9/14/06 at Camden Yards
Four days ago, I got a random phone call from some guy in Virginia named Art Guillory. He'd seen me in the NY Times, checked out this blog, read about my Camden plans, and tracked me down to offer a free ticket to this game. I told him I'd be making the trip with a friend. (That would be Jules, pictured here with the crazy hair.) He said he'd give us two tickets. Wow. And not just any tickets. Art had season tickets, which meant I wouldn't be confined to the right field bleachers for the first half-hour. But the rain wiped out batting practice.
What a waste of an empty stadium.
After 15 minutes of nothingness, Orioles pitcher Daniel Cabrera began playing catch with some bullpen guy in deep center field. I jogged to the seats in left-center and stood patiently as pitching coach Leo Mazzone walked slowly into the bullpen. I was the only fan in sight, so I didn't feel like I had to put in a quick request for a ball, and anyway, there didn't appear to be any balls beyond the one Cabrera was using.
Still, I made sure to stand with my glove at chest level so it'd be visible above the waist-high concrete wall. Mazzone glanced my way. I barely tipped my cap. He gave a subtle nod and then walked back toward the field. I figured that was it--and that was fine. It was nice to be acknowledged. But then, to my surprise, he pulled a ball from a tiny bag on top of the outfield wall and started walking toward me. Then he made a little throwing gesture with his wrist as if to ask, "Are you ready?" I flapped my glove a few times as if to say, "Dearest Leo, you've GOT to be kidding me." He walked closer and made another series of throwing gestures as if to ask, "Are you sure you're gonna catch it?" I waved him on with both arms as if to say, "Now look, pal. I'm gonna give you two choices, so pay attention: You can either show me a Maddux change-up or a Smoltz splitter." He ended up tossing a LaRoche eephus, and I had my first ball of the day.
Poor Jules had nothing to do. He's not a baseball collector. He doesn't care about autographs. He was just there to hang out with me and watch his beloved Red Sox. I found him on the third base side, taking shelter from the rain under the overhang of the second deck.
"What am I gonna do for the next six hours?" he asked.
"Yeah, what ARE you gonna do?"
He shook his head, then thought for a moment and said, "I'm gonna eat for the cycle: burger, fries, hot dog, pizza."
A few players had taken the field, so I had to leave him. Within a few minutes, I got a ball from Javier Lopez (not to be confused with Javy Lopez) 
on the third base side, and soon after, I got Chris Britton to sign an old Orioles ticket stub in shallow right field.
I ran into Art a few times along the way. He also collects balls and averages about four per game--but this was a slow night. Later on, I tried to buy him a beer, but he wouldn't let me. "You just relax and enjoy the game," he said.
I checked back in with Jules before the national anthem and asked if he was okay. "Do your thing," he said graciously.
Two players were throwing in front of the Orioles' dugout, so I headed down to the front row and immediately got kicked out by an usher who marched me back up the steps. "Let's GO!!!" he snapped when I stopped briefly to peek back at the field.
I tried to be friendly about it: "If I were to show you my ID and prove that it's my birthday, do you suppose you might let me back down there for two minutes?"
"If you go down there," he said calmly, "I'll take your ticket and turn it over to security."
Mark Loretta and Alex Gonzalez were about to finish playing catch in front of the Red Sox dugout, so I ran back to the third base side and got stopped by an usher at the top of the steps.
"Can I just go down there for a minute and take a quick picture?"
"Yeah, go ahead," he said.
Thirty seconds later, Loretta tossed me my third ball of the day.
There were far more Red Sox fans than Orioles fans. It wasn't even close, and it showed when the starting lineups were announced.
I found Jules, and we grabbed a couple seats in a decent section for foul balls, and then, after a few innings, we moved to a better spot. Unfortunately, Red Sox starter Lenny DiNardo was topping out at 84mph, while Orioles starter Adam Loewen was struggling to stay above 90. In other words, there wasn't much action in the seats. I did come really close to one ball--a high pop-up off the bat of Nick Markakis--but I misjudged it slightly and didn't scoot through the one open row, so I had to lunge at the last second, and I came up short, and it was really frustrating, and I'm still pissed off. I even had a chance to grab it after it plunked down into an empty seat, but I reacted a split-second too late and made an ill-conceived dive. Metal armrest. Ouch. I now have a dazzling bruise on the side of my left butt cheek. I'd show you what it looks like, but this is a family blog.
