve been watching baseball since like, well, have I really stopped watching specific plays and stuff at work? Well, only for a week for the NCAA Tournament did I actually stop watching baseball related stuff. Anyway, here’s Matt & I getting ready to enter… but of course

Citi Field had other plans. What sucks is, they only opened two turnstiles of self scan ticket windows. Two turnstiles, all game, that’s it for the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. So all, eight or so, lines sucked in to two ticket lines. Now, I don’t like this for the sole (and good) point I have: not everyone even scans their own groceries at Stop and Shop or wherever you go… so why let them scan their own tickets?!?! It’s a recipe for disaster. That coupled with the 38,000 about to come through wasn’t a good job.

After that, Zack raced up the stairs ahead of us… I lagged behind with my ankle (hurt playing basketball, in soft cast for another week – last week!). So once I realized that EVERYONE was in left field I did the only logical thing, worked center and right-center field.

Ball #1 was given to me by #58 Arroyo and I asked nicely a few times after he said he’d give me one when BP was close to ending… I waited some more and got one. Then, I believe, Angel Pagan tossed me my second ball of the day in center as well. After that, I moved over to right center where (TJ would meet me there) and I called out to “Fernando” Nieve. The security guard there kept telling me I had the wrong name, so once I got the ball I showed him my roster sheet and poked fun a little. I find it better to play nice with the security guards there and as long as you’re nice, use the word “sir” and “excuse me”, things will go well.

It was at this time I finally coached TJ up to get his own ball, he called out pitching coach Dan Warthen when a ball landed, and he tossed it right to him. Yay, I put pressure telling him that the last three times someone has come with me they got a ball too… but he came through and the streak is alive!

When Marlins BP started, I found a ball that was stranded in front of a very old man who helps the high class seats on the third base side, he wears green and said he couldn’t go on the field. I made nice with him and he asked a security guard if he could grab the ball lying there and toss it to me, he did and voila #4.

We went back to center and I got a ball from Dan Meyer in my Marlins gear. Then TJ and I made our move over to the right center again. TJ called out for Cody Ross to toss him a ball but Ross went for a kid instead.. The kid missed it so Ross said now he had to give it to a Marlin fan (his mistake as TJ had my 2nd Marlins hat on) and he got it. TJ immediately, before I could give him a ball from my backpack, went over and gave it to the kid. Then TJ called on Tim Wood and got a ball from him.

After BP we gathered around with Zack, TJ met him finally that day, and we went through our numbers and took a picture in Marlins gear. Zack has this photo up but he gave me this one too..

in order left to right: TJ (3), Me (6), Zack (15), Ben (1), Matt (3) and Greg (9)

Look at all those “throwback” teal hats! More on that later… So we settle into our nice seats in section 124 after going to the Shake Shack line, followed by a nice Shackburger, fries and shake (yay, Strawberry is there now!).

TJ and I made our sneak down after the 6th I believe and after that, the game did get real exciting. We were talking about all the crucial situations and I was saying how it could be possible to bring the closer in now in the jams in the 7th or 8th. By the way, here’s the WPA of the game by FanGraphs.

So this was a real exciting game, TJ had to leave at 10 to get back to his apartment but I stayed and enjoyed the whole game. So after being heckled enough times for being a marlins fan by a few kids, I kept moving over til I found all these guys in a section near the Marlins dugout for the 9th inning.

So I got down there, sat between Greg and Ben hanging out. Didn’t know but Greg is at Manhattan, good ol’ MAAC school and told me how much everyone hates the head coach there and I gloated (if you can call it that) that Marist’s win over Manhattan was their only win this year. However the we talked about 3rd out balls and trying to go for one and then we both really said the same thing, we’re waiting for a ground ball to the third base coach and we should do well. So Greg had the aisle seat and I asked if one comes down, can I go for it.. so he said yes and I planned my little route. Figure that 3rd out balls in an extra inning game, might not be a smart idea so lets hope for a grounder…

Before you know it, Wes Helms 2-1 pitch is grounded to third base coach Joey Espada. So I make a run toward the first row on the dugout to be next to the crowd of many many teens. Of course I had a few advantages over them: one would be height, two a glove, three marlins gear. However I didn’t know his name so I turned back for a second to see Greg and, practically all of them (as I remember? memory not as good), saying “Joey!” to give me his name. So I yell as quick as I could get it and he tosses the ball up in the air for many hands and a glove to compete for. Let’s just say, I won that battle by stretching out real hard and being like a wide receiver: catching the ball at its highest point. Glove beats bare hands, who’da thunk it.

My first game ball, awesome.

Me
#1 Arroyo 58 (center)
#2 Pagan
#3 Nieve (right center -ish)
#4 ball rolled to track from security guard
#5 Dan Meyer (cener)
#6 Joey Espada game ball top 10th

TJ
#1 Dan Warthen (right center)
#2 Cody Ross (right center) … given to kid.
#3 Tim Wood (right center)

Matt made the war top as bleak as the news for Siena fans.

I think we all had to figure this was going to happen. As much as I’ve heard Fran on every single phoner say that he is very happy in the capital region and with Siena, there were just so many opportunities that (apparently) loved him.

I think, Matt agrees that this is more a testament to how badly the Seton Hall and St. John’s jobs aren’t wanted. The upside there is being 8th in the Big East, maybe. While the upside in the Big Ten, presumably, is competing for a league title.

However it happened, I’m happy for him and wish him the best at Iowa. Now onto Siena’s search for a new head coach, oh an Iona’s too since Kevin Willard left for the Seton Hall job.

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