Results tagged ‘ sports ’
Gate Opening Times 2013
I just wanted to have a single place where people can see all of the 2013 gate times for all 30 stadiums because I know that especially in my first year ballhawking, it was a pain to look for the times thttp://mlblogsmateofischer.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.phphe gates at different stadiums opened. And before you say anything, I know this is a complete rip-off of Erik Jabs’ entry. The reason I write it is that entry is two years old, so I figured we needed an updated version of it for the 2013 season. Disclaimer: these times are unofficial and are derived from a combination of personal experience and researching the teams’ websites as of January, 15, 2013. If you want to be 100% sure this information is correct and current when you plan to go to the ballpark, contact the team beforehand. So here we go:
Angels Stadium:
Home Plate Gate opens 2 hours before first pitch is scheduled, except on day games (12:35p, 1:05p and 4:05p). On day games it will open 90 minutes before first pitch. All other gates open 90 minutes before first pitch every day.
AT&T Park:
All Gates open 2 hours before game time. (Pro Tip: You can see through the RF wall, so you can possibly get toss-ups even before the gates themselves open. If you’re hoping to get something during normal BP, though, you need someone to hold your place in line at one of the gates before you do this, because especially this year the bleachers get packed really early, so you should try your hardest to be the first person in the stadium.)
Busch Stadium:
All Gates open 2 hours before game time.
Chase Field:
“Chase Field opens one and a half (1.5) hours before each game Monday through Thursday and two (2) hours before each weekend game.”
(Pro Tip: You can get into the stadium even earlier by going through the “Friday’s” in left field.)
Citi Field:
“Monday-Friday/Weekday Games – Rotunda and Hodges VIP Entrance open 2 hours before the game. All other gates 1 1/2 hours prior to the game.
Saturday & Sunday Games – Rotunda and Hodges VIP Entrance open 2 hours before the game. All other gates 1 1/2 hours prior to the game. Rotunda opens 2 1/2 hours before the game for Mets Season Ticket Holders.”
(Pro Tip: The Mets don’t allow guests, so you must actually have your own season ticket to get in early on the weekends.)
Citizens Bank Park:
Ashburn Alley Gate opens 2.5 hours prior to first pitch every day.
All Other Gates open 1.5 hours before game time on weekdays and 2 hours before game time on Saturday and Sunday.
(Pro Tip: When Ashburn Alley opens, you can only be in the left field of the bleachers. When the other gates open is when the rest of the stadium opens to the public.)
Comerica Park:
“Start Time – Gates Open
1:05 P.M. – 11:30 A.M.
3:05 P.M. – 1:30 P.M.
4:05 P.M. – 2:30 P.M.
7:05 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.
8:05 P.M. – 6:30 P.M.
The starting times of all games are tentative and subject to change due to Major League Baseball television agreements with ESPN and FOX. Time changes can potentially occur up to 10 days prior to a scheduled game date. Guests should be advised that game tickets will be honored on the game date listed regardless of the time change. Guests should be aware of this possibility. Log on to tigers.com or check other local media outlets for the time changes that may occur.
The Tiger Den, Tiger Club, Beer Hall, The Labatt Blue Light Jungle, MotorCity Casino Champions Club and Suite Levels open two (2) hours prior to the scheduled game time.
On select days throughout the year Season Ticket Holders have an exclusive early entry allowing them in the ballpark 2 hours prior to game time to watch batting practice from left field behind the bullpens to the statues in left-center field. Entry is through Gate C located on the corner of Adams and Brush Streets.”
Coors Field:
“Gates A (Rockpile entrance) and E will open 2 hours prior to game time for Guests who want to view batting practice. Guests will be required to stay in the Left Field Pavilion area until the remaining ballpark gates open. Gates B, C and D will open 1 1/2 hours prior to game time. Gate opening times may vary if game is rescheduled.”
Dodgers Stadium:
“Third base side Field & Loge Level and Left Pavilion gates open 2 hours prior to the start of the game. All other gates open 1 1/2 hours prior to the first pitch. All parking gates open 2 hours prior to the start of each game. Gate times may vary for special events such as Opening Day and the Postseason.”
Fenway Park:
“The ballpark opens two hours (120 minutes) before game start time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and 90 minutes before game start time Monday — Thursday.”
(Pro Tip: Last year–although there’s no information for the upcoming season–members of Red Sox Nation got to enter the stadium on the Green Monster 2.5 hours early. The price–again, because there’s still no information about the 2013 season–last year was $15 for a one-time membership fee.)
Great American Ballpark:
All Gates open 90 minutes before the game.
Season ticket holders get to get into the stadium 2 hours before first pitch.
(Pro Tip: In 2012, I believe–there wasn’t anything on the site–there was a “BP Tour” where people could get in 2.5 hours early, so be on the lookout for that in 2013. The tickets to the tour are $15, but it could be well worth it with an extra hour of essentially ballhawking alone.)
And here are some great nuggets of information the previously mentioned Erik left as a comment: “In Cincy, there is a BP tour that leaves at 4:30 from the Hall of Fame Club and costs $17. Season Ticket Holders come in at 5:10 – at that time folks on the tour are permitted in the seating bowl to the Reds dugout, and 5:40 you can go anywhere when the rest of the gates open – usually a dash to left field for all the easter eggs.”
Kauffman Stadium:
“All gates will open 1.5 hours prior to game time Fri – Sun. Gates A & E in the Outfield Experience will open 1.5 hours prior to game time Mon – Thurs. All remaining gates (Gates B, C & D) will open 1 hour prior to game time Mon – Thurs.”
Marlins Park:
Premium Gates open 2 hours before game time. All Other Gates open 90 minutes before game time. (Pro Tip: There are ways to get tickets that can get you in through the “premium” gates.
Miller Park:
- “Gates open 2 hours prior to the scheduled start for all Marquee Games.
- In April, May, and September, gates open 90 minutes prior to the scheduled start of non-Marquee Games, 7 days a week.
- In June, July, and August, gates open 90 minutes prior to the scheduled start of non-Marquee Games Sunday-Friday and 2 hours prior on Saturdays.
- All gate opening times are subject to change.”
(Pro Tip: You can get into the stadium early through Friday’s Front Row Grill in left field. However, know this: There is a one-hour table limit, and there is a minimum bill (it was $30 when I went there last) so pre-arrange a meet-up with SOMEone to split the bill with, because 1. That’s a lot of extra money to spend. 2. One should probably not ingest $30 worth of food and beverage before ballhawking.)
Minute Maid Park:
All Gates open 90 minutes before game time.
Nationals Park:
Center Field Plaza Gate opens 2.5 hours before first pitch.
All Other Gates open 1.5 hours early.
(Pro Tip: When the main gate opens, people are always allowed into the left field and Red Seats in center field. However, they sometimes have the lower and upper seats in right field open when the main gate opens. If they aren’t open when the main gate opens, they, along with the rest of the ballpark will open with the rest of the gates. Foul territory is (almost) never open until 1.5 hours before game time.)
Oakland Coliseum:
Gates open 1.5 hours before game time Monday-Friday, and 2 hours early Saturday & Sunday.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards:
The Eutaw Street Gates (A and H) open 2 hours before game time. (Pro Tip: Season ticket holders are allowed to go into the main seating bowl at this time while “regular ticket holders” must wait until 1.5 hours before game time, so see if you can get tickets from them. They’re nice people, so I’m sure you can get hooked-up.)
Petco Park:
“Many ballpark gates open for admittance one and one-half (1 1/2) hours prior to the first pitch for Monday through Thursday games, and two (2) hours before the first pitch for Friday through Sunday games. The Park at the Park opens two and one-half (2 1/2) hours prior to the first pitch and allow guest access to the Park at the Park and the Padres Power Alley.”