Despite the fact that the Red Sox have no chance of reaching the playoffs, it was still an exciting game. They scored one run in each of the last three innings to take a 6-5 lead, and Mike Timlin worked around a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth to save it. Sadly, Manny Ramirez was nowhere in sight, and I just learned that he might be done for the season.
After the game, I got my fourth and final ball at the Red Sox dugout. I don't know who tossed it. It wasn't a player. I don't even think it was a coach. It was just some random bullpen/equipment dude, but it counts.
In terms of collecting, it was a boring day.
But in terms of being a big Jules fan, it was one of my best birthdays ever.
STATS:
• Competition Factor = 110,964.
• 182 balls in 25 games this season = 7.28 balls per game.
• 452 consecutive games with at least one ball
• 87 consecutive games outside of New York with at least one ball
• 558 lifetime balls outside of New York
• 1,250 lifetime "Allan H. Selig" balls
• 2,934 total balls...moves me into 30th place on the all-time hits list ahead of Jake Beckley (2,930), Rogers Hornsby (2,930), and Willie Keeler (2,932). Next up is Frank Robinson (2,943).
(Thanks to my friend Brady at "In The Cards" for helping me set up a Hit Counter. Man, I wish I'd had it since the beginning.)
Wow, that guy was really cool. Too bad the rain wasted his generosity. Do you know many balls did he ended up with?
Four balls has to be considered a positive for a water-logged day without BP.
Oh, and woo-hoo, first comment.
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I dont think manny wants to be a red sox player
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GREG-
I would argue that it wasn't a waste at all. Not only did I make a new friend and save a few bucks, but I probably wouldn't have gotten that ball from Mazzone without the season ticket.
KAYLEE-
Don't worry. It's just Manny being Manny.
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yeah they called it before it even started.
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Oh, well then, in that case, cool. But I just meant that if it hadn't rained, you would have had free range in an empty stadium without any real competition (except for in right field of course) for half an hour of BP. Boy, would that have been fun.
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Haha dude, I didn't really help you set it up, I just told you where to find it...thanks though.
-Brady
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4 balls, not bad, great b-day!! When's you next game?
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KAYLEE-
Silly decision in my humble opinion.
GREG-
I gotcha. If there'd been BP, I probably would've snagged 10 balls at the very least.
BRADY-
C'mon now, give yourself some credit. You answered a few questions for me along the way.
DANNY-
Not great, but not bad. Next game might be Monday at Shea or Tuesday in Philly...or both...or neither. Still trying to sort it all out.
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Everyone pray for my friend...details are in my newest post...PLEASE pray.
http://inthecards.mlblogs.com
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Zach, no stats about balls from games with out batting practice.. or balls from games when it was raining =)
Great as always..
http://strosbro.mlblogs.com
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BRADY-
I'm sending positive vibes your way.
THOMAS-
Yeah, you're right. I should've posted something about that. But I go to so few games without BP that it didn't even occur to me.
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Sweet, cause the only MLB ball I own is from Camden Yards.
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Not surprising (and hey, thanks for leaving a comment). Camden is a gooooood place to get baseballs.
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4 is asi-asi for you. you could have easily doubled it with batting practice. Better luck next time Zack. Peace
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Hey got 2 balls one from the d-rays bullpen catcher and one from Bobby Ramos. I asked bobby for a ball in spanish and he was so nice that he started a frenzy at the dugout he must have throw out 20-30 balls. An after that he and the bullpen catcher guy threw us bags of sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Me and my friends got about 5 bags in total. Also we were on TV for having giant Os for Overbay.
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The yankees are going to pound julian tavarez tonight.
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Oh man! Good job! Did you take any more pics of the empty stadium??
I went to Dodger Stadium yesterday. I took my brother, and he beat me in BP..... 4 balls to 3, and I got my first injury. haha. Some guy dropped a ball to the concessions under the stands, and I raced him for it, and than did a soccer like dive in front of him to protect the ball... I cut up my finger on gravel and have a bruised knee....at least I got the ball
We snuck down to the field level seats and I got two balls from Umpire Jim Reynolds.
FIVE BALLS! thats my best ever, and my brothers best also!(4)
22 on the season, I hope I will hit 25, I have one more game left, next fri vs. diamondbacks.
