I was not sure what to expect for this second game of the season at Camden Yards. Opening Night often draws a decent crowd, bringing in the fans who were unable to secure tickets for the first game. Last season, Opening Night was against the Twins, a team that does not draw a big crowd in Baltimore. Thus, last year’s game-number-two looked much like any mid-season, mid-week game.
This year, though, the Boston Red Sox were in town, fresh off a World Series victory. Boston fans travel well, and I knew if they were willing to spend the money to buy tickets to Opening Day, then they would certainly be going to the rest of the games. And even if they did not get a chance to go to Opening Day, they were going to make up for it by attending the second game.
So, with this uncertainty, my girlfriend Kelly and I boarded the always lovable lightrail just after 3, my usual time for a 7:05 start. When we got to the stadium a shade before 4, we were one of the firsts in the three possible lines outside Gate H.
When the clock hit 5, only one of the three gates opened. People were frustrated, but not us. A change from my usual gate-luck, the ones that we were lined in front of actually opened. But, when we went to get our ticket scanned, the usher’s scanner was not working, displaying an error message saying the device was offline. Without properly scanning the tickets, he let Kelly and I on through before going to fix his scanner.
As we walked towards the left field seats, I turned around to see if I had to hurry to beat the masses going in the same direction. All I saw was Kelly. The other gates were still not open and no one else was scanning tickets at the gate we had went through.
Often times, since the Orioles are already taking batting practice for a half-hour before the gates even open, there are balls laying in the seats that the ushers missed while searching for ones to throw back on the field. When I got into the seating area, an usher friend told me that there was a ball in section 84. I ran down the stairs looking in each row for a ball. Did not see a one. Sometimes the balls are hidden at the back of the rows, wedged up underneath the seats. Most of the time, however, they are easy to see.
I looked and looked in 84 while the left-handed batters hit, but still could not find it. I then headed towards the third base line by the foul pole where balls are often neglected after being sliced by batters. From my angle, I could see two balls laying in the front row. I picked up the pace and started to hustle towards them. But, since I had wasted so much time looking for the ball in 84, Alex Kopp was now in the seats and headed towards the same two balls. Since I was higher up in the rows than he was, he had the inside track and beat me to both of them.
Now, you will soon learn that unlike most ball hawks across the nation, I do not get frustrated by balls that I do not get (unless I do something absolutely stupid to botch a home run hit during the game). But, yes. If I had not spent so much time looking for that ball in 84 and just checked down the line sooner, I would have two balls for easy pickings. Plus, since they were hit by the Orioles, they were more than likely those 60th Anniversary commemorative balls I spoke about last post.
With all the Easter eggs — a ball hawking term referring to the baseballs that are found when we enter the park — gone, I turned my attention to the group hitting. It was the Orioles’ second group of hitters which included Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy for sure. There was also one other left-handed batter that was a new addition to the team. It was either David Lough or Steve Lombardozzi, but I’m not sure. Every season brings new players that I have to learn how to recognize. I’m sure I know them by heart after a couple homestands.
Unfortunately for me, Hardy stopped hitting early, leaving only Davis and the other lefty. Of course, Davis is always a threat to go opposite field, even in batting practice. With the lefties up, I abandoned my spot in row 10 and headed to the first row, hoping to catch one that just barely sneaked out.
With Kelly around, she was able to snap a few shots while I waited.
But nothing sneaked out; so when the Orioles’ third and final group started hitting, I was sitting on zero baseballs.
On the bright side, the Orioles’ final group is heaven for ball hawks in left field. BP all-star Delmon Young headlines the group with a fine supporting cast of Steve Pearce and Jonathan Schoop. It is not quite the beautiful Hardy-Derrek Lee-Jake Fox trio from a few years ago, but it may end up being pretty close.
With that said, the group (which only featured Pearce and Young this time) was rather disappointing. For the first couple go-arounds, none of them were really mashing the ball to the power alley. They hit a few out, but a lot of them barely made it over the center field wall. As the round neared its end, Young and Pearce really started putting good wood on the ball.
