Comments
I haven't had a chance to answer comments for a few days, and I still don't have time to go back and answer them ALL, but for those of you who've asked questions recently, here are the answers:
GOISLANDERS4-
I definitely won't be at Yankee Stadium tomorrow.
MIKE.LOS-
I hope to have kids someday and pass along my collection to them.
MPOLLOCK-
Not sure about the RSS situation, and I still have no idea about Wrigley. I'd say there's about a 1-in-3 chance that I'll make it out this season.
CEETAR-
Nah, Victorino isn't getting jinxed. I think any player would've done the same thing in terms of not letting me get a second ball. I thought Victorino was nice and friendly and peppy, so I have no problem with him. As for going to Miami and/or Cincinnati...yes, I'm considering it.
JONELI24-
Not inexcusable at all.
AC-
Yeah, I carry old tickets to every game if I have them for the two teams I'm seeing. I won't be at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. You can enter the field level seats there at ANY point in the day regardless of where your ticket is. As for Guinness World Records...I've tried, believe me, but they're not very interested (because they're based in London and know nothing about baseball) and have basically made it impossible for me to prove.
CUBSBASEBALL-
The photo I took (of the guy who snagged Manny's 500th) ended up on the Red Sox site because I emailed a friend who works at MLB.com and told him he'd find the pic on my blog. I said he could use it and asked for a photo credit. That's basically it.
LEIGH-
I didn't get paid. I suppose I could've sold the photo somewhere if I were really enterprising and had more connections, but I was just glad to have my name associated with this milestone event, so I passed along the photo for free.
MLBWHIZ-
I was at PNC Park on May 17, 2001. I was supposed to go the next day, but the game was rained out.
DONNIEANKS-
I don't think I'll be at any of the games you mentioned.
SOXSUXYANKS-
I thought the Yankee fans were worse, but I asked an usher there about it, and he disagreed. So who knows?
FATHERPUCK-
I always forget about the scalp zone. Where exactly is it? Tell me everything I need to know.
DON-
I probably won't do a book JUST on snagging stories, but I would like that to be a big part of my next book.
CSPARKS-
Yeah. And I *was* keeping an eye on Chipper's 400th. So much for that.
PHILL-
I'm not sure exactly how long my string is. Probably about 30 feet.
JOSH-
I think someone else answered you already, but I get the face pics from the teams' rosters online. Just click on each player and you'll see his bio.
TRACYCOLLINSBECKY-
I do have an iPod but I wouldn't want to have to carry it around all day.
CHARLIE-
Not sure about the ump tapping. What was the context? When the batter pats the top of his head a few times, he's asking the second base ump to move out of his line of vision. I wrote about that in "Watching Baseball Smarter" so you might already know that.
GOISLANDERS4-
I definitely won't be at Yankee Stadium tomorrow.
MIKE.LOS-
I hope to have kids someday and pass along my collection to them.
MPOLLOCK-
Not sure about the RSS situation, and I still have no idea about Wrigley. I'd say there's about a 1-in-3 chance that I'll make it out this season.
CEETAR-
Nah, Victorino isn't getting jinxed. I think any player would've done the same thing in terms of not letting me get a second ball. I thought Victorino was nice and friendly and peppy, so I have no problem with him. As for going to Miami and/or Cincinnati...yes, I'm considering it.
JONELI24-
Not inexcusable at all.
AC-
Yeah, I carry old tickets to every game if I have them for the two teams I'm seeing. I won't be at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. You can enter the field level seats there at ANY point in the day regardless of where your ticket is. As for Guinness World Records...I've tried, believe me, but they're not very interested (because they're based in London and know nothing about baseball) and have basically made it impossible for me to prove.
CUBSBASEBALL-
The photo I took (of the guy who snagged Manny's 500th) ended up on the Red Sox site because I emailed a friend who works at MLB.com and told him he'd find the pic on my blog. I said he could use it and asked for a photo credit. That's basically it.
LEIGH-
I didn't get paid. I suppose I could've sold the photo somewhere if I were really enterprising and had more connections, but I was just glad to have my name associated with this milestone event, so I passed along the photo for free.
MLBWHIZ-
I was at PNC Park on May 17, 2001. I was supposed to go the next day, but the game was rained out.
DONNIEANKS-
I don't think I'll be at any of the games you mentioned.