PNC Park:
“Gates open one and one half hours (1 1/2) prior to game time (Monday through Sunday) and two hours on Opening Day. The Riverwalk will open two (2) hours before weekday (Monday-Friday) games and two and one half hours (2 1/2) prior to weekend (Saturday-Sunday) games.” And a bit of information Erik himself gave about the gate situation”PNC Park Riverwalk opens at 4:30 Mon-Sat for night games. For day games, it opens 2 hours early, but there is no early entrance to left field during BP. You have to stay out on the riverwalk until 90 mins before first pitch.”
(Pro Tip: When the Riverwalk opens, Pirates season ticket holders into the left field seats. Like Oriole Park at Camden Yards, these holders are nice people too, so you can/should see if you can get one of them to bring you in (ideally beforehand) too, because they are allowed to bring in guests.)
Progressive Field:
“For all night games at Progressive Field (Monday – Saturday), Gate C will open at 4:30 p.m. to allow fans access to the Market Pavilion, Heritage Park and the Right Field Lower Reserved seats until 6:00 p.m. This will enable fans to watch the Indians take Batting Practice, as well as time to enjoy Heritage Park in the center field area. At 6:00 p.m. ALL gates will open. For 1:05 p.m. day games, all gates will open at 11:30 a.m. For all 12:05 p.m. day games, gates will open at 11 a.m. Special gate times exist for Terrace Club and Premium Seating guests.”
Rangers Ballpark:
“First and Third Base Gates open two hours prior to game time for night games and one and one-half hours prior to game time for afternoon games. Home Plate and Center Field Gates at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington open one and one-half hours prior to game time for all games. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to watch batting practice, infield workouts and pre-game ceremonies. Gate openings are subject to change.” (Pro Tip: I’ve heard that season ticket holder get to go in a half-hour early and get to bring in a guest, so see if you can make friends before the gates open to possibly get in a little early.)
Rogers Centre:
They actually have *nothing* on their site about the gates, so I’m going to go out on a whim and say they haven’t changed since when Erik wrote his entry, but if you’re reading this sentence, Malcolm, please enlighten us on the truth. By the way, if you want to check out Erik’s entry, this whole excerpt from it is linked to the entry itself:
Safeco Field:
Center Field and ‘Pen Gates open 2.5 hours before first pitch.
All Gates open 2 hours before the game starts.
(Pro Tip: Like most stadiums with one gate opening earlier than the others, when the ‘Pen and Center Field Gates open, you are limited to that part of the stadium and when the rest of the gates open, you can access the rest of the stadium.)
Target Field:
Gates open 90 minutes before the game Monday-Thursday.
Gates open 2 hours before first pitch Friday-Sunday.
(Pro Tip: Unless you have a particular spot that is essential to your ballhawking strategy, there is a small chance that you can get a ball from outside of the gates at Gate 34 in right field.)
Tropicana Field:
See Target Field…minus the Pro Tip part.
Turner Field:
“Main gates (Plaza, Museum & Guest Relations gates): 2.5 hours prior to game time
Bowl Seating gates: 2 hours prior to game time”
(Pro Tip: Again, you are limited to the left and center field seats for the first half-hour– the former of which is fortunately is one of the best sections of outfield seating in all of baseball–but 2 hours before the game begins, you can go into foul ground and the right field seats. So if there are a bunch of lefties or the left field seats are just packed, that’s when you can get out of there.)
U.S. Cellular Field:
“The U.S. Cellular Field gates open 90 minutes prior to game time, unless otherwise noted. On Kids Days, the gates will open two (2) hours prior to game time.”
(Pro Tip: This is only in the case of tickets being waaaay out of your price range; don’t try this if you can help it. But at “the Cell”, it is their policy that you *need* a field-level ticket to access the field-level seating no matter if it’s right as the gates open or anything. However, if you find yourself without a ticket for there, you can ask to visit something that only exists on the lower level–like a hat store or something; do your own research! And then, depending on the humanity of the usher, you can maybe get in there. (Credit: Sean Bigness))
Wrigley Field:
All Gates open 2 hours before the game.
(Pro Tip(s): Like the other Chicago park, be conscious of where your ticket is. I have heard of some exceptions (although no one who has done it seems to know how they did it) but for the most part; if you buy a bleacher ticket, you can only be in the bleachers for the whole game, and vice-versa for a seating bowl ticket. So that’s the first thing. The second thing is: the bleachers are general admission. That means the first person gets the best seat. Naturally, this means people show up earlier for the bleachers. Thirdly, Wrigley Field–renovations and all–is still small in the left field bleacher portion of the stadium, so it’s possible to snag baseballs before you get in the stadium on Waveland Ave. Additionally, there are some (although substantailly fewer) fences in the outfield wall where one can see into the stadium, so it is also possible to get a player to toss you a ball while out there before the gates open.)
Yankee Stadium:
All Gates open 2 hours before first pitch.
(Pro Tip: Don’t let this fool you, unless you can splurge for a field-level ticket–because of the Yankees’ suckiness when it comes to fan relations–it’s more like a ballpark that opens 1.5 hours before the game because it’s there policy to kick anyone without a ticket for field-level seats 45 minutes after the gates. (So during the beginning of visitor’s BP.))
Sorted By Earliest Gate On Weekdays:(This discounts early-access stadium tour and such like those at Fenway Park and Great American Ballpark.)
2.5 Hours Early:
Citizens Bank Park, Nationals Park, Petco Park, Progressive Field, Safeco Field, and Turner Field.
2 Hours Early:
Angels Stadium, AT&T Park, Busch Stadium, Citi Field, Comerica Park, Coors Field, Dodgers Stadium, Marlins Park (Premium Gates), Oriole Park at Camden Yards, PNC Park, Rangers Ballpark, Wrigley Field, and Yankee Stadium.
1.5 Hours:
Chase Field, Fenway Park, Great American Ballpark, Kauffman Stadium, Miller Park, Minute Maid Park, Oakland Coliseum, Rogers Centre, Target Field, Tropicana Field, and U.S. Cellular Field.
Sorted By Earliest Gate Opening Time On Weekends:
2.5 Hours Early:
Citizens Bank Park, Nationals Park, Petco Park, PNC Park, Progressive Field, and Safeco Field.
2 Hours Early:
Angels Stadium, AT&T Park, Busch Stadium, Chase Field, Citi Field, Comerica Park, Coors Field, Dodgers Stadium, Fenway Park, Marlins Park (Premium Gates), Oakland Coliseum, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Rangers Ballpark, Rogers Centre, Target Field, Tropicana Field, Wrigley Field, and Yankee Stadium.
1.5 Hours Early:
Great American Ballpark, Kauffman Stadium, Miller Park (? Read the whole Miller Park thing; it’s semi-confusing, and makes it impossible to categorize properly.), Minute Maid Park, and U.S. Cellular Field.
Oh, and before we even entertain the possibility, I’m not making this next year, so I suspect one of you reading this will have to pick up the torch next offseason. However, while you’re here, you can vote for what you’d like to see me write about next, if you haven’t already. Keep in mind you can vote for more than one entry topic. This is especially important this time because I’ve already begun writing the next entry by the time you read this:
And here’s the entry ideas that have been exhausted already:
1. Ballhawk Interviews- 33 votes
2. Stadium Profiles- 26 votes
3. Ballhawk Profiles- 33 votes
4. Dissect (a) Baseball(s)- 26 votes
5. Tour Target Field when there’s snow on the ground- 26 votes
6. Weird Observing Baseball Facts and Records- 28 votes
7. New Observing Baseball Icon- 17 votes
8. MLBlogs I Recommend- 33 votes
9. Observing Baseball Trivia- 32 votes
10. My Favorite MLB Players- 28 votes
11. Characters of Observing Baseball- 29 votes
12. Gate Opening Times of MLB Stadiums- 30 votes
Not Proofread.
