As the gates close on the 2013 Oriole season, as does my third full ballhawking season. In more than 50 games this season, I managed to snag 197 total baseballs, including 7 game home runs (finishing 3rd in the MyGameBalls.com community) and one ground rule double.
Such as has become the custom after every ballhawking season, I examined every home run that I either came close to, totally botched, or snagged. In 2013, my successes outnumbered my mistakes. But, as always, there are a few opportunities I would like to have back.
Note: The bold headers are hyperlinked to the video of the home run.
Opportunity #1 – Desmond Jennings – April 16th
We start here at home game number four, and, fittingly, with Jake Arrieta serving a juicy first-pitch-of-the-game fastball to Desmond Jennings for a solo jack.
As you can tell, Birdland was not yet sold on the 2013 Orioles in mid-April as the left field sections looked more like 2010 Camden Yards. Therefore, any home run hit more than ten rows into the seats would be mine. As luck would have it, Jennings found the one cluster of fans in the fifth row, making me wait some more for my first home run of 2013.
Opportunity #2 – Desmond Jennings – April 18th
Two days later, Desmond Jennings was at it again, slugging a lead-off home run off of Miguel Gonzalez. This time, the left field seats were a bit more crowded, but Jennings made the crowd factor obsolete by planting the pitch roughly twenty rows deep.
The home run landed deep in section 84, my usual section. However, because of the bigger crowd, I was sitting in section 80, leaving a full section between me and the ball. But, since I was sitting about twenty rows back in section 80, I had a clear path across section 82 and into 84, where I grabbed the ball before anyone else was even close. After grabbing the ball, I raced back to my bag in 80, grabbed a batting practice ball and hurled it onto the field.
Thus, my first home run of 2013 was ironically facilitated by me sitting two sections away from where it landed. If I were in section 84, in my usual row, I’m not sure I make a good read on that ball. I probably would drift deeper into the row and watch as the ball soars over my head.
The home run marked Jennings’ 2nd of the season and 25th of his career. Of course, it was the first of the season for me and the 19th of my “career.”
Opportunity #3 – Steve Pearce – April 18th
Only six innings separated my first home run snag of the season and my next opportunity. With the Orioles down one in the seventh with a runner on, Steve Pearce hammered a Jake McGee fastball to deep left field.
Just like the Jennings home run, this Pearce shot found its way more than 20 rows into section 84. However, as the game progressed, I moved to a seat next to the stairs that separated section 82 from 84.
With Pearce’s jack in the air, I was able to navigate an open row and lean into the row in front of it to make the grab.
Yes, I did catch it on the fly and never dropped it. My hat fell off my head, and that is why I am reaching onto the ground.
The home run was my second of the season, 20th of my career and the third time I have snagged two home runs in the same game. For Pearce, it was the first of the season and the 14th of his career.
Opportunity #4 – Matt Wieters – April 18th
It was only the 6th game of the season and I already had two home runs under my belt. Two-homer games were not foreign to me; in fact, I have done it in each of the last three seasons.
However, I have never really had an opportunity to complete a three-homer game.
With the help of an extra inning, Matt Wieters tried to give me my first three-homer game. With the game tied and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, the Rays had a meeting on the mound. Knowing Wieters was going to bat left-handed, I ran from my seat in left field to right field, trying not only to catch my third home run of the game, but also my first grand slam and first walk-off.
When the meeting ended, I positioned myself at the top of the staircase that runs between section 98 and the flag court. Therefore, if a ball was hit to the flag court or into section 98, I would have an opportunity to snag either.
Of course, Wieters hammered a first pitch slider about five rows deep into section 98. With the ball clearly going to 98, I raced down the steps trying to make a play. However, I could do nothing but watch as the ball hit off a seat five rows in front of me and flew back onto the field.
Now, if that ball either stayed in the seats after landed there, or went a few rows deeper, I would probably not only have my first three-home run game, but also my first grand slam and walk-off.