SOXSUXYANKS-
I thought the Yankee fans were worse, but I asked an usher there about it, and he disagreed. So who knows?
FATHERPUCK-
I always forget about the scalp zone. Where exactly is it? Tell me everything I need to know.
DON-
I probably won't do a book JUST on snagging stories, but I would like that to be a big part of my next book.
CSPARKS-
Yeah. And I *was* keeping an eye on Chipper's 400th. So much for that.
PHILL-
I'm not sure exactly how long my string is. Probably about 30 feet.
JOSH-
I think someone else answered you already, but I get the face pics from the teams' rosters online. Just click on each player and you'll see his bio.
TRACYCOLLINSBECKY-
I do have an iPod but I wouldn't want to have to carry it around all day.
CHARLIE-
Not sure about the ump tapping. What was the context? When the batter pats the top of his head a few times, he's asking the second base ump to move out of his line of vision. I wrote about that in "Watching Baseball Smarter" so you might already know that.
Hey Zack...
Interesting game tonight vs the Mets. Padres win on a walk off bases loaded hit by pitch. Second time I've seen that. I've got an early season Leigh stat for you. 42 balls in 34 games = 1.235 balls per game. Pretty sad, huh. I've mostly gone for BP homers though. I need to get the stats up huh? Well, good luck in your next game wherever it may be.
Leigh
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Wow, Leigh you go to a lot of games (that is a season stat right?).
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I agree with twinslove about Leigh's comment...that is, considering the most games played this season is 63. Zack, when is the next Shea visit for you? I'm looking to meet up(?)
http://donnieanks.mlblogs.com/
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hmmmm..... yeah, never seen that. It was just in between batters. Maybe it was a signal they made up with each other?
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Zack-
I have not been to Camden Yards this year and I would hate to be the one that kept you from getting inside early, so you may want to have one of your advance scouts check this out or call the Orioles to make sure they still provide the scalp-free zone and the rules.
Basically, at the Russell Street entrance, which is roughly at left field line just beyond third base, there is a scalp-free zone whereby anyone with tickets can sell them at face or less. It's like a bazaar, whereby roughly 20 sellers at a time can line up and wave their tickets in front of you while you get to pick and choose and haggle between them. Many of thes seats are season tickets, but not all.
If you're not a ball hawker, the best time to go is roughly 15 minutes before game time, where for a big pre-sale game like the Yankees in September where the Oriole are long out of it, you can snag seats behind the dugout for $20. Often, the competition is fierce because there are way more sellers than buyers. The sellers are often guys off the street that ticket brokers use to offload the seats of season ticket holders. All of it is overseen by Orioles personnel and police--so the safeest bet is make sure the tickets work at the scanner before letting your seller walk away.
For big summer weekend games against the Red Sox/Yankees, there can often be more buyers than seller, so you need to be careful.
For the lesser lights, you may be able to grab some tickets for less than face value right when the gates open, but that may be tough. In addition, you may need to take your tickets to another entrance to snag--because if you're buying at the scalp-free zone, it's obvious that you're not a season ticket holder. of course, this runs the risk of getting bad tickets--although I'd doubt it for the season ticket stock, there would be much counterfeit, especially for the Orioles.
Obviously, you should look at the tickets carefully.
Hope that helps.
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i just got back from yankee stadium and sat through and entire batting practice and dindt get a single ball. no cup trick, no homeruns, no players tossing them up. im so pissed cause i thought that if i just got 1 ball during yankees batting practice it might be commemorative but there were just so many fans that were just pushing and shoving. it sucked. it was the worst BP ive ever been to. and now my mom says i cant go back until after i get back from my two week vacation with my dad that ends july 13. im beyond annoyed.
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Hi Twinslove....
Yeah, I have season tickets out here. I go to most of the games except day games. I can't make those because of work. So, I go to way more games than most of you. I don't run all over the stadium a lot. I basically hang out in the outfield for BP homers and throw ups from the players. Some days I get more than others, but I average around 2 a game. Obiviously at 1.235 right now the average is down, but I'm working on it!! Twins are coming to San Diego this month. Looking forward to it.
Leigh
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I was at Nationals Park last night. That place is awesome. I snagged 11 balls (all during BP, so no commemoratives). I'm planning to go back in July. I can't wait.
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