243,658 Words Written so far…
Characters of Observing Baseball: Zack Hample
Entries with Zack in them: 27
How I met Zack: I don’t know if there was a single time I heard of Zack. The first distinct event I remember, though, was this: I was known–among other things–as the baseball-obsessed kid in my pre-teen years. (Trust me; I have the years worth of baseball books I never read to prove it.) Anyway, as I alluded to in that last sentence in parentheses, this lead everybody and their grandmother to go with baseball-related books when in doubt as gifts. One such book was “Watching Baseball Smarter”. Unlike most of the books that I have been given–which I convinced myself I’d read later as I put them on my bookshelf, only to be left, still unread–it seemed interesting, so I started reading it. While it ended up not being a book I particularly enjoyed, when I saw the author’s picture on the back, I thought, “Hey, that’s that guy who catches baseballs that I’ve heard of a few times.” (Again, because I was “the baseball kid”, a couple of people had told me about Zack before that point, but it was never more than a mention until I realized *he* had written the book.) After I read the book, I went on two road trips with my dad and snagged a combined four baseballs in 18 games. While it’s true that I didn’t get to the gates before they opened, didn’t really ask players at all for baseballs, and didn’t read Zack’s blog, I was kind of feeling, “You know, this whole do-it-yourself snagging thing really isn’t working, so I should learn directly from the expert himself.” So, that next year I saved up the whole year to A. Go to a “Watch With Zack” game, and B. Go on a third baseball road trip with my dad where I would have a clue as to how to snag a baseball. And that Watch With Zack Game was where I met Zack (more specifically, the 79th street subway station). I would write more about the experience, but I’m saving it for the “Blast from the Baseball Past” entry I hope to write on the game eventually. In the meantime, here’s Zack’s entry on the game.
First of all, since this is the first entry of its ilk, let me go through what this series of entries unofficially is. There are many people who I mention or just appear in my ballhawking entries, so these entries are to give you some background into the person and my relation to them. (So why they are even appearing in the entries.) Zack, for the .0000009% of you who don’t know, is the snagger of 6,459 baseballs (as of January, 14, 2013), and as such has appeared in a ton of my ballhawking entries since we are often at the same game in New York.
If you didn’t pick it up in the paragraph where I described how I met Zack, Zack was the one who taught me how to ballhawk. He was the inspiration for me starting to ballhawk and the reason this blog exists in general. Granted I haven’t written any other of these “Character of Observing Baseball” entries yet, but I’d say this is probably the hardest to write since there is so much known about Zack already out there, so most things I would write would be redundant. That, and my encounters with him are numerous enough that I can’t just narrate to you those one or two times I’ve been to the same game as him. My best advice is to click the “26″ earlier in the entry and simply read a few of the entries for my experiences at game with him. So, good people, I give you a few links to somewhat get to know Mr. Hample yourself:
1. Blog
2. Website
3. Twitter
And, for fun: 4. Wikipedia Page
Now, just because I think you were too lazy or whatever to click the “26″, here are some of the synopses of the games we have both attended:
1. 4/9/11 Nationals at Mets- Every ballhawk in the New York it seemed came to this game because back then everyone went to Citi Field instead of Yankee Stadium only to find out that the reason they had gone there had been taken away from them by the Mets in that the Mets pushed the gate opening time from two-and-a-half hours before first pitch to two hours before it.
2. 4/14/11 Orioles at Yankees- Zack formally introduced me to Ben Weil forcing my first memory of Ben being the scrapes on his legs from the Yankee Stadium ground.
3. 4/17/11 Rangers at Yankees- I showed up half way through batting practice for this Sunday Night Baseball game only to almost out-snag Zack for the first time ever.
4. 4/21/11 Astros at Mets- I got Zack to sign my copy of “The Baseball and got Nelson Figueroa to sign a ball and take a self-shot with my camera. What did Zack snag? Only the first ever mygameballs.com-recorded Citi Field home run snag, which just so happened to be Mike Nickeas’ first career home run.
5. 7/24/11 Angels at Orioles- Zack caught Mike Trout’s first ever home run, so I got to have a semi-behind-the-scenes look at OPACY and got to see a 19-year-old Trout in person as he met with his family for the first time after hitting his first major league home run.
6. 8/1/11 Marlins at Mets- This time it my turn to snag a game ball. I snagged an Angel Pagan foul ball which Zack, myself, his half-brother, and his half-brother’s son had fun taking pictures of (none of which show up in the entry, but I that was the main interaction during the game).
7. 8/15/12 Rangers at Yankees- There was a bunch of rain , so Zack explained to me the difference between him and Mickey Mantle, helped me snag a ball from a groundskeeper, and provided almost half of the pictures I used in the entry.
8. 8/24/12 Astros at Mets- Since it was my last game before going off to school in Minnesota, I rode back the entire subway journey back with him and Greg Barasch.
9. 8/14/11 Rangers at Yankees- I did a “Before The Gates Open” video in which Zack made a ridiculous cameo–from which the picture up top is a screen cap of.
I think I could write more about the other games, but again, check them out. Mostly because I don’t feel like transcribing the entries all into this one single entry. And if you were wondering…Yes, making it so you can find every game I attended with any given ballhawk through tags is one of my mini-projects under the larger project of re-doing the blog this winter. I already have it so you can see every entry a certain player hit or tossed me a ball, but I realize now that I had no clue what tagging entries actually meant. So if you notice, as of late, I haven’t really been tagging the entries myself; I’ve just been using all fo the tags WordPress suggests for me. That’s because I’m trying to figure out what I actually want my tags to be used for. Once I have a concrete idea and get up the motivation to undertake the project, I’m going to re-do almost all of the tags. That’s yet another reason why I got rid of so many entries from the past. Anyway, if you couldn’t tell, the main part of the entry is over, so this is the part where I tell you to vote for the entry(s) you would like to see next if you haven’t already:
And here are the already-exhausted entry ideas. For those who don’t know, after all of the items on the poll get written, I will put some of the exhausted entries back up and we’ll do this all over until Opening Day (yes I capitalize it; it’s a national holiday) rolls around:
1. Ballhawk Interviews- 33 votes
2. Stadium Profiles- 26 votes
3. Ballhawk Profiles- 33 votes
4. Dissect (a) Baseball(s)- 26 votes
5. Tour Target Field when there’s snow on the ground- 26 votes
6. Weird Observing Baseball Facts and Records- 28 votes
7. New Observing Baseball Icon- 17 votes
8. MLBlogs I Recommend- 33 votes
9. Observing Baseball Trivia- 32 votes
10. My Favorite MLB Players- 28 votes
11. Characters of Observing Baseball- 29 votes
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240,670 Words Written so far…
Favorite MLB Players
Just to have it on the record who my favorite MLB players are and were as of January, 12, 2013. That, and maybe for you guys to get a better idea of me as a baseball fan:
Vote for who you think the next entry should be about:
And of course, if you haven’t already, vote for what you think the next entry should be after that:
Exhausted entry ideas:
1. Ballhawk Interviews- 33 votes
2. Stadium Profiles- 26 votes
3. Ballhawk Profiles- 33 votes
4. Dissect (a) Baseball(s)- 26 votes
5. Tour Target Field when there’s snow on the ground- 26 votes
6. Weird Observing Baseball Facts and Records- 28 votes
7. New Observing Baseball Icon- 17 votes
8. MLBlogs I Recommend- 33 votes
9. Observing Baseball Trivia- 32 votes
10. My Favorite MLB Players- 28 votes
11. Characters of Observing Baseball- 29
Not Proofread/watched.