--Ethan (and My brother Moe says whatsup also =)
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Doubleheaders dont hurt the red sox.They won game 1 but they have julian Tavarez starting game 2.That will be interesting.
-kaylee
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I just found out one of my very close friends are in the hospital.They think it is her liver It didnt sound good.
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SENOR-
Asi-asi? Don't think I've heard that one before. But yeah, eight balls with BP would've been easy. I might've had that many after the first half hour. Darn.
JIMMY-
Sounds like an amazing time. Congrats. I've never gotten pumpkin seeds, so you're ahead in that department, 1-0.
KAYLEE-
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Kind of makes baseball seem less important, huh?
ETHAN-
Congrats on YOUR big day, too. I do have a few other pics of empty Camden...I just chose my two favorites for this entry. Crazy scramble for that ball. Was it worth it? I'd say yes. The way I see it is that the pain goes away, but the ball lasts forever. You got TWO balls from the ump? That's cool. And you set a new personal record? Sweet. Congrats to Moe as well, and "wuzzup" right back at him.
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yeah zack got 1 ball yesterday shouldve had 3 though.***** friend got one that was about to roll into my glove down the foul line and then ramos as jimmy said gave out about 25 balls and somehow i didnt get 1. awesome game though got a big bag of sundflower seeds and pumpkin seeds to. Got to heckle delmon young all game every inning. one of the best games all year for sure.
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Yes it definately does.
-kaylee
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okay julian tavarez needs to learn how to pitch.
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asi-asi means so-so in spanish
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TRUE PLAYA-
Too bad you lost a ball to your friend. I've had that happen a few times, and that's one reason why I generally prefer to go to games alone. What kind of stuff were you yelling at Delmon?
KAYLEE-
Julian Tavarez needs a lot.
NICK-
Aha. Thanks.
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oooo a lot of things... dont throw your bat chants, throw us a bat chants, sinining the batman song. 50 Games chants, deeeeeeelmoooooon. Where dimitri? Oh there was lots of stuff and when we asked bobby ramos what happened to Lou Pinella Bobby said he had to many martinis and something about viagra which i couldnt quite make out
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Hey Zack
Long time reader, first comment. Congradulations so for this year. I will be attending a Phillies vs Cubs game this week at Citizens Bank Park. Any tips would be appreciated.
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chacin with another strong game qulaity start. Jays won it and chacin has pitched very well since coming off the DL
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okay red sox win.....HOW THE HECK DO YOU GET RID OF A FEVER WITHOUT USING MEDICATION?
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Hey all, I'm back!
game 1 of today's doubleheader was the game that was originally scheduled for Friday, so I had the suite today. It was awesome, and I enjoyed the company of my friends, but I would never go to a baseball game with my friends again because I enjoy "doing my own thing" and sneaking into the $100+ seats and collecting autographs during BP, which I couldn't do today because my parents didn't want 24 kids running around Yankee Stadium without knowing where they were. Also, even if I went myself, they didn't like that because I had to "entertain my guests" (which is true)...but for me, I just can't sit for 9 innings in the same seat without at least trying for autographs during BP
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your complainging because you had to stay in a SUITE at YANKEE STADIUM? man be lucky you got a freeking suite for a game at yankee stadium!
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TRUE PLAYA-
Sounds like a fun time. "Batman" theme...good one. I'll post a new Gustavo Watch tomorrow. I can't blame Yanks Fan for complaining.
PMOWL-
Good to finally see you here in the comments section. Which game are you going to? I'm planning to be there on Wednesday, so hopefully we won't have to compete against each other, although if we're both there, it'll be cool to meet you. The best advice I could give you for Citizens Bank Park would be to read my old entries about my games there. I mean, standard strategies apply as far as positioning yourself for homers and thrown balls, and beyond that, I've written a few thousand words about all the things I do that're specific to that ballpark. Do you have any specific questions?
KAYLEE-
I recommend taking a hot bath, drinking tea, bundling up, taking lots of vitamin C, and going to bed early.
YANKS FAN-
Welcome back. I totally understand how you feel.
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Zack
Im going to Tuesdays game even though its suppose to rain. My dad was given tickets to the game. I hope the rain holds off, but it does not look to good
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PMOWL-
Ahh, okay. I hope the weather holds up for you. Let me know how it goes, and of course...good luck!
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