But, I have been with enough luck not just in my life but with home runs that this small slice of misfortune does not bother me. It happens.
Opportunity #5 – Rajai Davis – April 24th
In the first inning, Nate McClouth lead-off the bottom of the first with a ground-rule double that landed in the Orioles bullpen. After he could not find anyone else (and trust me, he was looking), Tommy Hunter finally threw the ball to me.
Already on the board with the double, I was definitely looking to add a home run or two on this 12:35 Wednesday game. Orioles’ spot starter Josh Stinson must have gotten that memo as he allowed the Blue Jays to slug four home runs off of him.
Rajai Davis was the second Jay to go deep, barely getting a Stinson offering over the left-center field wall.
Sitting in my usual section 84 about 13 rows up, I was able to get a good jump on the ball. Knowing if the ball was going to get out, it would barely make it, I made my way down the stairs. As I made it to row 1, the ball was landing. Taking a quick peek at left fielder McLouth to see if he had a play, I reached to my left and made the grab. Of course, I scurried back up the steps, grabbed a batting practice ball from my bag and hurled the “dupe” ball as far as I could onto the field. Adam Jones gave me an approving nod.
The home run was Rajai Davis’ first of the season and 22nd of his career. For me, it was the 3rd of the season and 21st of my career.
Opportunity #6 – Edwin Encarnacion – April 24th
I told you Stinson was trying to help me out.
With two game balls in my possession, I needed a way to keep the two separate. Thus, I visited a friend sitting in section 86 and asked for a bag. The conversation went a little beyond that and, of course, Encarnacion rocketed the first pitch of the inning near where I was originally sitting.
Now, that ball landed about three rows above where I was sitting and was hit on a line. The odds are that I think it is coming right to me and fail to go up the stairs. But there is also a chance that I would have taken at least a step up and been able to jump and catch it.
What is fact, however, is that I was not in my seat for it.
Opportunity #7 – Carlos Quentin – May 14th
I have been fond of Carlos Quentin ever since 2011. When I grabbed one of his home runs out of the seats in August of that year, it started a run for me of a home run in three consecutive games.
When Quentin hammered a Chris Tillman offering into left-center field in his first visit as a San Diego Padre, I was quickly able to track it down the steps and to my right. Thankfully, the ball was hit high, giving me time to camp underneath of it.
Just as the video shows, I was able to make the catch over top of a guy who gave his best, glove-less effort.
And, as always, I scurried back to my bag and threw a batting practice ball onto the field because I can.
For Quentin, the home run was the 4th of the season and the 141st of his career. For me, it was the 4th of the season and 22nd of my career. Also, Quentin became the first non-Oriole to hit me two home runs. J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are the three Orioles player who have hit me multiple home runs.
Opportunity #8 – Kyle Blanks – May 15th
If you have never seen San Diego Padres’ young outfielder/first baseman Kyle Blanks in person, you can not quite understand this man’s size. Sure, he is listed at 6’6″, 265 pounds, but in an era of over-sized, physically dominating athletes, that height/weight combo may be overlooked. You just have to see him in the field with his teammates. Trust me.
Sitting in left field when Blanks strides to the plate gives you the tinglies. Even though he only has 28 career home runs and a career .404 slugging percentage, his sheer size puts it in your head that he could hit this next pitch very, very far.
On May 15th at Camden Yards, Blanks victimized Freddy Garcia (who didn’t in 2013?), sending a high fastball to deep left-center.
The ball was headed near the stairwell separating section 80 from 82. I was sitting in section 84, with only a stairwell separating me from 82. With Blanks hitting this one high and clearly to my right, I quickly made my way through the empty seats in section 82 and reached the 80/82 stairwell just as the ball was landing.
A few fans reached up to make a grab, but they all ultimately juggled the ball. But, by time I got there, one fan had already secured it.
Oh yeah, and I sorta smashed some lady into a railing. Whoops. Sorry!
