Like Nationals Park this was technically not my first time here but it was my first time really ballhawking as last year I came here on a Sunday and there was no batting practice:

I still managed to get a ball on an overthrow by Mike Adams but it didn’t feel like ballhawking if you know what I mean. I apologize in advance for the lack of (relevant) pictures. I brought a photographer because I thought I would get #100 who wasn’t necessarily into baseball and as a result didn’t photography…but hey here’s a picture of the Willie McCovey statue:

While waiting in line, I realized just how gargantuan it was and how many of them looked like regulars. I would have a picture for you if I was by myself but…

As soon as I got in I raced to the right field seats just as Segio Romo. I actually talked to him extensively  when we stayed in the same schmancy hotel in Milwaukee. I don’t think he recognized me but I still gave him a shout  and he nodded as if he were about to turn around and toss me his ball but he turned around and chucked his ball to the inner outfield. He then later went onto do his running:

and later went into the dugout without ever granting my request.

Without digressing too much, that gargantuan line I was talking about earlier. Yeah it turned into a gargantuan crowd pretty quickly:

I am the one in the white hat and black shirt closest to longish gate closest to the camera. I was in the bleachers themselves for a while but am not used to them and they were close to being as crowded. I probably should have left earlier but I had my photographer  listening to his iPod and I was being so stubborn in the fact that I wanted to snag a ball with the glove trick  or  a ball from right field in general. The first quickly got shot down when the first ball rolled to the wall and as I got there I was met by a combination of about ten cup/bucket/net/water bowl/food pan tricks. There was absolutely no chance I would get a ball with my glove trick as in the time it would take me to set it up at least one other trick would swoop in. The second idea then died when the Indians pitchers started throwing on the first base foul line.

I got on my horse but moved about as fast as a student driver on a stick shift as I had to keep waiting for my photographer. Eventually though, I did get around the stadium in time to get Chris Perez to toss a ball to the only Indians fan in the section (me!). One down two to go in my quest for 100. Since I am working with limited pictures let me use one picture to explain multiple things:

1. The arrow furthest to the left-pointing to Chris Perez. The player who threw me the ball.
2. The dotted box- the emptier part of the bleachers where I should have been standing. I thought it was too far away from the plate but realized after the fact that I usually play fruther from the plate at Citi Field.
3. The remaining arrow- where I was standing for the first however many minutes of bp.

That was it for me in terms of snagging because the Indians lefties hit maybe three Home Runs and there was constantly a crowd of people going through the five foot wide cross aisle behind the seats and thus always moving obstacles to maneuver. So Boo-Hoo no 100 today.

• 2 Balls at this game

Numbers 98 and 99 on the career. Number 100 will indeed be in Tampa (at least hopefully) because I am just too busy with stuff of all sorts to go to a Yankee game

• 38 balls in 14 games= 2.71 Balls Per Game
• 39 straight games with at least one ball
• 2 straight at AT&T Park
• 2 Balls*41,690 fans= 83,380 Competition Factor
• Time at Game 4:25-10:36= 6 hours 9 minutes