239,315 Words Written so far…
Houlihan Park Tour and Snagging Analysis
So that was that. I hope you enjoyed it. And here is that poll I promised you about which person you’d like me to write about for the “Characters of Observing Baseball” entry that I’ll write about two entries from now:
I left off ushers and family off, but if you’d like to see me include them or any other people, let me know before you vote.
MLBlogs Top 100- Number 20!
In the craziness that took up pretty much my entire weekend that was Observing Baseball Trivia, I didn’t get to write an entry about an awesomely awesome thing: I made top-20 on 2012 on MLBlogs!
That was a whole nine-spot jump from 2011′s list. That may not seem like much, but: it was a third of my 2011 ranking that I jumped up by, there were a ton of great new blogs that started up in 2012 (there were some GREAT blogs that stopped writing in 2012, but they’re still on the list up top.), and each spot gets harder to jump as one goes up closer to the top of the list. I’m also enjoying this one because I know it will be a lot harder next year since there are two blogs that produce great content–that I got a head start on in 2012–that will probably leap-frog me in 2013 by the names of Three Up, Three Down and Ballparks on a Budget. You know, because people like to read good content instead what I throw up here every few days.
Thank you for reading. It’s been a pleasure writing. And I plan to try to make it an even better 2013. How you say? Well, I wrote about my goals for 2013, which is pretty much the same. So you can go check that out for details. And because of me being at this spot in the MLBlogs scene, you may notice the addition of the badge over in the sidebar. Speaking of the sidebar…
For the next few days I’ll actually be taking care of some general maintenance-of-the-blog stuff. That includes, but is not limited to
- Completely re-doing the sidebar- I was in the middle of doing this when Observing Baseball Trivia came around, so you can see some of it already up as of when I publish this entry.
- Deleting and “privatizing” entries- A ton of the entries I’ve written–especially before my Twitter account–just don’t make any sense out of context. That, and a ton of them are just bad. A lot of the times before Twitter I would post an entry simply to tell readers why I was behind on writing or other updates like that. So, I will be deleting the entries that make no sense out of context and saving the other ones as drafts that I just don’t like in general. Don’t worry, though. I won’t get rid of any that are a part of entry series, but any that I just think are awful and were meant to stand on their own (there are a bunch of them) I will delete or save them as a draft if I want to keep them for information’s sake. I will, however, keep them as a part of my “Words Written” stat, because I don’t feel like recalculating that stat. I will also edit entries if they contain an update-y part of the entry so it’s just the content of the entry itself is showing.
So again, thank you for reading and may your 2013 be an awesome one.
And finally, even though I know I wrote right above this that I would be pulling down/making private entries like this one once the context for these entries’ time has passed, with Observing Baseball Trivia, yet another poll item has been crossed off the list, so it is time to include the updated poll as well as the already-done ideas:
Here are the entries I’ve done:
1. Ballhawk Interviews- 33 votes
2. Stadium Profiles- 26 votes
3. Ballhawk Profiles- 33 votes
4. Dissect (a) Baseball(s)- 26 votes
5. Tour Target Field when there’s snow on the ground- 26 votes
6. Weird Observing Baseball Facts and Records- 28 votes
7. New Observing Baseball Icon- 17 votes
8. MLBlogs I Recommend- 33 votes
9. Observing Baseball Trivia- 32 votes
And I would do the remaining items in order of number of votes, but it appears the poll for some reason decided to make sense all of a sudden and put them in this order automatically when you look at the results now. Although, I will say this: many of the top items can’t be done until I get back to Minnesota, so if you see me go out of order, that’s why.
Proofread.
239,179 Words Written so far…
Observing Baseball Trivia
Since I can’t write “Ballhawking Gear” until I get back to Minnesota in three weeks, here is your next-most-voted-for entry: Observing Baseball Trivia. Here’s how it will go:
- 100 Questions total
- 10 on Historical Baseball Stuff, 10 on Contemporary Baseball Stuff, 30 on Ballpark Trivia, 10 on Ballhawk Stats, 10 on Name That Ballpark, 10 Trivia about the content of the blog itself, and 20 on Moments in Observing Baseball History.
- Each question will be multiple choice.
- You don’t need to write out the question, but please include the number to the question in your answer.
- Each person only gets to take one guess for each question. If a person takes a guess at a question that is wrong, they can no longer answer that question. They will, however, be allowed a guess at any subsequent questions.
- I will try to post a question on every hour or half-hour that I am up between today and Monday.
- The contest will be taking place not just here on the blog, but also on my Twitter account, the Observing Baseball Facebook page, and on the newly-made Instagram account (because EVERYone said I should make one. Well, not everyone, but family, people on Twitter, and people in the comments of this blog). Twenty-five of the hundred questions will appear on each medium. I won’t announce which questions will be on which, but every set of four questions will have one question on each medium. In other words, you will always be able to predict on which account the fourth, eight, and so on questions will be one, but you won’t be able to predict the three questions preceding
- The questions won’t close until someone answers question #100.
- The people credited with answering the question will be decided by *my* time stamp. I’ll try update the standings below as I get the results.
- Only one person can get credit for answering the question correctly. The person to get it is the first person to answer it correctly.
- I’ll post questions from other places on here after they’re answered.
- Correct answers will be bolded.
- To be accredited with the right answer one needs to answer on wherever the question is… unless you let me know before the question is posted that you don’t have an account on any of the sites listed above. In that case I’ll allow you to answer by commenting on this entry. So, to be clear, if I post the question on the blog, comment the answer; if I post the question on Twitter, reply to the tweet (or one tweet in the series of tweets containing the tweets, since I probably can’t fit a whole multiple-choice question in 140 characters) with the answer; if the question is on Facebook, comment on the post where I ask the question with the answer; and if the question is on Instagram, comment on the picture I ask the question in.
- The winner of this contest will get their choice of *one* of these four prizes. And for every ten people who submit an answer throughout this contest, I’ll add on an extra winner (i.e. If more than ten people submit an answer, I’ll give away two prizes. If more than twenty people do, I’ll give away three prizes etc. If more than forty people submit an answer–which I *highly* doubt–I’ll pick some more prizes for them to possibly pick from.) Anyway, here are the prizes:
1. Rollie Fingers-signed baseball:
2. Yankees 2009 Commemorative World Series DVD (unopened):
3. Mr. Met Bobblehead:
4. Radar Gun:
Rankings:
1. Nick Badders- 29. Received: Radar Gun.
2. Paul Kom- 24. Received–by winning the tie-breaker 3-2-1: Rollie Finger autographed baseball.
3. Quinn Imiola- 24. Received: Mr. Met bobblehead.
4. Kimberly Imiola- 8
5. Jared Serre- 3
6. Sean Bigness- 3
7. Joey Orr- 2
8. Danny Chojnacki- 2
9. Brendan Weingarten- 2
10. Pascale Badders- 2
11. Tony Voda- 1
12. Matt Huddleston- 1
And here is the first question:
1. Who received the highest percentage of votes in the Baseball HOF’s inagural class? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
a. Walter Johnson
b. Ty Cobb
c. Babe Ruth
d. Honus Wagner
2. (on Facebook) What year was Fenway Park’s construction finalized? ANSWERED (by Bredan Weingarten)
B. 1924
C. 1909
D. 1918
3. (on Instagram) What is the date of the longest time I’ve spent “at the ballpark”? ANSWERED (by Matt Huddleston)
A. 8/24/12
B. 7/4/11
C. 10/2/10
D. 7/17/12
4. (on Twitter) Who is the only ballhawk in mygameballs.com history to have four consecutive 400+ ball seasons? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Nick Pelescak
B. Zack Hample
C. Garrett Meyer
D. Erik Jabs
5. (on Facebook) Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Rogers Centre
B. Tropicana Field
C. Tokyo Dome
D. Metrodome
6. (on Twitter) Which pitcher lead the league in 2012 in K/9? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Max Scherzer
B. Justin Verlander
C. Lance Lynn
D. Zack Grienke
7. At Target Field, Harmon Killebrew’s longest home run ever (at Metropolitan Stadium) is the spot of______? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. A Mini Donut Stand
B. A Gold Glove
C. A Plaque Commemorating the Home Run
D. His Statue
8. (on Instagram) The Brewers mascot, Bernie the Brewer, slides down the slide in left field every time… ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. A Brewer hits a home run
B. The Brewers score a run
C. An opposing batter strikes out
D. All of the above
9. What is the single-season record for Balls Per Game on mygameballs.com? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 8.83
B. 8.65
C. 9.33
D. 9.5
10. Who tossed me my 100th baseball? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Chris Perez
B. Rick Ankiel
C. Jeremy Hellickson
D. Jaime Garcia
11. (on Twitter) Which stat comes at the end of the “stats” portion of each ballhawking entry? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Streaks
B. Competition Factor
C. Time Sent On Game
D. Balls Per Game
12. (on Facebook) What was the original name of the New York Yankees franchise? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Washington Yankees
B. New York Knickerbockers
C. New York Highlanders
D. Baltimore Orioles
13. (on Facebook) In 2007, the Arizona Diamondbacks dumped which color scheme in favor of sedona red and black? ANSWERED (by Brendan Weingarten)
A. Normal red and white
B. Purple and turqouise
C. Gray and black
D. Gray and teal
14. (on Instagram) Name That Ballpark ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. New Yankee Stadium
B. U.S. Cellular Field
C. Old Yankee Stadium
D. Citizens Bank Park
15. (on Twitter) Who hit the first foul ball I snagged that I wrote about on this blog? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Angel Pagan
B. Luis Hernandez
C. Nate McLouth
D. Justin Morneau
16. Marlins Park was built on the site of which former building? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Miami-Dade County Courthouse
B. Miami Hurricane’s Mark Light Field (baseball stadium)
C. Pro Player Stadium
D. Old Orange Bowl Site
17. (on Twitter) My first Observing Baseball-documented snags came as a result of a loan from which ballhawk? ANSWERED (by Danny Chojnacki)
A. Zack Hample
B. Ben Weil
C. Greg Barasch
D. Avi Miller
18. (on Instagram) Before Marlins Park, what was the only ballpark with a pool? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Tropicana Field
B. Chase Field
C. Minute Maid Park
D. Safeco Field
19. Which of the following are true concerning my 200th career ball? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. It was a ball hit in the second deck of Nationals Park
B. I out-ran an usher for it
C. I gave the ball away
D. All of the above
20. Which of these is not a feature of the Rogers Centre? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Its outfield measurements are in meters
B. It only has three levels of seating
C. It is next door to the CN Tower.
D. There are hotel rooms in the outfield
21. (on Instagram) Which of the following *is* a seating section at Busch Stadium? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Right Field Porch
B. Outfield Redbird Club
C. Diamond Club
D. Bank of America Club
22. What was the original name of the Atlanta Braves organization? ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. Boston Red Stockings
B. Boston Braves
C. Milwaukee Braves
D. Milwaukee Brewmasters
23. I snagged my first Observing Baseball-documented commemorative baseball at which stadium? ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. Nationals Park
B. Citi Field
C. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
D. New Yankee Stadium
24. (on Twitter) Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Jared Serre)
A. Nationals Park
B. Citi Field
C. Target Field
D. New Yankee Stadium
25. (on Facebook) PNC Park leads the next-highest ballpark on mygameballs.com by how many baseballs?ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 1,367
B. 730
C. 579
D. 1,504
26. This Ballpark has a see-through fence in one of its outfield walls so that people can see the field from outside the stadium. ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
B. AT&T Park
C. Minute Maid Park
D. Chase Field
27. (on Instagram) What month and year did I upload my first–admittedly awful–video for Observing Baseball? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. December 2011
B. March 2012
C. October 2011
D. January 2012
28. (on Twitter) Which gate at Citizens Bank Park opens earlier than all of the rest? ANSWERED (by Tony Voda)
A. Third Base Gate
B. Center Field Gate
C. Home Plate Gate
D. Right Field Gate
29. (on Facebook) Which of the following is *not* in the top-5 active pitchers in terms of WAR? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Mariano Rivera
B. Roy Halladay
C. Justin Verlander
D. C.C. Sabathia
30. What was the date of my first ever Observing Baseball-documented minor league game? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 3/29/12
B. 9/13/11
C. 4/29/12
D. 4/11/12
31. (on Twitter) Which of the following ballparks moved in its fences for the 2013 season? ANSWERED (by Jared Serre)
A. Citi Field
B. O. Co Coliseum
C. Petco Park
D. U.S. Cellular Field
32. (on Instagram) Which of the following does not have the majority of its seats green? ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. Target Field
B. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
C. Citi Field
D. Marlins Park
33. (on Instagram) Which of the following is in the top-5 active leaders in terms of OBP? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Adam Dunn
B. Joey Votto
C. Kevin Youkillis
D. Joe Mauer
34. (on Facebook) Who hit the walk-off hit in the game I caught Trevor Plouffe’s game-tying home run? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Denard Span
B. Josh Willingham
C. Ben Revere
D. Justin Morneau
D. Justin Morneau
35. What year did Roger Maris break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. 1961
B. 1958
C. 1949
D. 1965
36. (on Twitter) What date did I first encounter the “Tomahawk Chop”? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 7/6/11
B. 4/14/11
C. 7/4/11
D. 8/15/11
37. (on Facebook) Who leads mygameballs.com in Balls Per Game? (minimum 10 Games) ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Jaycob Porter
B. Donny Haltom
C. Zack Hample
D. Joe Faraguna
38. (on Twitter) Which of the following ballparks doesn’t have a standing room-only section in the field level of the outfield? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. AT&T Park
B. Progressive Field
C. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
D. Fenway Park
39. I caught what sequence of baseballs in my three games in Miami in 2011? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. 8, 7, 2
B. 5, 5, 5
C. 7, 6, 2
D. 7, 3, 6
40. (on Instagram) Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. Target Field
B. Sun Life Stadium
C. Citi Field
D. Nationals Park
41. (on Facebook) Senator George Mitchell is a part of which baseball organization? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola and Paul Kom)
A. New York Yankees
B. Los Angeles Dodgers
C. Milwaukee Brewers
D. Boston Red Sox
A. AT&T Park
B. PNC Park
C. Citi Field
D. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
43. (on Twitter) Who was the first president to throw out a ceremonial first pitch? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Woodrow Wilson
B. Herbert Hoover
C. William Howard Taft
D. Calvin Coolidge
45. (on Facebook) What percentage of balls have I given away since I started Observing Baseball? ANSWERED (by Joey Orr)
A. 34%
B. 21%
C. 29%
D. 26%
46. (on Twitter) How many ballparks have I been to? (MLB) ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. 10
B. 15
C. 16
D. 18
A. AT&T Park
B. Turner Field
C. Miller Park
D. Coors Field
48. What was the date of my first double-digit game? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 7/29/11
B. 8/12/11
C. 7/23/11
D. 6/24/11
49. Which of the following is not true about my 300th ball snag? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. I caught it on the fly