Opportunity #9 – Chris Dickerson – May 17th
For whatever reason — possibly because the weather was breaking, it was a Friday night and the Orioles had proven themselves as much of a contender in 2013 as they were in 2012 — the Yard was pretty crowded. Because of that, I opted to hang out on the right field flag court with fellow ballhawk Alex Kopp.
If you do not already know Kopp, you probably should. In 2013, his first full season ballhawking at Camden Yards, he grabbed 8 home runs, including Chris Davis’ 100th career home run as well as his 40th of the season. Both times he met Davis and traded the balls for some cool stuff. You should follow him on Twitter at @AKopp1.
With Dickerson at the plate, we were as prepared as we are for every left-handed hitter. When Dickerson connected, we both instantly saw the ball appear in front of the Roma Sausage sign that serves as the flag court’s indicator for home runs. Basically, you can not see the game if you are ballhawking on the flag court because you are standing (or should be) by the gates near Eutaw Street. Thus, you must stare at the Roma sign that is near home plate. If you see the ball shoot up by the Roma sign, it means its either coming right at you or its fouled straight back.
This Dickerson ball was coming right at us. And fast. All we could do was get in line with it. We both thought we had the easy catch. We both jumped as high as we could. We both landed without the ball and turned to chase it out onto Eutaw Street.
By then, it was too late. A passerby had already scooped it up.
To be honest, we were both disappointed. But, personally, I was grateful that we didn’t collide with each other.
Opportunity #10 – Matt Joyce – May 18th
The flag court is a different kind of animal compared to the left field stands. It is harder to grab a home run on the flag court than in the left field stands, in my opinion. The flag court features unique obstacles — flag poles, bar tables and people who are drunk, oblivious, under the age of 4, carrying food or all of the above. While it is true that there is more room to move on the flag court compared to left field, that same amount of room allows for more of those aforementioned people.
When Matt Joyce took Jair Jurrjens on a one-way flight to the flag court that Saturday early-evening, there was a lot of foot traffic. With the ball in the air, I took off towards the flag court from my spot in the handicapped seats behind section 98 (similar to where I was for the Wieters grand slam).
With all the people, I simply was not able to get to the ball in time. However, as the video shows, the ball was dropped after it was initially secured by some apparently-clumsy guy. I was too slow on the draw and that same clumsy guy reattained possession of the ball.
On the bright side, I got some decent air time. Woo.
Opportunity #11 – David Adams – May 22nd
Two factors played a big role in my not getting to this home run. For one, it was the ninth inning; people were leaving and cluttering the stairwells. Also, it had begun to rain. So the people who may have stayed in their seats were heading towards the exits.
Now, this would have been awesome if David Adams had hit this home run a few innings later. Instead, he took Darren O’Day deep into the stairwell dividing sections 80 and 82. Of course, there was some kind of school group that was standing in the stairs and waiting for the others before they left. That’s where the ball landed, of course: in the middle of that group.
In my pursuit of the ball, you can see I had to run from section 84. So, I ran into a half open row to my right then jumped up one row. Apparently (according to what I was told after returning to my seat), I had spilled some lady’s beer when I jumped the row. Well, not much I could do there. I’m 19 and it was the 9th inning. She survived.
Opportunity #12 – Roger Bernadina – May 29th
When I began pursuit of this high fly, I figured I was chasing after a foul ball. This ball was undoubtedly going onto Eutaw Street, easily clearing the gates to the flag court. Thus, my first move was to get onto Eutaw as quickly as I could.
From my initial position in the middle of the flag court, the landing spot of this Bernadina homer was simply too far. By time I got to the ball, it was rolling around near a table at Dempsey’s Brew Pub which is located inside the Warehouse. I could only stand there as others scrambled for it while on the ground.
Opportunity #13 – Ryan Zimmerman – May 29th
Zimmerman put on a power display that night that rivals only Josh Hamilton’s 4 homer game. For this at bat, Zimmerman stepped to the plate with two home runs, one to left and one to center. So, naturally, Zimmerman took this one to right field.
