My version here, but told better here. (Many thanks to Zack Hample for the photos!)
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)
- 4 straight games where attendee has had at least one ball