I learned a lot yesterday. I realized what I needed to do, and recognized things I needed to improve on in order to be a better Ballhawk. The best part was being able to put my plan into action the very next day, not a week later like I'm usually forced to do.
My friend Courtney, whom I met at ISU, was going to meet me at the park. Because of that, I would be going solo for the first 4 hours of the afternoon. It's very relaxing to drive down completely on my own terms and think solely about Ballhawking. It's not that I DON'T like going to games with people, but when it's just me, I can do what I really want instead of keeping them in mind.
Unlike yesterday, I had my VIP tickets way in advance, and was about 10th in line when I arrived at 4:40. I was shocked at how much the weather could change in a day. It wasn't freezing last night, but by the end of the game, I was shivering with just my sweatshirt, and Kyra was glad she brought a blanket. Tonight, however, was exactly the opposite. I was in shorts and couldn't decide whether to take or leave the sweatshirt.
Instead of boring you with the same pictures as I take EVERY game, let's hit the ground running.
After rushing up the stairs, I spotted this a few sections over in about the 10th row:
I found it EXACTLY like that. Didn't even touch it. I made sure to stand over it for a while to let people know it was mine, then stepped back to take this shot. This is the first natural Easter Egg I've ever photographed. (If you still think this is too good to be true, don't you think I would have put it somewhere else that's NOT right next to bird shit?)
Listen readers- it really is this easy to get a ball! It required no effort whatsoever! All you need to sacrifice is an hour or two of your time in order to bring home a piece of the game. These Easter Eggs won't be there every time, but at least half of my collection is a direct result of being inside the park as early as possible.
After checking the rest of the seats and the basket, I dashed over to left field to try to catch a homer before the public came in. I was still getting a feel for things when a Cub hit a high fly ball towards the batters eye. I moved a little closer, but Kyuji Fujikawa looked like he was going to get under it right at the wall. (I quickly tried to piece together the words I remembered form "Baseball, please" spoken in Japanese as this was happening.)
He disappeared from sight as the ball had just enough juice to lodge itself into the basket. I scampered over, reached down, and grabbed ball number two.
I don't have a picture of the ball, but here's my view from the exact spot where I picked it up:
From here, I tried to decide where I should go next. While still thinking and watching a couple different batters in the cage, I realized nearly all of them were left handed. Usually, same handed players are grouped together in BP. I'm sure there's a reason why, but I've never cared enough to actually find out. I just know it from years of reading other Ballhawk's entries. I was proud of myself for being so attentive, and accordingly moved over to right field.
Lots of the middle relievers were hovering in right center as well. The temptation was too much to resist to NOT do anything to try to get one from them. When a hitter split the gap, Shawn Camp jogged over to pick up the ball. I got right in line with him so he was running towards me. When he got to it and was looking at me, all I did was flap my glove; my mouth didn't even move. He took a quick glace at the infield, turned around, wound up, and let it fly.
I was quite a ways back, so by the time I gloved it, he was too far away to hear my 'Thank You'. I didn't say it just to be nice- I genuinely meant it. Since he's been a Cub the last two seasons, he's thrown me five balls. Very few guys have given me more than just one. He seems to be a super nice guy about throwing them out, and I want to let him know how cool he is next time I see him. Maybe I'll even give him a business card and tell him about my collection.
I was shocked when I realized this ball tied my single game high. I looked up at the clock, and it was just 5:15. I then composed this Tweet:
I was in the zone. Everything was going right and a thousand times better than yesterday in every single way.
Then my luck took a dive.
I went the rest of Cubs BP without another ball. There were a select few hit into the right field seats. All of those were gobbled up by the experts with their gloves. In fact, it was the same guys I saw here yesterday.
The guy in white was wearing a dark blue shirt underneath that had "BALLHAWK.NET" written on it. From just being a normal Cub fan, I know the group of guys on that site are the ones from Waveland. I was indeed dealing with a professional. He seemed to be working with the guy with his one foot on the seat from the second picture.
After the Cubs went in, I took a break in and tried to get some photogenic shots of the scoreboard that mostly looked like this:
Then I headed to left field to play the percentages, just like yesterday.
Not much happened over there. In fact, I can't even remember any specific details. It was basically the same as yesterday with missed chances and opportunities that I never really took advantage of. I recall there being one batted ball that I thought I handled pretty well, but that good memory was erased once one specific ball was hit.
I was fairly high up in the seats, just about five rows from the top. I was getting down on myself in the same way as the day before. It was getting crowded, and the other guys, along with normal fans, had a much better chance than me on most of the balls that were hit.
I was still watching every pitch, but not completely focusing. I was looking off in another direction when I realized I would have a chance at one. I moved to my left in the same row to get in line with it. I got that part right, at least.
I kept my eye on the ball as I noticed more and more people gathering around me. By pure luck, I got the distance right too. As it kept coming down, I shuffled farther and farther to the left. There was nobody blocking my path in the seats, but I was still trying to be extra careful and not barrel anyone over.
With about a second and a half to spare, I knew this would be it. I was in the perfect place to catch it. It was just a matter of getting my glove in front of it first. In my head, I was holding my breath; it was a tense moment, yet there were very few thoughts. My body and movements were completely calm, and I just reacted to the ball. While making one last lunge, I stuck my arm out at about waist height.
SMACK!
YES! Finally! I did it! All of....
Hang on....Ohhhhhh nooooooo....
I no longer felt the ball in my glove. I saw it pop up in the middle of the sea of hands, almost like it was hovering. I didn't miss it, I didn't deflect it, I didn't knock it down. The best word to describe the way it came out of my glove was "squirted". It slowly floated away, out of my reach, as it landed in someone else's hands.