It is hard to tell from the video, but this ball lands on the stairwell between section 98 and the flag court (the flag court I ran down for the Wieters grand slam). Doing the exact opposite of the Wieters slam, this Zimmerman home run shot up to the back of the section where it hit a guy standing in front of his handicap seat.
So, why am I calling this opportunity #13? That explanation is twofold:
1 – Of everyone running from the flag court for the ball, I was leading the way. If the ball had squirted towards the flag court was opposed to away from it, I would have been right on it.
And
2 – During games when I’m in right field, I usually sit in that seat where that guy in the blue jacket was. And for right-handed hitters, I don’t move from that spot. Therefore, those seats were not sold for that night’s game, I might have been in that spot. I only say “possibly” because I’m not sure if I would have ran after the ball down into section 98 as it was carrying out.
All I know is that this Zimmerman home run is a near miss, and not a grab.
Opportunity #14 – Mike Trout – June 11th
There was only one home run hit this game, a shot by Mike Trout that went to dead center field, striking the walkway between the bullpens and the sod farm where there are clearly no bleachers.
Dying for my first home run since May 14th, I ran over to the standing room area above the bullpens in hopes of getting the ball thrown to me. When I got there, the ball was sitting close to the wall, practically right underneath where I stood. In conversing with the people next to me, I found out that one of the police officers attempted to throw the ball to a group of college kids that was to his right. However, all the kids reached out for it at the same time, causing the ball to fall back to the sod farm where it stayed.
I waited for the end of the half inning and got the attention of one of the grounds crew members by gesturing towards the ball. He gave me a head nod, finished his between-innings duties, and walked towards the ball. He looked up to me and threw the ball to me. It is hard to blame him since he was practically throwing the ball straight up, but the ball barely was withing my reach. Thankfully, I was able to secure the home run. I thanked the groundskeeper and got out of the area just in case anyone was angry.
Even though I did not catch this ball off the bat, a home run is a home run. It was my 5th of the season, the 23rd of my career and the first I have ever had thrown to me (I have had two ground-rule doubles thrown to me, though). For Trout, it was his 12th of the season and the 47th of his career.
Opportunity #15 – Matt Wieters – June 15th
In trying to make a comeback on Red Sox’ closer Andrew Bailey, Matt Wieters pulled the O’s within one in the bottom of the ninth by ripping a home run onto the flag court in right.
I was standing in the middle of the flag court, saw the ball eclipse the Roma Sausage sign and reacted accordingly. There was no way I was going to catch this one on the fly. It was a liner and was sinking fast. Seeing the ball about to land, I took a step back and hoped the ball would clear the layer of fans in the front of the flag court.
Thankfully, no one caught the ball and it began to dribble away towards the gates and onto Eutaw Street. However, instead of rolling onto the populated Eutaw Street, the ball rolled to one of the gates and rested near the base.
Wanting to grab it before anyone else did, I let my instincts take over and I dove onto the ground. I landed stomach first, and hard. I dove a little short, so when I reached for the ball, it was just too far for my fingertips. I felt people running towards the ball from behind me, so I scooted a littler closer and secured the ball.
Taking a glimpse at the ball, I saw a mark of blood; obviously mine. I looked at my hand and saw that the tip of my finger was bleeding from when I scraped it on the ground reaching for the ball.
I did not care about the minor injury, I did not feel any pain; that’s the funny thing about adrenaline.
In celebration, I ran back towards where Alex Kopp was sitting. I gave him a high-five. He them grabbed my left arm and held it up. I looked at the arm and saw a stream of blood coming from my wrist. Uhoh.
Ultimately, it was just a scrape (albeit a pretty good one). Alex thankfully had a towel that I used to stop the bleeding. I also had some scrapes on my knees that were not bleeding as bad.