B. It was hit by a Yankee
C. It was on Derek Jeter’s birthday
D. I ran into a tunnel to get it.
50. (on Facebook) Which of the following doesn’t have a double-decker bullpen? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Target Field
B. Citizens Bank Park
C. Citi Field
D. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
A. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
B. New Yankee Stadium
C. Citi Field
D. Sun LIfe Stadium
52. (on Twitter) What is oldest ballpark in the AL Central? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Progressive Field
B. U.S. Cellular
C. Comerica Park
D. Kauffman Stadium
53. (on Twitter) What was the date when I tied for most baseballs snagged in the inaugural Ballhawkfest? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 7/7/11
B. 6/9/11
C. 7/13/11
D. 7/23/11
54. (on Instagram) Which Ballpark was top in the league in 2012 in terms of HR Park Factor? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
B. U.S. Cellular Field
C. Coors Field
D. Miller Park
55. (on Facebook) Which is the third oldest ballpark in the AL East? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. New Yankee Stadium
B. Tropicana Field
C. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
D. Rogers Centre
56. On what date did I snag my first career home run? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. 9/13/11
B. 9/12/11
C. 9/13/12
D. 9/14/12
57. (on Twitter) Who is the Yankees’ career RBI leader?ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Lou Gehrig
B. Babe Ruth
C. Mickey Mantle
D. Joe DiMaggio
A. 8/5/12
B. 9/15/11
C. 7/7/12
D. 6/24/12
59. (on Facebook) Who holds the record on mygameballs.com for most home run snags in a season? ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. John Witt
B. Rick Gold
C. Tim Anderson
D. Shawn Bosman
60. Who is the active leader in WAR? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Albert Pujols
B. Chipper Jones
C. Manny Ramirez
D. Alex Rodriguez
61. (on Twitter) Where can you find a “Cuban Sandwhich”? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Marlins Park
B. Tropicana Field
C. Citi Field
D. Petco Park
62. (on Facebook) How many home stadiums and cities have the Oakland A’s had? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. 4, 4
B. 3, 3
C. 4, 3
D. 5, 3
63. Which current MLB stadium has the highest Seating Capacity? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Dodgers Stadium
B. New Yankee Stadium
C. Coors Field
D. Rogers Centre
64. (on Instagram) Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Jared Serre and Quinn Imiola)
A. Turner Field
B. Metrodome
C. Tropicana Field
D. Miller Park
65. (on Twitter) How many *numbers* have the Yankees retired? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. 14
B. 16
C. 17
D. 20
66. When was the first time I was let into the stadium over a half-hour after I should have? ANSWERED (by Danny Chojnacki)
A. 8/24/11
B. 5/18/11
C. 8/13/11
D. 8/23/11
67. (on Facebook) What’s the newest MLB stadium? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Target Field
B. Citi Field
C. Marlins Park
D. New Yankee Stadium
68. (on Instagram) What game did I snag this baseball? ANSWERED (by Sean Bigness)
A. 7/2/11
B. 6/24/11
C. 7/4/11
D. 7/5/11
69. What were the dates of my first consecutive games with one game ball? ANSWERED (by Kimberly Imiola)
A. 7/5/11, 7/6/11
B. 7/31/11, 8/1/11
C. 8/13/12, 8/14/12
D. 7/22/12, 7/23/12
70. (on Instagram) What stadium is this from? ANSWERED (by Sean Bigness)
A. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
B. Nationals Park
C. Citi Field
D. Target Field
RULES FROM THIS POINT ON:
We will do the normal question every 30 minutes until we reach total question. After that, we will take a break and I will post the remaining 25 question on the blog in a free-for-all comment war. I will only post this group of 25 questions on an hour (so 1:00, 2:00, etc.) it will not be on any random time like 3:49 and won’t be on the half-hour either. It will most likely go up tonight, but if I can’t finish the list by 12:00 AM EST, the list will wait until Monday (tomorrow) and go up between 6:00 PM and 12:00 AM EST, again, on the hour. I’d say we’ll resume the “regular” 30 minute trivia at around 6:00 EST today. If it doesn’t resume by then keep checking back every half hour on either Facebook or Twitter, since those are the only two remaining possible mediums for questions 71 and 72.
71. (on Twitter) Which book did I review in March of 2011? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Watching Baseball Smarter
B. The Baseball
C. Moneyball
D. The Extra 2%
72. (on Facebook) What year did the Giants and Dodgers come to the west coast? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. 1951
B. 1949
C. 1955
D. 1957
73. (on Instagram) Which player has hit the most home runs in this stadium? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Alex Rodriguez
B. Babe Ruth
C. Curtis Granderson
D. Mickey Mantle
74. Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Nationals Park
B. Turner Field
C. AT& T Park
D. Miller Park
75. (on Twitter) Where can you find “The Beach”? ANSWERED (by Sean Bigness)
A. Dodgers Stadium
B. Marlins Park
C. Petco Park
D. AT&T Park
76. Where might one find “Greene’s Hill”? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington
B. Busch Stadium
C. Kauffman Stadium
D. Angels Stadium
77. In getting the hitter’s Triple Crown, Miguel Cabrera was the first player since whom to do so? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Stan Musial
B. Carl Yastremski
C. Don Mattingly
D. Hank Aaron
78. Which notable ballhawk has been my next-door neighbor for 18 years? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Zack Hample
B. Ben Weil
C. Greg Barasch
D. Rick Gold
79. Which player was responsible for my first ever batting practice baseball? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Prince Fielder
B. Barry Bonds
C. Andy Pettitte
D. Ryan Howard
80. Which ballhawk has the lowest Ball Per Game average on mygameballs.com? (Min 100 Games) ANSWERED (by Pascale Badders)
A. Leigh Barratt
B. Tony Bracco
C. Rick Gold
D. Don Chilcote
81. The renovations to Kauffman Stadium were completed by commencement of what season? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. 2005
B. 2009
C. 2007
D. 2008
82. In this entry I wrote about the process Ruben Amaro Jr. undertook to get three aces on the Phillies rotation. What was the name of the entry? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Good boy, Roy
B. A Plethora of Pitchers
C. Pure Genius
D. The Phantastic Phillies
83. Who lead the National League in Strikeouts in 2012? ANSWERED (by Pascale Badders)
A. Clayton Kershaw
B. Gio Gonzalez
C. R.A. Dickey
D. Adam Dunn
84. Which of the following ball totals would get one number 10 on the mygameballs.com career totals? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. 1,252
B. 1,138
C. 967
D. 1,504
85. What detail was first overlooked in the renovations of Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum by the Oakland Raiders? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Installation of bullpens