I DID have it. It WAS in my glove. I felt it in my fingers; that half numb/half stinging sensation when you don't catch a ball exactly right. But I still wasn't holding it in my hands. I was emotionless, probably just from the shock of that happening for the second time. It was especially upsetting because not only would this have been my first ball on the fly, but it would have been the one to break my record of three in a single game.
I tried to comprehend what went wrong. After reflecting for the next few minutes, I determined that my wrist was at a weird angle. My glove was waist high and twisted back, sort of like my palm was facing the sky. Not the most natural catching position. I also wanted to get my hand out of there as soon as I could to make sure it wouldn't get knocked out my someone else. A combination of those two is what did me in.
The white shirted guy came up to me a minute later and showed me a picture he somehow caught on his iPhone during the scramble. It showed the small crowd around me and the ball floating in mid-air. The only sign of me was my glove in the lower corner, almost out of sight.
I tried to strike up a conversation, and asked about "BALLHAWK.NET" and Waveland. He wasn't too interested in any of that. But you know, I don't care. If he wasn't interested in discussing our sport, I have no desire to be 'friends' with him. Thanks to his shirt, I know where I can find him if I ever change my mind. (While editing, I just looked at the site for the first time. I am clearly still a novice to this guy. No disrespect, Dave, but I stand by my opinion. Lighten up!)
When he said something else, I mentioned I never got one on the fly and this unfortunate situation happened before. To my surprise, he actually answered me. "Well, you'll get one eventually. Either get down to the first row or over to right field". I took his advice and followed him to the other side.
He met up with his friend again, and they started discussing the 20th anniversary balls. I jumped in and mentioned that I hadn't seen one yet. White shirt (now Dave) informed me he got one yesterday, and another guy's son got one earlier today. They were few and far between, but definitely existed. He said the low number of them was due to a very long or very short road trip (I didn't hear exactly what he was saying).
His friend, however, didn't have one yet. During the last 10 minutes of BP, he convinced two Rockies to check for the logo, and offered to trade one of the regular balls he already had for the special one. It took a while to get his point across, and the guys only got their hands on three balls after they started checking. It was a good effort, and his plan worked, but he ran out of time and walked away without one.
Flashing sideways during that last paragraph, I got Jon Garland to toss up ball number four in my favorite corner spot. 'Please' is indeed a magic word.
I barley put any effort in and kind of didn't even want it. I was still kicking myself about the one I missed. I now officially broke my single game record, but this ball is a tangible memory of the muffed one. It actually bummed me out even more. Had I caught the other one, this last one would be number five on the day, which was one of my big season goals. Disappointing no matter which way you look at it.
BP ended a couple minutes later, and that was that. It was a good day overall for me numbers wise. I know if I could always do two or three games a week, my skills would improve much more quickly than than they are in reality.
Courtney was also bringing along two of her own friends (who I know pretty well from our time at ISU). I had no idea where they wanted to sit, so I went with the easiest choice; as low as possible in left field.
I watched Carlos Villanueva and Beef warm up in the outfield.
I'm not sure if I've been oblivious for the past five years or so, but I don't recall ever seeing a catcher warm up like Castillo does.
There was a very loud group of Alfonz fans to my right. I didn't mind it that much, because with all the cheering they were giving him, he was bound to throw them a ball at some point. And believe me when I say these kids were in no condition to catch it.
Speaking of Alfonz- the end is in sight. His 8 year contract ends at the conclusion of the 2014 season. Just the rest of this season plus one more. AND that's only if we can't unload him. This year, it could possibly happen if we really bite the bullet with returns and/or paying his contract. Next year, something is probably going to go down. However, if it's already July, I say we ride him out and finish what we started; the second worst Cubs signing of my life (let's not forget about this bafoon).
I grabbed my scorecard and settled in. The other three I was meeting were much more interested in the establishments in the surrounding area, so I watched alone for a little while. It was relaxing to have the scorecard be my only friend, but people were giving me dirty looks for still saving the four seats up so close.
I intently watched Tulowitzki, CarGo, Helton, and long time Rockie Jeff Francis. They're all solid players who shouldn't be scoffed at.
By the way, here's the view:
 |
| Packed. And I'm happy to see it. April and most of May had dismal attendance. |
For the first time since last season, I found myself mostly not caring about what happened on the field. I had no idea what inning it was, or even the exact score. All I know was the teams flip flopped from the previous night. The Rockies got ahead with a 5-0 lead and the Cubs didn't do a single thing about it.
By the time I got back to the game in the bottom of the 6th, with my scorecard in complete shambles, the Cubs managed to squeak out one run, while the Rockies added two more.
CarGo went 5-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs. Great hitter, still and awful fielder.
Eric Young, Tulo, Helton and even Francis added more runs.
Oh yea, about being back out here...
My sister Eileen came with a few friends, and I had the obligation to drive them home. I had to leave my group and head back out to center field during the 9th inning.
The Rockies got 17 hits. The Cubs got one more run in the 9th. It wasn't pretty. That's about it.
This could be the last time in a very long time I Ballhawk inside Wrigley. Right now, at this moment, it's looking like August. But knowing myself, there's no way I'll be able to go that long.
STATS
- 4 balls at this game (New Single Game High)
- 7 balls total this season (1.75 ball per game average)
- 9 consecutive games with a ball
- 39 lifetime balls
- Time Spent at Game: 5 hours, 29 minutes
- Total time spent at games: 22 hours, 52 minutes
- 4 balls X 38,123 fans = 152,492 Competition Factor
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