Game 2 - LEFT FIELD SUCKS!

Every man at work needs new equipment from time to time, right?

The glove I had recently been using inside the park and out was pretty worn down. It was a Father’s Day gift for my dad before we moved, so this thing was at least 14 years old. Not only that, but it was some brand I had never heard of, and I’m surprised it lasted this long.

Thanks to Groupon and Play It Again Sports, I picked up a brand new glove the day before my second game.

It was my first new glove since, literally, first grade. I stopped playing little league in second grade, and used that one until I was 13. After that my dad and I stopped playing as much, and I started to take his whenever I needed one.

In retrospect, this may have not been such a good idea. When I picked it up, I had exactly 18 hours until I was planning to catch high velocity homers. I got in a few tosses with Dad and proceeded to carefully prepare it so I wouldn’t drop a ball the next morning.

Yes..oh so careful….

Anyway, another day game awaited me on Sunday, April 22^nd. I had a little more time than the last one; a classic 1:20 start time was scheduled today. I had my usual bag of goodies, including the previously mentioned new glove, Cincinnati Reds rosters, and my designated throw back ball.

If you don’t know the tradition, visitors game home run balls are to be thrown back onto the field. The idea there is: “Why would I want this piece of junk? Send it back to where it came from!” Recently, this has caught on around all of baseball. Just like anything, once everyone does it, it starts to become less cool. Before it was only a Wrigley thing, but I feel it’s lost a lot of originality in the last few years. A funny story comes from this ‘rule’ though.

My dad and I were in Milwaukee watching the Cubs take on the Brewers in the bleachers in 2007. There was a group of 4 or 5 Asian guys, who I didn’t hear speak a word of English the whole game, sitting the row in front of us. At some point, they left and came back with brand new Cubs hats and other Cubs memorabilia. You could tell they were new to this concept of baseball.


Shortly after, now former Brewers slugger Geoff Jenkins hit a homer that nearly almost hit me in the leg. I didn’t get it, but one of the Asians did. They all high fived as expected; EVERYONE likes to catch a ball! Before I could sit back down, this guy cocks back and launches the ball 100 feet back towards the infield. This was a time when Brewer fans hated the Cubs, because when they played in Milwaukee, their park would be at least 75% full of visiting fans. I can’t think of a bigger insult than bringing a Wrigley tradition to ‘Wrigley North’ to use against the home team.

For a few years I always debated whether to throw back the real ball if I ever got one. But now with my ballhawking taking full effect, it would go against everything I believe in. Therefore, if I were lucky enough to catch a visiting team game homer, a quick slight of hand would keep me from being heckled and shunned for the rest of the game.

Dad first showed me that driving could be easier, so guess what, we drove and parked just a couple blocks down Addison. Talk about an excellent spot. Here's a picture I snapped en-route:

It was another great morning for a short walk to the old ball yard. Without fail, every game I end up walking through the neighborhood, I stumble on some sort of ticket. Today’s was one I was really happy I found.

It’ll go nicely with my “Ron Santo Day” ticket from last year.

We arrived at about 10:30 and passed the Marquee.

I also saw something that, as of that Sunday, was officially outdated.

Just the day before, we unloaded Marlon Byrd to the Red Sox to take over center field while Jacoby Ellsbury is on the DL. I was sad to see Byrd go; he always played hard and gave it his all, and was a nice guy to top it off.  Unfortunatley, he was off to a terrible start, and has been on the downslide ever since he got hit in the face (ironically, at Fenway last year by Alfredo Aceves) and served quite a bit of time on the DL in 2011. (During the time on the DL, he threw me a ball, so that’s another reason I hated to see him struggle).

For a second, I forgot we were on a time crunch. It was still 45 minutes until the gates opened, but we had to get in line in right field. The Wrigley Bleachers are general admission; every man for himself. You can pick any single seat you want as long as it’s not taken. It’s been that way nearly forever, and I really like that they kept that aspect even when it became really popular to sit out there.

As a season ticket holder for the day, I got access to the super secret VIP gate.

That sounds spectacular, but the sight didn’t make me feel very exclusive.