B. A room for grounds crew materials
C. Foldable seats to stow away for baseball games
D. Shatter-proof glass in outfield boxes.
86. The usher who lets me into his section at Nationals Park works in which part of the ballpark? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Lower-level right Field
B. Lower-level left field
C. Behind the third base dugout
D. Foul ground left field
87. Which of the following franchises originated in Milwaukee? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Atlanta Braves
B. Baltimore Orioles
C. Oakland Athletics
D. Milwaukee Brewers
88. Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Riverfront Stadium
B. County Stadium
C. Crosley Field
D. Sportman’s Park
89. When did I ask Josh Thole to return an item to me and he did? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. 7/23/12
B. 7/30/11
C. 7/17/12
D. 8/26/11
90. What ballpark was supposed to host the 2000 All-Star game? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Angels Stadium
B. Wrigley Field
C. Sun Life Stadium
D. Safeco Field
91. Which stadium used to be called Pac Bell Park? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. AT&T Park
B. Chase Field
C. Sun Life Stadium
D. Petco Park
92. Which of the following didn’t happen on 4/21/11? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Zack Hample caught Mike Nickeas’ home run
B. I got my copy of The Baseball signed
C. I got Nelson Figueroa to take a “self-shot” with my camera
D. I got reprimanded for trying to get too many “Pepsi Max” samples
93. Who lead Major League Baseball in WAR in 2012? ANSWERED (by Nick Badders)
A. Miguel Cabrera
B. Buster Posey
C. Mike Trout
D. Andrew McCutchen
94. What was the best Ball Per Game average in 2012? (Min 10 games) ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. 8.00
B. 8.65
C. 9.33
D. 7.00
95. Where would someone encounter the “Tomahawk Chop”? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Progressive Field
B. Turner Field
C. PNC Park
D. Minute Maid Park
96. Who accompanied me on the night of my first home run snag? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Sean Bigness
B. Chris Cositore
C. Jonathan Mueller
D. Alex Pistolesi
97. Who is the all-time leader in WAR? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom)
A. Denton Young
B. Babe Ruth
C. Barry Bonds
D. Walter Johnson
98.Name That Ballpark! ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. Turner Field
B. Target Field
C. Citi Field
D. Nationals Park
99. When did I first come to Target Field? ANSWERED (by Paul Kom and Nick Badders)
A. 8/28/12
B. 8/09/11
C. 8/10/11
D. 9/8/12
100. Where is McCovey Cove a main attraction? ANSWERED (by Quinn Imiola)
A. AT&T Park
B. Fenway Park
C. PNC Park
D. Marlins Park
Not proofread.
238,481 Words Written so far…
Resolutions/Goals for 2013
So typically I post an entry on or around the new year setting out my goals for ballhawking the next year like this and this. Well, given this is the definition for resolution:
the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
Weird Observing Baseball Facts and Records
Ah weird numbers: my specialty. So, it was completely natural for me to write this entry. What better to do than find arbitrary statistics about my blog and place meaning in them. Just call me the Tim Kurkjian of the MLBlogs world. (Kurkjian still does the “Kurk-gems” segment, right? I’ve pretty much stopped watching Baseball Tonight in favor of MLB Tonight on MLB Network.) Here goes some of the random numbers.
Words:
First, let’s start off with the big one: number of words total. Over the course of this blog, I have written 225, 518 words. That’s a lot of words. I am astounded by this number personally. With the number of entries I currently have up, that works out to an average of 823 words per entry. However, you’ve got to keep in mind there are certain kinds of entries that are way under and over this average. For example, none of my “Re-view of the Preview” entries even reached this number. I don’t think any of them even surpassed the 600 word plateau. With the average for the thirty of those being 200-300 words, it brings the average way down. If I had to guess, my average ballhawking entry is probably in the 1,400 word range. My longest entry ever is 3,631 words. You can check that out here. It was when I met up with the Cook family in Washington D.C., so I decided to take up Todd Cook’s style of writing for a day and over-document. It wasn’t my longest entry by a mile, though. The next closest entry in terms of words was my informal tour of Citi Field where I covered a lot of ground in general with a guest by the name of Alex also joining in with me. (And for the record: no, he didn’t accompany me on my mini-tour of Citi Field. He entertained himself in the club level while I ran around the stadium for five minutes.) You can check out that entry if you’d like by clicking these words I have typed in this sentence. That entry was 3,344 words long. The least amount of words I have ever written in an entry is 19 words. The reason for it was because the entry itself was pretty much a video entry, so the 19 words were the introduction the video. Click here for the link to that entry. I believe it was my first video filmed with a high-quality camera. And by high-quality, I mean not a webcam. As for the quality of the video…Eh, I made an unsuccessful attempt at a homemade teleprompter that is very obvious when you watch the video. It’s pretty bad looking bad at it. But hey, cut me some slack; it was my third video ever.
Baseballs given away:
Next fact: The past two years I have snagged 384 baseballs. Of those, I have given 110 of them away. For those who don’t have a calculator, that is 29% of the baseballs I have snagged I have given away. Whenever I talk to people and they ask me the question everyone asks ballhawks: “What do you with all of the baseballs?” I tell them that I give about a third of them away. So that’s pretty accurate, right? In 2011, I gave away 34 of 161 snagged (21%). The most I gave away that year was 4 baseballs in a game. I can’t remember when that was, but to me now, that’s a low “high” number. I think my lack of giving stems from the fact that I was snagging baseballs at a ton of different stadiums for my successful period of ballhawking in July, so I didn’t have to worry about pleasing any ushers for later games. I was planning to give the majority of my baseballs towards the end of the year when I wasn’t as mobile. When this happened, however, I hit an absolute cold streak where I wasn’t snagging more than three baseballs at a game that often at all. As such, I didn’t have that many baseballs to give away. As a result, the middle of the summer remained my peak for giving away baseballs. In 2012, I gave away 76 of 223 baseballs (34%). This was lead by games where I gave away a ton of baseballs. The most I gave out in a game was 7 baseballs ( I snagged 9, I believe that day). However, it was one of three games where I gave away 6 or more baseballs this year.
Pictures:
In my entries I have used a total of 4,545 pictures. That averages out to 16.5 pictures per entry. That’s a lot higher than I would have guessed. Although, I guess the list is top heavy with ballhawking entries bearing the brunt of the load. The most pictures I’ve used in a single entry was the same as the entry where I wrote the most words ever with 80 pictures.
Commemorative Baseballs:
I have snagged 30 commemorative baseballs since I started this blog. I snagged a Citi Field commemorative baseball in 2010, but besides that, all of my commemorative snags have come this past year. My record for snagging commemorative baseballs in one game is 7. This came–I believe–when the Nationals were using nothing but Shea Stadium and Nationals Park commemorative baseballs.
Time Spent On Game:
I have roughly spent 40,882 Minutes on the 85 games I kept track of either the “Time at Game” or “Time Spent On Game” stat for. That’s over 681 Hours I have spent on baseball games. If you don’t know how the stat works, it is the time I spend at the ballpark itself plus the time I spend traveling to and from the ballpark. For the games where I only had the “Time at Game” stat, I added a round amount of hours (usually 2 hours for local games) to the total I had in place to account for transportation time. For those without calculators, the average amount of time I spent on a game was 481 Minutes or just over 8 Hours.
Video:
As of late I have been incorporating videos a little more than before, but I have been using videos in my entries for over a year now. As a result, I have uploaded 6074 seconds of video to YouTube for this blog. Why seconds? Because have you ever tried to add up times when they’re in this format: 6:51+ 4:26? No, because it’s annoying as heck. Also, I do have other YouTube videos out there (I’ll get to some of those in the next entry), but these are the videos made for the purpose of incorporating them into a blog entry. If you’re wondering what that seconds mark translates into in the 0:00 format, though–First of all, get a calculator; I’m sick of doing all of the math for you–it is 101 Minutes 14 Seconds. If you divide that by the number of videos, it is an average of 6:20 per video. However, I should include the caveat that the shortest video I have put on YouTube is 6 six seconds, which kind of throws off the average (and can be found in the entry I’m linking to here). Meanwhile, the longest video is 16 Minutes 2 Seconds. That was the entry where I took apart a baseball a couple weeks ago.
That’s all I have for you for now. Surprisingly–even though it doesn’t appear that way–this entry is over 1,000 words. However, if you have any obscure stats you think of and would like for me to include, leave your suggestions down below in the comments, and if it doesn’t take an eternity to calculate like these almost did, I will calculate it and add a section below that last one right above this paragraph.