After Young cleared the seats with a blast, I dropped back a few rows, respecting his power. Just as soon as I did, he smashed one just to my left. The ball landed in the seats directly in between me and another guy. We both lunged for it, causing it to trickle out of the seat and into the row behind. I was able to grab it quickly, marking my first ball of the day.
A few swings later, Young sent a shot almost the exact same place. The guy I battled with for my first ball was in the row behind me, lined up for the catch. Since I had the under row, it was fair game for me to swoop right in and make the grab. I made the clean catch right in front of him as his outstretched arm knocked me in the head. The guy gave me a pat on the back as the Orioles jogged off the field.
With O’s BP ending, I was happy with my two, nearly-clean baseballs.
As you can see, the ball at the bottom is a regular MLB ball, not a commemorative. The other one in my glove is also a regular ball, the two balls that Alex had beat me to down the third baseline were also regulars, and every ball that I came close to or saw on the field were also regulars. It is very odd that the O’s are not using the commemorative balls. Commemorative balls makes the hobby fun and adds variety to your collection. But, most importantly, they give memories of special seasons and games I just hope they are waiting for later in the season to use them, instead of just using them during the games or during road series.
For Red Sox batting practice, I hung out in left field for the first group. Of note, Dustin Pedroia was taking his cuts, but I did not come close to anything.
The second group had David Ortiz, another batting practice all-star and Eutaw Street plate smasher. Even though there were three righties in the group with him, I still went over to the flag court. For once, Eutaw Street looked relatively calm compared to the quickly crowding left field seats.
With Papi up, I hung out just inside the gates of the flag court, giving me room to charge forward or drop back if I needed to. Kelly was late in joining me, but when she did, she stood next to me and started talking to me. She barely got to finish her first sentence when she was interrupted by me telling her to watch out and charging forward. I took a few steps in, lined myself up with the ball headed right towards us and made a clean grab for my third ball of the day as everyone applauded.
Ortiz ended up hitting a lot more, but for the rest of them I was always one step behind. When I actually had a read on a ball, luck was definitely not on my side. One bounced off Eutaw Street and landed on top of the small overhang over the first floor, a pretty common occurrence at the Yards. Usually, the ball rolls all the way to the back of the canopy and rolls right back down for whoever is waiting underneath. This time, I was the one waiting for it. And I waited. And waited. And the ball never fell. For the first time I remember seeing, the ball got stuck in the gutter. Hmm. I wonder how many more are up there.
While the righties in Ortiz’s group were hitting, I checked an area of the right-center field bleachers referred to by us ball hawks as “the gap.” If you have ever been in those seats, you know exactly what “the gap” is. It is that area between the outfield wall and the seats that connects the bullpen to the groundskeepers tunnel. Well, on quite a few occasions, balls land there and no one is down there to get them. So, using a plastic cup, a weight and some string, I developed a device called a ball retriever that does just that: retrieve the balls from the gap. This time, when I checked the gap, I saw two balls sitting there. I hurried to where Kelly was sitting with my bag, dug out my device and hurried over to the gap before anyone else with a ball retriever could notice them.
There were quite a few kids in the front row staring at the balls. My rule for getting balls with a ball retriever is simple: I give them away; every one. For one, it is the right thing to do. Most of the time, they are down there because a kid could not handle a toss from a player. Also, using my ball retriever is something that not all stadiums allow, and sometimes Camden Yards is a little iffy with it. I have been told the official policy is that I can use it on anywhere that is not the playing field or the bullpens, making the gap fair game. But different ushers have different interpretations of the rules. I found they are more likely to allow me to use it (and nicer to me) when they see me giving them all away.
For these two, I fished them out and gave them to two little boys that were asking for them. There was a third little girl there as well and I gave an extra one to her that I had been using to keep the shape of my retriever while it sat in my bag. So, with the retriever, I added two balls to my total (because I did not have to give them away), upping it to five for the day.
That was it for me for batting practice. For the game, I was able to sit in left field, my favorite place to enjoy a game.
Of course, if you watched the game, you know I did not see any action during the game. But I sure can not wait until I do.
Season Totals:
2 games
8 balls
– 4 hit
– 2 thrown
– 2 ball retrieved
