Greatest. Email. Ever.

Hey Zack -

Isn't it the greatest when you get emails like that? I have received many as well and it always makes you feel good. It is almost as good as the look on a little kids face when you hand him a baseball that you caught. With my job now I get asked for baseballs all the time and it is hard to say NO. Of course when the kids ask if they don't say "PLEASE" they don't get one!Keep up the good work and keep the snagging alive since I am retired now!LATER

Wow - I was 1st comment too! Just thought I would throw this in. On Saturday I got to throw batting practice to our pitchers and play in their little hitting game. It was pretty cool. I hit like DOO DOO but I didn't care, throwing BP to some future Major Leaguers was pretty cool! I wrote a little about it in my MLBlog as well.

http://clubhousemanager.mlblogs.com

Dude is INTENSE! I am also a fan of SEEMINGLY RANDOM ALL-CAPS!

Wow! How does it feel being his "life saver"? Haha
I haven't commented in a while but have still been still reading your blog almost daily.
On a lighter note, I went to BP on Ichiro Bobblehead night. Of all days I could have gone... It was simply terrible. The safe was completely packed within the first 10-15 minutes since everyone HAD to get the the stadium early to get their bobbleheads. I myself got brutally shut out while my best friend got 2 balls with the glove trick. Safeco has some perfect spots for the glove trick but I got so pissed cause i left my glove trick at home which could have gotten me AT LEAST 1 ball. Whatever, I'm going next week to JJ Putz bobblehead night (lol) and getting there early WITH the glove trick in hand. Hopefully I get my streak going again!

haha thats a funny email. im going to shea friday and saturday. i wouldnt be going saturday, day after night, but i havent been to a game since 4/29 at shea (i think that was your last also), and i really wanna get back. im trying to convince my mom to get me to some stadiums this summer...im going to pnc in june, washington in august, and hopefully a mini trip that would include games at comerica, wrigley, and us cellular. next year im planning on going to the metrodome in its final year, and i hope theyll be using balls like shea and yankee did.

anyway, im gonna camp out in the rf loge for griffey, cause even getting 598 or 599 would be awesome. well pretty much any hr would be awesome, cause ive never gotten one. i was hoping hed have 598 against the cubs the other night, but pie robbed him. did anyone see gavin floyds no hit bid last night? i saw him play single a with ryan howard. cool.

any ideas on your next game?

if it rains on friday and the game/bp is cancelled i swear im gonna go crazy. the weather has been 70% chance of rain on friday for the last few days but, im hoping that it was like my birthday last sunday where it said the same thing yet it was really nice out

yeah goislanders4, im really hoping it wont rain. im going, and im pumped because i have reds apparel for some reason at my house, so i can really look like a reds fan. im confident it will hold off for you...didnt you say this is like your last bp? anyway, ill be there and im pretty recognizeble (long red hair lol) so say hi.

that's awesome! I wish Carter a lot of luck in his first snagging experience!

Haha thats a good e-mail. Yes, the first one that I got was brand new, like right from the box to the ball bag. The only marks are a small grass stain and a little scuff from hitting the fence. It would be like getting one from the umpire after the game, but with no mud.
I might go the Tigers game on the 16th. I am going to the Giants game on the 27 or 28 then the Nationals series. If anyone who reads this has masn, those Nats commercials are hilarious (the ones with the broadcasters and the fans)
Ryan Church is amazing!

njmetsfan
i dont think this is my last bp but i wont be going as often. and yeah, i know what you look like. we should try to get into the picnic area, but i have a bunch of reds stuff too, cause my little league team was the reds a while back

Zack,

First time post. I am the goofy guy in the upper left hand picture of your pictures with the mustard colored pirates hat. I saw you in line but you probably don’t remember. I gotta tell you, you are the best. Not because of your snagging capabilities, but the way you write. I find that I get frustrated waiting for the latest update. Lastly, those boys, you know the ones that said the glove trick was gay, were not with me in any way shape or form. Because of their constant screaming “ball, ball, ball” I actually got one. Damaso Marte pointed to me when he had a ball and yelled up, “You keep it” not them, (Pointing to the rude kids).

Anyway, I feel like you are one of the few that understands how good it feels to snag. See you soon!!!

goislanders-due to my moms ever changing schedule, friday is out for me. im beyond pissed. im still going saturday, and ill stand out like a sore thumb during the no bp pregame in reds gear. im also going monday night.

also, on the picnic area-i went in there april 13 at the beginning of bp, vs milwaukee, and was told to leave after an hour. i went in on april 15 at the beginning of bp, vs wash, and was allowed to stay there all bp and game. april 17, also vs wash, i went straight there as i had done the previous 2 times. i had never seen security at the entrance thing until that day. before i even got all the way down that ramp, 3 security guards told me i wasnt allowed in, and it wouldnt open until gametime...i havent tried since, but i want to. saturday wont be worth it because there wont be bp, but i might try monday. my mom and other brother are going, and neither care about getting balls. i think im gonna tell them to hold my spot in the loge corner and in the field level corner, by the grassy area/dream seats. so i can go from bleachers to main stadium and back and always have my spot. sucks i couldnt go friday, im so angry, but im sure well meet up sometime. do you have season tix or something?

