4/1/13 at the Oakland Coliseum
This was shaping up to be a VERY fun day! Everyone in my family got Opening Day tickets on Christmas, and we were sitting in the bleachers and I COULD NOT be more excited! The four of us left our house around 1:45 and got to Oakland close to 2:20.
It was a beautiful day and there were LOTS of fans already there!
When we were parked, I first walked around the perimeter to see if I could find someone with information about whether or not Gate B would be open. Eventually, I found someone, and he confirmed that indeed, Gate B would be open.
I then went back to our car, grabbed my sister, and we walked around the Coliseum again, where she snapped this picture of me.
We stopped in the team store for a bit before heading back to the car. At this point, it was 2:40 and I wanted to start prepping for my BlogTalkRadio show at 3:00. Unfortunately I decided at the last minute to do it, and due to a lack of WiFi at the Coliseum, I was unable to publicize it, but thanks to Quinn for doing so! If you didn’t listen to the show, just click here.
At 3:25, I wrapped the show up and jumped back in line, where I found bleacher friends Ross (RF Bleacher Shirt) and Ralliney (Just out of the frame on the right)!
My dad then noticed this scaffolding… RANDOM!
But the four of us waiting in line got a quick picture together.
Then we got a quick picture of me, my dad, and my sister. AWWWWWWW!
It was seriously a beautiful day for baseball.
I then remembered that I needed to get a photo checked off the 2013 MyGameBalls.com Photo Scavenger Hunt list. Attempting to juggle 3 baseballs while in line waiting for the gates to open. Check!
No I can’t juggle. At least I made te effort!
More and more people started gathering in line and got pictures together.
Fast forward to 5 minutes before the gates open. This is the scene. It was INSANELY PACKED. Everyone was all ready to go in.
Then look who showed up! It’s Benjamin Christensen! He was one of the 9 Cave Dwellers for the MLB Fan Cave last year. Go hit him up on Twitter or check out his hat of the day blog. Good stuff!
But like I said, the line was PACKED
And LONG
When they let us in at 5:07, I was running in and slipped on a gatorade wrapper on the ground on my first step. GREAT!!!!
Then, when I was the 3rd person in at the turnstile, the person ahead of me wouldn’t take his ticket out of his ticket lanyard, so that resulted in being held up. Once I finally got past that and the giveaways, there was a line to get WRISTBANDED going into the bleachers. Wristbands suck. You have to get a wristband when entering the bleachers if they are sold out. Well I finally got in!
And Derek Norris was in the cages.
He wasn’t hitting anything to right field. After him, Nate Freiman was hitting in the cage.
A’s BP was going nowhere fast, so I headed down to where the Mariners were playing catch. Oliver Perez was throwing…
… With this guy!
I recognized this guy sitting near me during the game.
That is Tommy Bentley, who was one of the Top 52 MLB Fan Cave Dwellers. You can follow him on Twitter here.
Towards the end of his time throwing, Perez began throwing submarine.
And the Mariners began taking BP.
Kendrys Morales was hitting the ball pretty far, but he wasn’t hitting it out. Lots of balls off the wall.
I decided it was best not to be in the bleachers for BP. Why?
It was crowded. And there were at least a few people in every row, making moving around VERY hard. It was like that in every section of the Bleachers in LF AND RF.
It was a shame how packed the bleachers because Michael Morse was hitting BOMBS!
He hit a few 2nd Deckers in Center Field. He hit A LOT of home runs into the LF Bleachers as well. Nothing to RF. But, like I said, it was way too crowded to even have a chance.
You see those 3 guys? They must have thrown at least 10 balls into the bleachers if not more. Every time they threw a ball, it was a mad scrum to get it. Ridiculous.
Third Base coach Jeff Datz was throwing BP.
Around 5:40, there was a batter who I couldn’t identify that hit 5 or 6 balls in a row on the ground that were all right in front of me. Bullpen catcher Jaime Navarro walked over and without me asking, seeing as that I was wearing Mariners gear, he tossed me a ball!
My dad wandered around for BP, taking a lot of cool photos. It honestly felt like there were easily 15,000 people in the stadium taking in BP.
And for those of you that have wondered, this is what it looks like from above, looking into the Diamond Level seats in Oakland.
But, like I said, he got a lot of cool photos during BP like this one:
All told, BP was pretty calm. Other than Morse, there were few home runs hit. There were lot a lot of pull lefties either. Balls that were hit near me on the field were all tossed in. There was a ball that I called out for, but right before it was tossed to me, I noticed a little boy standing behind me and I moved out of the way so he could get it.
Once BP was over,I headed back to the Bleachers.
Where they were setting these things. That meant one thing… FIREWORKS!!!!
I then noticed this in Left Field. Hm…
My dad then headed off to get some food for my sister and I.
Helpful Hint: If you are ever in need of good-tasting (However EXTREMELY overpriced food), go to the Westside Club. They have THE BEST Pizza-By-The-Slice! There is also a Sandwich bar that I mentioned in entries like this one.