I realize I have been off schedule lately, but the holiday/finals time threw a wrinkle in my plans. So, to make it up to you, I plan to have published three new entries (in addition to this one) by/on January, 1, 2013. While it is pretty set in stone what those three will be, you can keep voting on which entries I will write after those in this poll down here. I will include all of the already-used ideas below it as well as the rankings of the remaining categories:
1. Ballhawk Interviews- 33 votes
2. Stadium Profiles- 26 votes
3. Ballhawk Profiles- 33 votes
4. Dissect (a) Baseball(s)- 26 votes
5. Tour Target Field when there’s snow on the ground- 26 votes
6. Weird Observing Baseball Facts and Records- 28 votes
And here are the standings for the remaining poll items as they stand while I type these words:
T1. Observing Baseball Trivia/MLBlogs I Recommend- 28 votes
3. Ballhawking Gear- 27 votes
T4. My Favorite MLB Players/Characters of Observing Baseball- 25 votes
6. Ask a Statistician- 24 votes
T7. Salute to Up-and-coming Blogs/10 Minutes with 2 GMs- 23 votes
9. Instructional Videos- 22 votes
10. My Favorite MLB Teams- 21 votes
T11. Gate Opening Times of MLB Stadiums/Complementary Tickets!- 20 votes
T13. Blast From The Baseball Past/ Battle of the Retreival Devices- 19 votes
15. Reference Guide to Ballhawk Terms- 18 votes
16. Evaluate and Critique Ballhawk Statistics- 16 votes
T17. New Observing Baseball Icon/Look at MLBlogs Themes- 15 votes
19. Format of the Entries- 12 votes
If you’re confused as to what all of these names mean, here is the link to the entry where I explain nearly all of them. And here is the entry where I explain the other two.
Also, you can vote which of the remaining days you’d like to read an entry on. I don’t know, for example if people are more or less likely to read something on Christmas, so here you can tell me that. Unlike the other poll, though, you can only vote for three days and not as many times as you’d like:
227,100 Words Written so far
Dissecting/ Deconstructing Baseballs
A long video, but I wanted to be complete with this video rather than rush it and get it out on time. Enjoy my incompetence:
Keep on voting for the entries you’d like to see. If you’ll notice, I’ve taken the parts of the poll down that have already been written about, but I’ll include at the end how many votes they had when I took them off:
1. Ballhawk Interviews- 33 votes
2. Stadium Profiles- 26 votes
3. Ballhawk Profiles- 33 votes
4. Dissect (a) Baseball(s)- 26 votes
If you have no idea what ay of these ideas mean, here’s the link to the entry where I explained them.
Also, the newest “Latest Leaders” entry came out on the MLBlogs’ Central blog and here I am:
Yeah, I’ve visited a lot of MLBlogs (all of the ones in gray). But more importantly, thank you to all of you guys for reading. Really, thank you. If you want to check out the full entry with links to the other blogs and all that good stuff, here’s the link to it.
Another thing is I was thinking of making a blooper video for this particular video, so you can vote for that here. I got a request from my camera man and guest star to do so, but I want to know if that’s something you’d actually be interested in:
Ballhawk Pofile: Zac Weiss
Age as of November, 30, 2012: 20 (January, 25th, 2012)
Home Stadium: PNC Park
Home City: Pittsburgh, PA
Throws: Left (It’s really more of a “catches right” thing, because obviously one does not throw a ton while ballhawking, but no one says “catches right”, so yeah. Zac is actually one of the very few ballhawks who is left handed. The only other one who comes to mind is Alex Kopp.)
Total Baseballs as of November, 30, 2012: 434
Yearly breakdown:
In only his fourth year of ballhawking/snagging baseballs, we can see that Zac is on the steady upwards climb in terms of his ballhawking — still not having a season where he hasn’t improved his per-game average from the previous season. This is comes at no surprise to anyone who knows of Zac’s work ethic.
Top-5 “toss-uppers”:
Yes, it’s very top heavy. Some may use this as a criticism of Zac, but what naysayers fail to recognize is that getting 37 or 29 baseballs from the same person requires something admirable in one shape or from. Getting that many baseballs from one person requires 1. A dedication to ballhawking long enough so that you could get that many baseballs from one player or coach without him recognizing you. or Zac’s approach: 2. Foster a good relationship with him so that he’ll toss you that many baseballs. Zac has his charity initiative (which you can read about if you click this sentence), so he brought it up with both Heberto “Herbie” Andrade and Euclides Rojas, and they feel as though they are doing good by tossing him baseballs — which they *are*. This might seem cheap, but Zac had to start the charity in the first place, and can you really look negatively on a person for starting a charity? At that point, I think you are just looking for reasons to dislike a person. In addition, he also fosters the relationship between Andrade and Rojas by speaking to them in Spanish. Learning Spanish, of course, not being something you just learn in a day.
Top-5 Locations of Snags:
The ballpark all of these snags should come as no surprise, since PNC Park is by far the park Zac has attended the most in his career as a ballhawk. However, the location of the balls he snags within PNC Park is very odd. Of the eight ballhawks on mygameballs.com who list PNC Park as their home stadium and have snagged more than 5 baseballs in 2012, Zac is the only one whose highest “snag location” isn’t the left field bleachers. While this makes sense, since left field is the place where the season ticket holders are restricted to in the first half-hour of the gates opening, it means that once the rest of the stadium opens, Zac –more so than anyone else — takes advantage of this fact and flees the left field bleachers. As one reader put it:
” … Zac [plays] a completely different strategy than all of the other PNC regulars. For God knows what reason, all of the other regulars seem to battle it out for BP homers in the LF bleachers. Those seats seem to get fairly packed out there. Meanwhile, every single game I’ve seen him at Zac ends up in the handicapped seating area (or seats right behind it) in the RF foul corner. I am 100% on board with this strategy. There is almost no competition, or very little. And it gives you great access to the visiting team’s pitchers — which actually results in a lot of the “competition” being autograph collectors. [Down] the RF line, you can scoop up foul grounders over the short fence. There is very little foul territory and it is very easy (and frequent) for foul balls to hop into the crowd. I have no clue why more [people] don’t go down there…”
Breakdown of baseballs year-by-year:
From this we can see that he has a pretty steady ratio of hit balls to thrown balls. While people — like with the people who threw him the most baseballs — might see the surplus of thrown balls when compared to hit balls as a negative, this again is not necessarily the case. Sure, hit balls may be worth more to some people, but they aren’t objectively harder to obtain or anything like that. Zac’s style has just lent itself more to snagging thrown balls. Along with going elsewhere besides the left field bleachers when the stadium opens-up, Zac also does his homework when it comes to the players so as to increase his odds of tossing out a nugget that gets a ball tossed to him. Additionally, he has one of the main attributes of a hit-ball ballhawk down: speed. So it’s not completely the case that he is unskilled at getting hit baseballs, but his ballhawking just doesn’t pan-out that way as to snag a ton of hit balls.
Snag Tracker:
I’ve pretty much covered this. I could do something further on this with another ballhawk in future profiles (if I do others), but Zac has snagged a total of 10 baseballs outside of PNC Park, so it would be pretty redundant to do it here.
Top-5 Games:
Those aren’t bad highs for a career 3.12 Balls Per Game; not bad at all. If you want to check them out, the links to his blog entries on those games, they can be found 1. Here, 2. Here, 3. Here, 4. Here, and 5. Here.
Finally, if you want to check-out Zac’s blog in general, it is:
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