DBACKS VS METS 8/10/09

The first game of my Arizona vacation was finally here. After arriving late sunday, along with my family spent the day with our relatives, who we see every day in Arizona. My dad drove me @ 2:30 to Chase Field, arrived @ 3:00, and was in Paradise. I went to the ticket booth, purchased a ticket behind the dugout, and made my was over to Friday's inside restaurant, which is connected to left field of the stadium. It was so great to be back, as I go every year, and it was even better to see the cages set up for bp.

The gates were opening @ 4:30, for a 6:40 game, and it was 3:30 when pitchers started warming up down the left field line. Soon after that, pitchers began hitting some bp. This was my fourth year @ Chase Field, but was just my first true year of snagging. With that said, I was really hoping to get a ball before the stadium opened.

Danny Haren, my favorite DBacks pitcher hit well. He managed a few homeruns, including one that clanged off the left field bleachers, and into the bullpen, which connects to the outfield by the foul pole. No one was in the dugout @ that time, but I kept my eye on it.

Later in bp, around 3:55, a batter, probably Mark Reynolds hit one into Friday's. Unfortunatly, I was on the other side and it flew back down onto the field. It was okay though, because Jeff Motuzas walked into the bullpen a minute later, and threw me up the Haren Homerun ball. It had an awesome mark, left from the left field bleacher.

That was my first ever ball obtained before the gates opened, and more importantly, my first ball of the trip. I also got Jon Rauch to throw me up my second of the day. So when I made it to the gate, I already had two baseballs on the day.

I was shutout during the DBacks bp, inside the stadium, and missed opportunities at the dugout, so I switched into a mets hat, and ran over to left field. When Sean Green ended throwing with Tim Redding, I got him to throw me his [regular] baseball. Then I got Nelson Figureoa to throw me his baseball from 100 feet away when he was done throwing with Elmer Dessens. It was a 2008 Final Season Shea Ball. I gave away the Green ball to an annoying kid next to me after I caught the Figueroa ball. He started complaining that I got two, and I didn't want other people to get annoyed, so I gave it to him. [Now thinking of it I shouldn't have.]

I ran around to the left field line and played the line for ripped foul liners. I came up empty. I wasn't going to play the outfield, because not only it was crowded, and not only the Mets pitchers were stingy, but the Mets couldn't hit many homeruns. I counted three all of bp. They really are playing like a triple A team, and their roster sure does look like one.

I waited around the top of the bullpen because there were three mets baseballs, all with the Shea logo on them laying in the DBacks pen. I had a nice conversation with a kid named Jake, who lives in AZ and had just started school. We waited around twenty minutes, and his brother Jarrett also came along. After a while, Jeff Motuzas walked in, and since he's extremelly awesome, tossed each of us a Shea ball.

Here are the two Shea Baseballs I got.. After that I went down to my seats above the DBacks dugout. They were perfect third out ball seats. However, I was shutout by the two pairs of players throwing. But I DID manage to snag my first ever hat courtesy of coach Jack Howell. The pepsi crew and Baxter threw him one, which he turned around and threw to me.

As the game was about to begin, I saw the DBacks batboy had a ball as he was jogging down into the dugout. Naturally, I stuck my glove up, and he flipped me the ball. It was a game ball, rubbed up, and was the most un-expected baseball I've ever gotten. It was also #6 on the day.

I was in the first row, and there was no one sitting to my left. In the row above me their was a dad, and 3 kids. One was probably nine, and I told him to sit in the front row, because he was trying for a ball. Every foul tip the first inning and a half, I'd stand up and point to him while the ball boy jogged in. One foul tip, I was ready, and when the ballboy jogged in he threw me ball number 7, which I immediatly handed to the kid. An inning later, I pointed to his brother, and the Ball boy threw him a ball too, but that does not count in my collection, at all.

In the beginning of the bottom 3rd frame, Gerardo Parra fouled a tip into the screen. Mark Reynolds was in the batter's box on deck. When the ball landed, it rolled towards Reynolds who picked it up. I was nearly 100 feet from him, but I stood up with my glove anyway, and he threw it to me. That was #8, and it was awesome.

Later in the game, Chad Tracy threw me the third out ball. I gave that to the dad immediatly, yea im generous, but that was #9! Just one more to tie my record. I also wasn't expecting to get one from Tracy. Every inning he ran into the third base entry, and never the home plate one into the dugout. But he would get his warmup ball tossed by a coach right below me every inning, so he looked there. I waved my arms frantically and it paid as he tossed it to me.

During the game I actually wasn't thinking of my record at all. I don't even think I realized it once. I was having too much of a great time, watching the game, and talking to the father and his sons about my collection. That's why there's not too many pictures, because I didn't take many and the ones I did weren't that great.

In the seventh inning, the ball boy jogged in after running out to the ump. I though he had a ball in his hand, but wasn't sure. I'd been putting my glove up the whole game while he ran in, but didn't think I'd get anything. Hell, he had already gave me two. Well, as he went down the steps, he tossed a PAIR of balls to me, and I snatched one at a time.

My mind went buzzing. This was insane. I turned around and gave a ball to each of the guys behind me. I was also talking to them during the game, and they kindly had asked for one ball earlier in the game. They were thrilled, and YES I was in a VERY generous mood that night. When I turned around to take it all in, as they and the father and his sons congratulated me, I quickly realized I had made a small mistake.

The second ball I got was my record- breaking 11th ball of my game. It was ALSO my 100th Ball Of My LIFE! No biggie though. I turned around and told the guy what happened and he had no problem. So he could keep a game ball, I gave him my 6th of the day, the one the ballboy had first thrown me. This was CONFUSING and AWESOME.

Later on I saw I had beaten and acheived many personal stats. Here are a few.

Most balls in a game.

100th of my Life

Most balls given away in a game-5

Most balls in a stadium outside NY.

I came back to earth a few minutes later, and took pictures of the people around me. Here is the dad, with the hands of his kids and their baseballs. One is the one the kid got himself.

Here is the one of the guys behind me. My 99th ball of my life is on the right... To top this awesome game off, I got Lorenzo Bundy to throw me the DBacks infield warmup ball for the game for my twelve of the day. It was used and worn.