The Wieters home run was his 9th of the season and 74th of his career. For me, the home run was the 6th I grabbed on the season and the 24th of my career. Also, with that home run, Wieters became the first player that has hit me three home runs.
Also, I had heard that people on Reddit were saying that I had dove on top of a small child in order to grab the ball, then I was bleeding all over everyone afterwards. Do I even need to refute those claims?
I will tell you, however, that the profusely bleeding scrape on my wrist is now a nickel-sized scar that will surely be there for years.
Opportunity #16 – Nate McLouth – June 28th
You remember how I said that when I am in right field, I sit above section 98 for right-handed hitters, but stand on the flag court for all the lefties?
Nate McLouth is a lefty.
I was hungry.
I sat in my seat eating cold chicken McNuggets.
Damn.
Opportunity #17 – Ryan Flaherty – June 29th
There was another big crowd for this middle season Yankees-Orioles weekend game. Thus, I was hanging out on the right field flag court where there was also more fans than usual.
So, when Ryan Flaherty sent a shot down the line, I not only had to run to my left, but also charge towards the congregation of fans at the front of the flag court. The ball carried out too fast and it was hit too low and far away for me to be able to make a catch on it.
The only option I had was to grab it off the ground. However, by time I got to it, there was already a few men scrambling for it on the ground. I let them battle over it and called this one a miss.
Opportunity #18 – Chris Davis – June 29th
At this point of the season, Chris Davis already had 29 home runs, including one earlier in the game. Despite Davis’ high home run total, I had yet to come close to one.
This shot by Davis onto the flag court was his 30th of the season, and I made a great play on it. I saw the ball shoot up past the Roma sign and was able to track it towards the pole. I was camped underneath it.
As the ball was descending, I prepared myself for a catch. I was getting ready to jump much like a wide receiver would to ensure he made the catch over his defender (see ball, get ball), when I was hit as if I had just ran into a wall.
A man with a large circumference, and possibly his own gravitational pull, thought he had his own play on the ball and backed right into me just as the ball was near my glove.
A combination of the unsuspected nature of the hit and the sheer size of the man caused me to miss the ball that I was previously camped under. All I knew was that I did not catch the ball. At the time, I had no idea that a large man had bumped into me or even that the ball was right by my feet.
With a group of grown men diving around my legs for the ball that was somewhere around there, Alex Kopp, who had run over to try to catch the ball himself, grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me out of the possibly dangerous pile that I was standing in.
This Davis home run will be the first of quite a few near misses on the flag court for the next month and a half.
Opportunity #18 – Charlie Blackmon – August 16th
With the Yards fairly crowded and the seats in the back of section 98 taken, myself and two other ballhawks — Mateo Fischer from New York/Minnesota and Grant Edrington from Baltimore — were relegated to the picnic tables in the back of the flag court.
Obviously, you can not see much of the game from that spot. The only way you know what is going on is by crowd noise and the PA announcements of upcoming batters. Evidently, me or Grant did not hear that Charlie Blackmon, a left-handed hitter, was pinch hitting for Charlie Culberson, a righty.
Somehow, Mateo realized a lefty was hitting. No sooner than he said, “guys, a left is up,” a ball came sailing towards us.
It was a high, towering, no-doubt-about-it home run. However, what there was doubt about was whether the ball would land on the flag court or on Eutaw Street.
We all tried to camp under it as best we could, but it was no help. The ball barely cleared the columns separating Eutaw Street from the flag court and landed near a picnic table situated against the gates on Eutaw Street.
Of course, the table was occupied and the woman who was almost struck with the ball leaned over and picked it up.
Opportunity #19 – Todd Helton – August 16th
Only an inning after the unfortunate, unlucky Charlie Blackmon incident, Todd Helton decided to join the flag court party. Helton took a Jim Johnson offering to the side of the flag court furthest from the foul pole.