The A’s started coming onto the field and I pulled out my dad’s camera when I noticed this…
Do you know what is so special? For 5 points on the 2013 MyGameBalls.com Photo Scavenger Hunt list, you need a picture of… “At least three players standing in a group whose jersey numbers are visible and satisfy this mathematical formula: one player’s number equals the sum of the other players’ numbers.”
YES! 5 points checked off! 7 Points so far on the day! The I noticed this…
What is so special?
For 6 points on the 2013 MyGameBalls.com Photo Scavenger Hunt list is of… “Two players standing together whose jersey numbers are visible and satisfy this mathematical formula: one player’s number equals the square root of the other player’s number.”
2+5+6 = 13 Points on the Day!
Yoenis Cespedes was also stretching on the field.
So were the Mariners!
“King” Felix Hernandez was pitching for the Mariners.
Around 6:40, the pregame ceremonies got underway! The Bleachers were PACKED and READY TO GOOOOOOO!
The Mariners were introduced and stuff, then the A’s were introduced! The A’s were really focused on the fan interaction this day, so they chose 10-15 of their longest season ticket holders to greet the players on their way onto the field!
Remember that photo of the tarp over the outfield wall? Well they chose two more season ticket holders to pull it off and reveal this!
It was so cool to see the entire team lined up along the field!
The use of Pyro was really great in the pre-game ceremonies!
RF Drummer, Andy, was gettting into it! (His Twitter is here)
Felix finished his warm-up tosses.
And the boys in Green and Gold took the field!
Josh Reddick, of course was the A’s starting pitcher.
THAT BEARD!!!
I really like this next picture of him. I think it just looks really cool!
Coco Crisp, of course, was the A’s starting Center Fielder.
And the game was UNDERWAY!!
Like Game 3 of the ALDS, the starting pitcher was Brett Anderson.
He was pitching VERY well.
One of my favorite A’s players, Eric Sogard, was the A’s starting second baseman. If you remember, I got my picture with him at 2012 FanFest! NERD POWER!!!!
John Jaso, the A’s starting catcher doubled for the A’s first hit of the game, which game with 1 out in the 4th inning.
Michael Saunders was the Mariners starting right fielder. Poor guy. If you don’t know why I say that, I’ll leave it at the fact that visiting right fielders WILL get heckled in Oakland.
The TV Booth was popping as always, with Ray Fosse and Glen Kuiper.
Felix Hernandez was DEALING
He allowed 3 hits all game. No Walks. 8 Strikeouts. Yikes…
I got this picture in the 7th inning. No real reason. Just thought it was cool.
Then, in the 8th inning, guess who stopped by?
It’s Oakland mayor Jean Quan! If you have heard anything about Occupy: Oakland, then I’m sure you know about her. IF not, just click her name right ^^here^^ to read about her on Wikipedia.
In the bottom of the 9th, the A’s were down 2-0. But the stadium WOULD NOT stay quiet.
But, with Jed Lowrie in scoring position at 2nd, Brandon Moss popped out to Michael Saunders to end the game. Awesome…
Before we left, I got this picture with my sister and my 1 ball on the day.
After that picture right before we left, I spent a few minutes taling with 149 Die-Hard Omar G. He is one of the many A’s fans that has given me ENDLESS suport with my blog, so as a small thank you- can you all go follow follow him on Twitter HERE. Everyone go follow him. NOW.
He has two AWESOME sons, nicknamed Super J and the Champ. I HAD TO get a picture with the two of them! I posed with them and the foam Josh Reddick Wrestling Belt that my sister purchased before the gates opened.
Seriously. Those kids are REALLY awesome!
The lights then started to turn off, so we all slowly filed out. Even though the A’s lost, it was a good day!
Once we got outside, I remembered that I need this picture…
Why? ”BONUS 1: You with a stadium name sign in the background with you holding a baseball snagged that day at that stadium (1 point per stadium for a max of 30 points)” on the MGB Photo Scavenger Hunt list. 14 Points in the scavenger hunt on the day! That and the photo of me on Intentional Talk from this game, the next morning, this is what I saw at the scavenger hunt page:
Awesome!
Well that’s about all I have from this game. My next game was April 3rd, so I should have that post up tomorrow or the day after that, then a few after my post about the April 3rd game, I should have up and entry about the game I’m going to today (April 5th) at Banner Island Ballpark!
Thanks for reading!
- 2nd Game of the Year
- 1 Ball at this Game
- 1 Ball in 2 Games this season = 0.5 Balls Per Game
- 29 Lifetime MLB Baseballs
- 44 total balls
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
4/3/13 at the Oakland Coliseum
More Baseball! This was my 2nd A’s game in 3 days, and this was going to be just me and my mom! If you can remember, the last time it was just the two of us, I snagged a Fenway Park 100th Anniversary Commemorative Ball. The time before that, I snagged 6 balls. This was looking to be a very positive day!
Fromt the time that we left our house to the time we got to the Coliseum, to my lap around the ballpark, I filmed nonstop. I also filmed us getting out of the Coliseum. It was an ADVENTURE! I compiled it all into an 11 and 1/2 minute video for you to enjoy! After watching it, you can continue with your regularly scheduled blog entry.