Due to the general admission nature, this VIP bleacher gate opens 10 to 15 minutes before normal gates open, to give a little something extra to season ticket holders. Basically, I was going to have absolute zero competition for balls until the regular gates opened. At the time, I was for certain the 5^th person in the stadium.

I don’t get to see the back of Wrigley much. This would be only the 4^th time I had ever been in the bleachers. I took an artsy-fartsy picture of the El:

I also snapped a couple of the rooftops. I was actually planning on this game to be my first rooftop visit, but, most tickets were $80 or more. That's still a bit too much for me. The buildings are top notch and the lounges are great. You may see me up there later this season though (wink wink).

It was about 11:12 when the gates finally swung open. Dad took the backpack to get checked, and I ran right in with my glove. I took the first possible set of stairs up to the seats, walked behind the new all you can eat patio, and down the first aisle in right field. I looked down every row as far as I could see, in hopes I would find and Easter egg.  What’s an Easter egg you ask? Well, take a look:

(This was a dramatic reenactment; I didn’t want the old guy running from the other direction to nab it before me, so this was taken shortly after BP ended.)

Ushers sometimes try to find the balls hit out into the Bleachers, either to give them to fans or toss them back on the field. Fortunately, they can’t get all of them. This one was sitting hidden, just like this, and I was pleasantly surprised, just like when you find an Easter egg. I expected to find something being the first fan to walk through the stands. Literally within 30 seconds after standing outside the park, I was on the board.

My first toss-up target was James Russell. He was having small conversations with some fans, and tossing quite a few balls to them. (He's the one in the 'front' of this pack).

Unfortunately, no luck.

Dad mocked me for this, but I was a little jumpy and skittish at the beginning. I haven’t had much outfield practice in terms of judging fly balls. I tried to get a good jump and looked like a dork for every single one that wasn’t a grounder, and most didn’t even make it 250 feet. I guess it’s no surprise. Look at the flags today:

Of course this would happen. The first game they were going straight out, and I get stuck with this. But I knew I still had plenty of chances.

David DeJesus (on the left) was shagging balls in his natural right field.

It was only a matter of time until someone pulled a ball down the right field line. I raced over right next to the patio deck and waited for him to jog over. I was the only one in sight, and up came ball number two on the day. This was the closest thing I could get to an action shot of it happening:

His footsteps are at the bottom of the picture, just beyond the basket fence.

I took this one from the front row, looking straight down towards the beautiful green ivy through the fence:

Dad was chatting up the patio attendant, finding out the rules and prices for the new area.

Here’s the seats you get:

Packages start in groups of 50, and all non-premium games are $150. Either Sox or other premium game, $250. Yikes.

The wind eluded me the whole day. I waited and waited....

But nothing. (Why the green hat you ask? Earth day…duh).

My competition didn’t consist of much more than this guy, the one standing on the seats with the glove.

There was one homer, the only one to right all morning. It flew right over my head when I was taking pictures in the front row. I spotted it a little too late, and didn’t feel like stumbling up 4 rows to just miss it. It hit the cement hard and bounced back onto the field. The Cubs then cleared the field, and I started to work on one of my season goals-get a ball using my connections (and I use that term VERY loosely).

This offseason, Sean Marshall got traded to the Reds from the Cubs for Travis Wood. Sean has a wife, and her parents live on the same street as my Mom’s best friend in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. During the season, he used to be over there all the time. I never got the chance to meet him, but my Mom’s friend saw him all the time, and my dad even hung out with him for a little while during a block party.

I called out “Hey Sean, I met you on (unnamed street) last summer”, hoping he wouldn’t call me out on the blatant lie I just told.

He took the bait: “My wife’s parents actually live over there”.

“Yea, I was over at (name of friend)’s house for a block party, do you remember her?”

“Oh yea of course. My wife and I just bought a house in Lincolnwood”.

“Glad to hear that. Too bad I won’t be seeing you over there anymore”. By this time he was starting to take 

his position with other pitchers “Hope you have a good year, we miss you here”.

“Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. I hear that from a lot of you guys. Nice to see you again”.

I was pretty nervous about making conversation, and didn’t think the ball was important. He didn’t have one, and even if he did, I felt like it would be a sleazy thing to do to sneak it in there and ask. I was just happy I got the chance to connect with him a little bit, and enjoyed the very short conversation. (Should I give this one half a check off the list?).

The Reds started to hit, and just like the Cubs, nearly nothing came close to leaving the park. 

The good thing about visiting teams is they don’t get to interact with Wrigley Bleacher fans everyday, so they like to mess with us and hand out lots of balls. At this point, I was growing a little tired of toss ups. Of course I would still take one, but I really wanted to snag a BP homer, whether I caught it on the fly (and checked it off season goal list) or off the bounce.

Whenever a Reds player looked like he was going to toss a ball up, I lazily stood up and waved my arms; not trying too hard.  One Reds player threw one to the family 2 rows in front of me. I saw it was going way WAY over their head. What a terrible throw this guy made…..holy crap, this is to me!

It was a pretty short throw if it WAS intended for me, and it took me by surprise. I panicked and looked like a doofus trying to catch it with my bare hand despite still wearing my glove. I eventually realized I had it, and took a look at my latest snag.

Here’s the pitcher (on the right), who I still can’t identify after looking at ESPN headshots. Ideas, anyone?

If you were keeping track, that’s THREE balls, my new single game record! I was really happy, but somehow not surprised. I knew it would happen eventually, it was just a matter of time.

So, thank you unnamed Reds pitcher, for making my day, and getting a memorable assist in my ballhawking stat book.

The Reds jogged off the field at about 12:40, the perfect time to grab some lunch. Thanks to my dad informing me, I picked up this FOOT LONG bratwurst right behind the scoreboard.

I took some pictures of the back of the board, which I think is a cool part of the park that’s not featured enough.

Murphy’s was still hopping, and a few were heading into the game.

(Fun fact- I did a group speech last year at ISU with the niece of THE Murphy- the guy that owns the place. True story.)

As I ate the brat, I enjoyed more great views.

I got a good view of Reds ace Johnny Cueto warming up.

Earl Bennet, Bears wide receiver, was the first pitch and Stretch celebrity at this one.

Soon after, we were off with the first pitch.

As I mentioned before, this was only my fourth time in the Bleachers. The first 3 times, I sat in left field, all within 20 feet of eachother; 5th row, 1st row, 2nd row, all in aisle 305. Even after just that, I was sort of getting bored with the same view. I took that into consideration, but there were also 2 gigantic reasons I picked right field for the first time ever.

Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, two of the most powerful lefties in the league.

The game was moving pretty quickly, but the Reds took the lead in the top of the third. Votto and Scott Rolen knocked in a run each with a double and single.

The Cubs tied up the game in the 5^th. First, Joe Mather scored on an error on a pickoff throw. Right after that, Bryan LaHair knocked in Starlin Castro on this very pitch:

For the second game in a row, I thought we had some momentum, and that I would see my first win of the season. But, it never works out the easy way these days.

The Reds took the lead right back in the 6^th. Ryan Hannigan scored on a groundout by Drew Stubbs, and Jay Bruce knocked in Cueto to make it 4-2.

Son of a…..

The Cubs got one more on a weak groundout in the 9^th, but that was it.

Final Score- Reds 4, Cubs 3.

The Cubs left the bases loaded at least twice, and left 12 on overall. That was the most frustrating part. It seemed like we were in position to score almost every inning.

My second day at Wrigley was another great ballhawking day, but being contempt with balls instead of wins won’t last much longer.

And thanks for being the designated photographer, Dad.

STATS

• 3 balls at this game. (New career high)
• 5 balls total this season
• 4 consecutive games with a ball.
• 15 lifetime balls.

On a side note, I decided to make my long term goal of the near future to snag 100 balls. After that, I’ll see where I stand, but for sure won’t stop until I get there.


Finally, a few funny pictures to end the entry.

First, I didn’t know Pepsi took out ads on Yamakas.

Second…what the hell is this kid doing behind me?