The three of us were still out there, and of course we made our move as soon as we saw the ball eclipse the Roma sign. However, since it was hit on a line, we had little time to actually make a play. Instead, we had to just get in the area and hope for a lucky bounce.
After roughly two deflections, the ball ended up falling back on the field as grown men were unable to catch a bouncing ball with their bare hands, or even stop it with their bodies for that matter.
Opportunity #20 – Coco Crisp – August 23rd
There is not much to say about this one. It was yet another continuation of the trend of missing out on flag court home runs. This one was not as close as some of the others though.
As this ball sailed over the railing, two hands reached high for it, possibly making contact with it. Then, the ball hit off the padding of one of the flag poles and rolled near the front of the court where it was picked up by someone that was not me.
Opportunity #21 – Brian Roberts – August 23rd
What happened on this Brian Roberts grand slam has never happened to me before on a home run. Sure, there was the Davis home run above that was about to fall into my glove before I was knocked into. And yeah, there was that Michael Young home run in 2012 that appeared to have been hit directly to me, but sailed just over my glove and fell back down in my empty row for me only to kick it into the next section as I ran after it.
I had a great track on this Roberts slam. I made a great initial move in and to my left as soon as the ball appeared on the Roma sign. I had ample time to get in position; the ball was hit high. I was camped underneath of it.
There were people around, but no one that was going to be able to make a play on it. No one hit into me.
I missed it. It went to the right of my glove.
All I could do was make a desperate lunge for it when I realized it was carrying that way. Then I watched it bounce back towards Eutaw Street.
Opportunity #22 – Ryan Flaherty – August 24th
This home run off the bat of Ryan Flaherty was uncharacteristic in two ways:
1) It was a home run.
2) It was a line drive home run. From my experiences of watching Flaherty (routinely) put balls out during BP and the few times during games, his home runs are usually high flies.
Once again at my spot in the back of the flag court, I barely was able to get a read of this ball as it got just high enough over the heads of the standing-room crowd. Knowing I was not going to be able to catch it on the fly, I made an effort to get on a line with the ball and prepare myself to grab it off a bounce.
Before it was able to bounce, though, the ball was caught by someone I have come to know as a part-time, 13-game-plan-holding ball hawk. Thus, I put my hands up in celebration. I’m not selfish.
Opportunity #23 – Coco Crisp – August 24th
I’ve mentioned before that during games at Camden Yards, while I patrol the left field seats waiting for a game home run, Alex Kopp is patrolling the right field standing room area doing the same.
As you may have noticed from the majority of previous opportunities, I was forced to try my hand in right field with Alex for most of the final few months of the season.
And, to be honest, when a home run is in the air, destined to land on the flag court or Eutaw Street, I forget Alex is over there with me.
With this Coco Crisp home run in the air, I ran to my right and camped underneath of it, completely forgetting that where I was standing was only a few feet away from Alex’s usual spot.
When the ball was about to land, Alex leaped into the air, making the grab.
I avoided using the term “in front of me” or anything like that in describing where Alex caught the ball because I do not want to make it sound like he did something wrong. Because, it all honesty, he did everything right. When going for a home run on the flag court, it is much like going for a rebound in a basketball game: you have to go TO the ball, not let the ball come to you. I was waiting for the ball to fall to me, not thinking I had competition. Alex took himself to the ball while never making contact with me. Kudos to him.
Opportunity #24 – Adam Jones – September 5th
Do you remember way back in the beginning of this review — if you made it this far — when I grabbed my first home run of the season? The crowd forced me to sit closer to the foul pole in left field than I usually would, yet I still was able to grab the home run that landed in my usual section.
Much like that night, I was forced to sit closer to the foul pole for this game.
And as luck would have it, Adam Jones struck a line drive home run that landed in the section to my left, only a few rows from the wall, and into a group of fans.
Somehow, I was able to run into an empty row — the only one around — and grab the ball as it rolled around on the ground, my first home run since June 15th.
