Health update
I'm finally feeling better for the first time in nearly a week. I had a pretty nasty infection in my throat (which still hurts), and I'm still on all kinds of medication including--get this--a steroid called Medrol. Go ahead. Make your wisecracks about my snagging statistics being inflated, but I just want to say for the record that a) this is NOT a performance-enhancing drug, b) Gustavo Chacin gave it to me, and c) when I started taking it, I'd been led to believe that it was a West African bark extract. Anyway, if I continue to get better, I should be good for Yankee Stadium on Monday. The weather is supposed to be perfect...
I guess when you reach the milestone 3000 balls they'll be an asterisk next to you name.
3000 balls - snagged by Zack Hample*
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well you'll win the mini-contest, I had a ball in my mitt, but a group of jr high kids knocked it out..... fun.
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oh, and get well soon! lol
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Yeah, I've been to Camden before -- just not since I started collecting baseballs. I was there in 2005. I didn't have a clue about the fascinating world of snagging yet. I was clueless. It was a noon game and I got there at 11:45. But now, I know the true awesomeness of the art of snagging. So this is a new type of ballpark visit than the one in 2005.
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Hey Zack,
I was at the Yankee game yesterday. Unfortunately the Yankees didn't take batting practice. The Mariners did and I managed to get two balls. One from Brandon Morrow and another from a player I couldn't tell. I also got one of the balls signed by Chen Mien Wang
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Hey Zack ... question for you: what was your process to secure a publisher for your book? I'm toying with the idea of turning my blog into a book eventually.
Todd
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JIMMY-
Nooooooooooo!!!
CUBS-
Sorry you got the ball knocked away (are you sure it wasn't Gustavo who did it?), but thanks for the well wishes. I'm feeling even better today.
GREG-
There was a time when even I didn't know about batting practice, so don't feel bad. Insead, just enjoy the **** out of your trip and report back with full details.
KERRY-
Whoa, no BP for the Yanks? What's up with that? Did you ever get an explanation? Nice work still snagging a couple.
TODD-
The best thing to do is write a book proposal and then send that out (with a portion of the book) to agents to find one who wants to represent you. It's very important to have an agent, but not essential. Then the agent will send out your work to publishers, and if things go your way, one of them will make an offer.
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glad you're feeling better mr. *
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Yeah, thanks.
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competition, zack?
http://ultimatebaseballcollector.mlblogs.com/
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Yes, there was a big discussion here a little while back about this other collector, and I wish him well.
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Boy did I have a tough day at Camden yesterday. I only snagged THREE balls! I was amazed to find the place suprisingly hard to get balls. For some reason, there didn't seem to be any balls going into the stands, and none of the players were throwing anything. It was so crowded in right field for the first half hour that I could barely move at all. I was lucky to get one ball in that timeframe.
Usually, when I leave a game in which I didn't get too many balls, I think about all the opportunites I missed. But yesterday, I felt like I did everything right but just didn't have the results. It was just such a weird day. I couldn't believe how little complaining I was doing after the game. No matter how many balls I get at a game, I'm always complaining about all the minor things I could have done to get one more.
However, I'm not giving up on Camden. I'm willing to give it another chance in the future -- but only on a weekday. I think it was a mistake to go to a Saturday night game. Still, three balls in a new stadium (for me) is not horrible. At least I didn't get shut out.
In other news, your buddy Trent Durrington got a PITCHING victory yesterday in a minor league game. How do I know this? He made it on Sportcenter. He pitched in mop-up duty and almost blew the game, but still earned the win. Check out these two stories:
http://www.pawsox.com/news/index.php?id=817&type=news
http://www.buffalonews.com/111/story/69529.html
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Zack:
Glad to hear that your on the road to recovery!
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GREG-
That stinks. Sorry to hear it, but in the grand scheme of things, getting three balls in one day is not the end of the world...but I know how you feel. You expect better from Camden. And you'll do better down the road. As you said, you just need to go back on a weeknight. Thanks for the news about Trent. I love that guy. I wish he were in the majors.
MIKE-
Thanks.
EVERYONE-
I'm leaving for Yanke Stadium in two and a half hours...
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Zack, you must be nervous. You just spelled Yankee wrong! It's cheesy Yankees visor today, so enjoy!
Still on the steroids? It would be very ironic if fellow steroid boy Jason Giambi threw you your 3,000th ball! (or Clemens)
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Whoops, heh heh. Not nervous. Just antsy. Must be the steroids. Yeah, I'm still taking them for one more day...
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