YANKEES VS RANGERS 8/25/09

Today was a strange/good/frustrating/really good/terrible day. YEAH. It started off waking up @ 4:45am to get to my dad's office in Nassau County. I was there from about six am to 2:38pm. Then we drove to the Yankee game. We parked in the building we always do, and I walked/ran to the entrance, as I wanted to get first in line. On the way I saw a VERY depressing site: The old stadium without seats, a field of dirt and weeds. However, I was happy when I saw no one was online yet, but there was more people walking around then I expected. I waited for my dad to come, then he saved the 1st spot in line as I went to the team store. What a joke. They wanted thirty dollars for the new Yankee commemorative ball. I left after seeing that.

The stadium opened with some confusion before hand on which gate would be opening. I then ran in as usual, and was the first one to reach the seats as Jorge Posada hit a liner to Phil Coke in the outfield. As soon as he fielded it, I yelled " Phil". Thats all it took. He threw me ball #1, and that was the 4th ball Phil Coke has thrown me this season. He's awesome.

There's actually pictures of me this time, because my dad was taking pictures for me. This is about a minute and a half after #1. Not a bad crowd, right?

Well, five minutes later it was packed. On top of that, the yankees stopped taking batting practice, and started warming up. The position players stretched behind the dugout, and the pitchers warmed up down the line. Andy Pettite threw with a coach, and A.J. Burnett threw with C.C. next to them. Surprisingly, Pettite started signing on the outfield wall, and since there was no bp, I ran over there. I was amazed that I was able to have an open space, RIGHT above Pettite as he was signing. There were alot of people, but more were towards the foul pole crammed in waiting for him to go down. I handed him my glove, and he signed it. He was really nice, and the guy next to me didn't have a marker. He asked me if he could use it, and I said of course, then he asked to use it for a while, and I said sure, so he used it for a good five minutes, and when he was done, thanked me like 3 times. That was awesome.

That made up for what had just previously happened, well atleast half of it. C.C. Sabathia ended with the ball about fifty feet away. I shouted his name and he threw me it, but it was five feet short. On top of that, I was above one of the random metal beams, so I couldn't get it. He then threw it again after retrieving it from an usher, but it was five feet to my right. I reached as far as I could, but a guy robbed it at the last second. C.C. apologized from a distance, but I didn't get a ball.

The Yankees bp was a disaster. I didn't get anything for twenty minutes after that even though there were many homeruns hit. Here I am talking with Tony, who recognized me, and I knew who he was. It was so packed, don't be fooled by the empty row.

The guy to my left, with red hair is named Steve. More on him later. For some reason, I don't remember, I went over to my dad, who was a section over. He then shouted something as I walked over. He was talking to a few people, and then showed me a ball. He was like 15 rows up, reading, and Hideki Matsui hit a homerun. He looked up, and the ball landed in the seat in fron of him. He grabbed it seconds before other hands and was thrilled. I told him jokingly I wasn't impressed, as he talked to the people around him because it didn't have a commemorative logo.

I was back in my spot in the third row, where there wasn't a metal bar in the aisle, so I could run threw the rows. Thirty seconds after arriving, Arod hit a homerun. It had the distance, I took a step down, two feet right, and caught it underneath three other [adult] gloves. People congratulated, which was great. But it wasn't THAT easy. It had to land within a small square foot where my glove was, or one of the other guys would've caught it.

On top of it being a pretty nice catch, it was a BRAND NEW commorative! I went to show{brag} it to my dad, and be like, OOO i one upped you on MY catch. Here I am with the ball. That was all I'd get from the Yankees bp. 2 balls, in a packed zoo. Not bad, but I did get shutout behind there dugout when they ran in.

I knew the Rangers bp would be good, and I was right. Everyone who didn't have a ticket for the outfield section had to leave. It seemed like I was the only one sporting rangers gear, and no one said boo. The Rangers pitchers and shaggers were extremelly stingy, mainly C.J. WIlson who's always and A-Hole. But, he DOES like Rangers fans.

ANYWAY, I got Taylor Teagarden to throw me a ball from 40 feet away. He was to my left on the warning track, and threw it to me aftyer I called out his name, right past dozens of people lined up on the wall wearing Yankees stuff. That was number three.

Josh Hamilton was peppering the seats with homerun, and going to this game my goal was to catch one of his homeruns. I was near the end of the seats, by the bullpen, and he hit one to my left. I ran threw the empty aisle, stopped raised my glove and caught it with ease. There was a man behind me in the next row, who I caught it in front of. I guess he'd seen me get and catch others. He started quitley complaining to me that I had some and that I robbed him. He sounded like an annoying whiney baby. I told him it was a Josh Hamiltion homerun that I CAUGHT, and told him I don't give balls to people who ask and complain.

Five minutes later, Julio Borbon hit a linedrive homerun. Some people knew it was coming, but didn't see it. Others had no clue. It was weird, I seemed like the only one who saw it. I ran through the same aisle as the Hamilton homer, but this time caught it on the run. It was RIGHT in front of the guy who complained, and this time he wouldn't shutup. I finally told him to stop complaining and I wasn't going to give him the ball. It may sound like I was being harsh, but this guy was so annoying, and wouldn't shutup that anyone would've said that.

Another guy in his twenties, without a glove asked me for a ball, and told me I many. I refused at first, but later gave him one, as he DID have a younger brother. Then he'd catch one barehanded, so I congratulated him, and he now had one for himself as well.

I saw C.J. Wilson look and me and tell his two teamates something, probably like "hey theres a Ranger fan"! Five minutes later, C.J. fielded one at the wall, to my right, near the bullpen. To everyone else, he WAS an *****, like pretending to throw one into the crowd, then laughing and throwing it in. But when I called his name after he fielded it on the warning track, he couldn't of been nicer to me. In fornt of all the people wearing Yankees gear, he ran over with it, leaped up on the wall, while saying " YEAAAH a Ranger fan!", and placed the ball in my glove as I gave him a pat on the back when he jumped down. That was my sixth and FINAL ball of the game. Here I am during the Rangers bp. I ran behind the Rangers dugout with the guy I mentioned earlier named Steve, and lent him my Rangers hat. He had to leave before the pregame throwing, and I got shutout anyway.

I REALLY dont want to talk about the game, but I guess I should. This was the worst part of the day.

Top of the 4th or 5th inning, Nelson Cruz hits a homerun. I was on the aisle, with Tony and his friend sitting a few seats in on the row in front of me. I immediatly run down ten steps to where it appears its gonna land. I look up, and the ball flys an extra ten feet. It like jumped in the air, and the guy sitting behind me ended up chesting/barehanding it. I couldn't believe it. I've waited my whole life, for a homerun chance, and I miss judged it. If I weren't a ballhawk trying to judge it, I woulda stayed in my seat, and it would've came right to me. The guy who caught it said he thought it was going to land where I went to. Im still kinda pissed, but the rest of the game I kept thinking of what could've been.

I now REALLYwish I had season tickets @ COORS FIELD in the front aisle in right field, because one lands there like every two games, so it wouldn't take long to redeem myself. I can't redeem myself now though, because I'm going to three more games, all @ Citi which is terrible to try to catch a home run.

STATS:

Game: 6 Baseballs

Season: 98 Baseballs

Life: 126 Baseballs