The home run was Adam’s 30th of the season and the 137th of his career. With 30 home runs, Adam became only the third Oriole to have 30 home runs and 30 doubles in a season. The home run also gave Adam 100 RBIs on the season. For me, it was my 7th home run of the season and 25th of my career. Adam joins Matt Wieters as the second player to hit me three home runs. I own Adam’s career home runs numbered 49, 86 and 137.
Opportunity #25 – Conor Gillaspie – September 7th
If any of you have ever been on the flag court in the late afternoon, you know that the sun is absolutely deadly.
And that afternoon, it killed me.
When Conor Gillaspie’s extra-inning home run went into the air, crossing the Roma sign, I had a great read on it. I tracked it in and to my left, awake from Alex, thankfully. I was preparing myself for the catch as the ball perfectly eclipsed the sun, causing me to lose sight of it. I saw the ball again at the last second, exactly as it was falling to ground. My only hope now was to grab it off the ground.
The ball landed on the flag court, bounced against the Budweiser Patio Bar, and flew back on the field.
Damn sun. I’m not even sure if sunglasses (you know, the non-MLB player quality, normal people ones) would have even made a difference.
Opportunity #26 – Adam Dunn – September 8th
You remember when I talked before how I often forget Alex Kopp is in right field with me trying to snag homers?
Well, this may be the most extreme case of me forgetting.
With Adam Dunn setting flight to a typical Adam Dunn home run, it was a clear choice to run onto Eutaw Street. In fact, the ball was hit so high that I had enough time to turn, run through the gates and then look back up and track the ball.
I had a perfect read on it — Eutaw Street was practically empty. Running to my right (towards the the left-center field bleachers), I had my eyes on the ball and was preparing to make the grab.
As I was about to make the catch, I ran into someone. And surprise, it was Alex. Despite running into him, he still made the grab (and thankfully so, I would have felt terrible if he missed it because of my absent mindedness).
You can see me on the video bend over after Alex walks away with the ball. No, I wasn’t disappointed or mad at him, but I was in pretty good pain. Somehow, my knee had collided with his shin. It honestly felt like I cracked my knee cap and it felt like that for weeks. Actually, it still cracks sometimes when I bend my leg.
As for Alex, his shin swelled up almost instantly. As one Orioles usher commented, it looked like a baseball was growing from his leg. He was given ice, cried a little (a lot) and was okay.
Opportunity #26 – Quintin Berry – September 29th
Of course, in the last game of 2013 for the Orioles, the last home run hit was my last opportunity.
As Quintin Berry was stepping to the plate and I was walking onto the flag court, I argued with myself about where to position myself. I had a hunch on playing Eutaw Street for a bomb, but there was also the logical thought that if Berry went deep, it would be down the line. I decided to go with my first hunch.
Berry ripped it down the line, of course.
There was no way I was gonna be able to get to it in time, so I just lined myself up with it and hoped for a few bounces my way. Instead, fellow ball hawk and friend of mine Grant Edrington made a beautiful catch on the ball, the first home run he has caught in his life.
So I’m glad I didn’t play the line, or didn’t get a few bounces my way.
Conclusion:
No matter if I end the season without catching a home run, I always enjoy my summers spent watching the Orioles at Camden Yards; it is truly an opportunity that I am beyond grateful for. Catching home runs is icing on the cake.
Of course, I am happy with my seven home runs this year, and no one missed home run haunts me. After all, it is just for fun.
I must say, however, that I am more happy with the successes that my fellow Camden Yards ball hawks achieved in 2013. Alex Kopp ended the season with eight home runs, including Chris Davis’ 100th career home run as well as his 40th of the season, allowing him to meet Davis both times, trading him the baseballs for a game used bat, batting helmet and multiple autographs. And also, Grant Edrington grabbed the final home run hit in 2013 at the Yards, hopefully a sign of his success next season.
I look forward to attending more games next season, witnessing more history while trying to catch a piece of it for myself.