ANYONE/EVERYONE (especially Mets fans)-
Do you have a copy of "Inside Pitch"? That's the Mets' official magazine. I need to ask you something if you do.

SIXTY SIXERS CLUBBY-
Yes, it IS a great feeling, and I can only imagine how great it must feel to throw BP.

JOHNMCRAE1-
Well SAID.

SPORTZFREEKA-
C'mon now, you have to pick your games wisely and remember the secret weapon. I can't be held responsible if you make bad decisions. :-)

NJMETFAN-
Not sure when my next game will be. If not Friday, perhaps May 15th at Shea. Good idea hanging out in the RF Loge for Griffey, but just watch out for Luis. Really a shame that you won't be able to make it on Friday.

GOISLANDERS4-
I'll be going crazy too as I feel your pain.

CUBS BASEBALL-
Nod.

DNESBITT14-
I always knew Church was a solid hitter, but I had no idea he could be this productive. I doubt he'll keep this pace going all year, however.

AEFEQ-
How could I forget?! It's good to see you here in the comments section, and I really appreciate the kind words. Sorry I don't have more updates for you this week, but I'm going through a little bit of a dry spell in terms of going to games. I'll be picking up the pace again soon. When's your next game? Do you have a Reds helmet? Seems like everyone has interesting Reds gear except me. Great story about Marte and the rude kids.

Nice email from the kid Zack. You're the Pied Piper of snagging for these little ones. They're the next generation of snaggers. Teach them well. Ha ha. No, I think you do an outstanding job with the kids. You teach, encourage and give positive feedback. Great job. Hey, remember when the Padres won a game? I don't. This is going to be a LONG season.

Leigh

oh yeah, i remember you saying you had a watch with zack that day...thats tough...day after night at shea of all places..good luck!

well, cuz its saturday, one team might take BP. The yankees took BP when i went last saturday, but they started late. i think the mariners would have taken too, but the weather sucked.

Zack,
Went to see the Red Sox Tue night at the COPA. Did not plan on doing any snagging, but I had the backpack ready just in case. (Due to going to the game w/ my wife). She told me to go do my thing and she would wait up in our seats and read the newspaper. (Gotta love the free Det News papers at the COPA).
I was station out in deep center. I wanted to catch a Manny BP HR ball. Had a perfect bead on one. This (shall we say) young tall fellow knocked me over trying to catch it...he made the sad mistake of not accounting for the brick (retired #'s wall) behind us. I ducked down knowing the ball was going to hit hard and carom off the back wall. Just as he turned around...SMACK right in the side of his head....(And you thought your nose looked back at Disney)..This guy had a not the size of a golf ball..I said to myself good for you, knuckle head...Then about five mins later I asked Clay Buchholz for a ball. He looked right at me tossed me the ball and I had to fend off the knuckle head with the knot on his head to catch the ball from Clay...Some people..Needless to say I relocated after the ball from Clay....Snagged (3) total on a "NON Planned Snag" night....Made a real nice jumping catch in Right field off of Sean Casey (one of my Favs in Baseball). Man I love the fan applause after a nice grab....Snagged (9) on Mon night..Asked Okejima and Dice-K several times in Japanese for a ball....no dice...Oh well, back to the COPA for more.....
Mike in Detroit

Zack,

Next game is mets on the 14th (yuk for snagging) Yankee Stadium on the 20th, then Philly the 28th.

Yes, I have a Reds helmet that is very red, very noticeable.

Why does this website keep timing out? Very frustrating.

Lastly, Matt Capps of the Pirates is absolutely one of the friendliest guys I have met during BP.

Anyone else ever talk to him?

Zack, nice groupie email! haha Anyone see Ryan Church's home run against the Dodgers yesterday? Some guy in the front row in the outfield was holding his baby in one hand, and he ended up catching the home run with his other hand! Very impressive......

I just got 6 tickets on Ebay for my 5 friends and I to go to the Mets/Yanks game on May 16th at Yankee Stadium. I'll be proudly wearing my David Wright jersey!

AEFEQ, Capps is from my hometown in Douglasville, GA right outside Atlanta. Some friends played with him and he's always been a great guy.
Went to the Padres/Braves Wednesday night and got 3 during Braves BP with a chance for four. I was disappointed they were all stupid training balls and in terrible shape. I kept two and gave the third away to a nice woman. I gave up on chasing the fourth when I saw it was a practice ball also. The Padres seemed to be one of those stingy teams when giving balls away. Not sure why, since they don't lose too many to home runs. Maddux did play catch with a four year old, so that was the highlight of their BP.

when i caught my first ever ball on a fly, i reached over the wall and capps jumped for it, but i robbed him. very jeffrey mayer like.

NJMETFAN
yeah i have season tickets. tomorrows gonna suck. i really wanna go to shea and if i dont than i cant go till next friday.

next friday is subway series at yankee stadium. good luck there. yeah, but if you have season tix and tomorrow is rained out then you could go saturday, and then there will be bp. hope everything works out for you.

How does Carter expect to get a ball from Ortiz if he does not field?

ZACK-
Have you ever gone on stadium tours before going to a game as a "scouting trip" figuring out where do go first, what the fences look like, ect.? Of the current ballparks, which is your fav. for snagging?

LSTHRASHER-
When I went to a Rockies/Padres game in Denver last year, I got four balls from Padre players. Two from Hoffman, and from one from Clay Merideth and one from Tremel Sledge. I thought that they were very generous.

--Phill in Utah--

Hey Leigh....
Since you said it's going to be a long year for you, would you mind if the Cubs borrowed Jake Peavy and maybe Greg Maddux? We swear we'd give them back after the season; we really need to win a championship here.... :)

Oh Zack, I had a really random question..... What if, for whatever reason, a player gave you a whole bag full of balls? Would you count all of them? I don't know why I thought of that situation, but say a player reads this blog, and wants to have a little fun with you.

Zack,
My best friend and I are going to Safeco tomorrow against the white sox. The Mariners have had pretty much NO offense in the past week so I don't think the stadium will be packed. I'm definitely remembering the glove trick this time! Have you had any success with certain players from the white sox? Which players are particularly nice? Thanks a lot.

LEIGH-
Thanks, dude. Sorry about your pathetic team, but look at the bright side. Fewer wins means fewer fannies in the seats means more baseballs for you.

NJMETFAN-
Yup, it's a Watch With Zack game. Even if there's no BP, I'll hopefully get at least a few balls thrown to me (and to the kid I'll be with), and our seats are just a few rows behind the Mets' dugout, so the third-out ball opportunities will be plentiful. I'm just hoping for a QUICK game the night before.

SNAG FAN-
That is hilarious. I love stories like that...well, at least the ending about you getting the balls and the knuckle head getting bonked...and I remember that scary brick wall.

AEFEQ-
I've never been "timed out" on this blog. Could it be your browser? I use Firefox for everything connected to MLB.com and Safari for everything else.

PSU532-
Thanks, and yeah, I saw that catch. Wacky and impressive...a great combination.

LSTHRASHER04-
Ugh, those training balls are the worst...AND they were in bad shape? Yeesh.

PUCK COLLECTOR-
Sounds fun. Totally okay to rob players during BP.

ACSPORT79-
Ortiz might come out to throw and/or take a few grounders at first base. It's unlikely, but it *could* happen. He could also randomly pop his head out of the dugout and flip up a ball. Nothing is impossible.

PHILL-
I've never gone on an official stadium tour. That would certainly be a good way to scout a place, as you said, but I also enjoy running inside a stadium and not knowing a single thing about it. I like the challenge of figuring things out on the spot. Favorite stadiums for snagging are: Camden Yards and Turner Field. Miller Park is good too, and AT&T Park would be amazing if there wasn't so much competition. I'm not sold on Nationals Park despite the fact that I'm averaging 28 balls per game there...because it WAS only one game.

CUBS BASEBALL-
I've thought about that, too, and I'm not sure what I would do. I guess it would count, but with a dreaded asterisk.

SPORTZFREEKA-
I don't think I've had a significant interaction with ANYone on the White Sox. Sorry I can't help, but it shouldn't matter. It's better to focus on being in the right location/situation than worrying about players' personalties.

It's alright, theres a few good spots out there. Like the gap between the wall and the bleachers is awesome for the glove trick. I've never had much experience with the white sox but the team that was by far the nicest were the pirates. When they came last year like 5 were just signing autographs for like 30 minutes and usually visitors never even sign at safeco, let alone sign for 30 minutes. I really hate how stingy they are at Safeco though. It's a great stadium with nice people but whenever I head down to the dugout for an attempt and the lineup card it's always gone or they say they don't give them out. But I'm not into the lineup cards quite as much as I am about balls.

FIVE DOLLAR (Plus Fees) PICNIC SEATS FOR SHEA ON MONDAY

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ticketing/gtw/fflash.jsp?partnerId=enymnl05092008

Always wanted to visit Coors, as I've never heard anything bad about it.
ANYONE- Can someone let me know how to get the comment to display a nickname instead of my full e-mail address?

SPORTSFREEKA-
Seems like you have pretty good knowledge of the place. Maybe you just need to run around a little faster and be a touch more aggressive...but of course not at the physical expense of others.

FATHER PUCK-
Cool! Thanks for the link. I think I'm gonna pass on this game, but if you hear about the bleacher offer for any other dates, please let me know.

LSTHRASHER04-
Not sure how the nickname thing works. Sorry.