My dad took my mom and I to the BART Station, and we left the house at 3:40, getting there at 3:54, catching the 3:58 train to Oakland.
Once we got to the Coliseum at around 4:25, we set our stuff down at gate MM, which is the quickest route to the bleachers.
Towards the BART Plaza, this was the scene.
It was very quiet, calm, and peaceful. I LOVED it!
At this point, I took the camera and documented my fifteen-minute trip around the Coliseum. Again, just watch the video to check it all out!
About 10 minutes before the gates were supposed to open at 5:35, the line wasn’t very long.
Beyond what you see, that was it!
Around 5:33, they checked our bags, which made the process SOOOO much easier. This gave me time to zip up my backpack and put it pack on. Otherwise, I would have to do this in a rush between running and scanning my ticket.
Usually, Will MacNeil (click his name to follow him on Twitter) will run in with all of the bleacher crew’s flags and banners. I actually sprinted ahead of him, but then let him lead the way, as this was my first time going this way.
Once in the bleachers (Where I WAS NOT wrist banded, which made everything so much simpler), I set my stuff down, put on my glove, and was ready to go. Less than 10 minutes into BP, a ball was hit to Mariner reliever Tom Wilhelmsen. He turned around and just tossed it to me. I didn’t even ask. Cool!
10 or so minutes later, a ball was hit off the wall that Mariner pitcher Stephen Pryor fielded and tossed up to me after I ask him for it.
After that, BP was more or less dead. Wilhelmsen and Pryor were fielding almost every ball hit to RF, so I didn’t bother asking either of them again, knowing that it was very unlikely I would get another toss-up from either of them.
Why did I not go to Left Field might you ask? Not a single ball was hit into the left field seats during BP. NOT EVEN WHEN MICHAEL MORSE WAS HITTING. There were not toss-ups into the LF bleachers either.
Around 6:10 or so, there still had not been a single ball hit into the outfield stands, however there had been many hit over the fence.
At 6:15, BP picked up, when Kendrys Morales stepped to the cage. The second pitch he saw was a bomb to RF, but I was on the opposite side, as he had almost just hit it out. As I was on my way in that direction, Morales hit another bomb in the same area, caught by the SAME guy. However, it was this guy.
Then, while I was over there, expecting him to hit another, on the LAST pitch of BP, he hit it around where I had just been standing. AWESOME…
I ended BP with 2 balls.
After BP came to a close, I went off in search of food and decided on a sandwich from the Westside Club.
When I got back to my seat, it was around 6:30, and players had started to take the field to warm up.
I looked into the dugout and saw Yoenis Cespedes with his hat backwards just walking around in the dugout.
Tommy Milone was tossing in the bullpen. I considered going down there to try and get a ball, but considering the fact that there were at least 5 ushers within 50 feet of him, I decided against it.
There was this group of people behind home plate, who looked like they would be singing the national anthem.
Scott Sizemore would be playing in his first game since 2011. If you remember, on the FIRST day of spring training in 2012 he tore his ACL.
The Mariners would have offseason acquisition Joe Saunders on the mound.
Newly acquired first baseman Nate Freiman was making his major league debut in this game.
About 10 minutes before the A’s took the field, Yoenis Cespedes had a nice, long conversation with Kendrys Morales, in the middle of the outfield. My guess is that they were debating who can hit the ball farther. My money would be on Yoenis.
The bleachers were quite crowded for this game, more than I had expected.
Tommy Milone finished up his warm up tosses…
… Josh Donaldson did some last-minute stretching …
… Stomper rode around the warning track in the Smiling Chevron Car…
… And we were all ready to go!
Offseason acquisition Chris Young was in the lineup, playing center field, making his debut in the green and gold!
Right before the first pitch, I went to the last row of the bleachers and took this picture
Then I took a panoramic shot on my phone. GORGEOUS.
As they announced the A’s line up, the right field guys all wave their flags.
I just thought those were two cool pictures.
Well you know how the bleachers were crowded? Guess what wasn’t?
Yep! How nuts is that? I would have tried to go down there, but the ushers in that area specifically have always been very strict about checking tickets.
Chris Young was playing center in his Oakland debut
With Josh Reddick playing right field
And Tommy Milone on the bump for the A’s.
Since both pitchers were lefties, both lineups were packed with righty hitters, which meant fewer balls to right field. Since I knew there was a slimmer chance of snagging a home run, I focused on taking some pictures, as did my mom. Pictures like this one.
And this one of Nate Freiman making his MLB Debut at first base.
Yoenis Cespedes was the A’s starting left fielder.
Jed Lowrie was in the game at shortstop
And Josh Donaldson was playing third
Tye Waller, who has tossed me two balls before, is the A’s first base coach.
Coco Crisp had been hitting the ball far so far, and he showed that, with a deep fly to center that unfortunately stayed in the yard.
Nate Freiman was hitting 8th in his MLB Debut
And on the 5th pitch of the at bat from Joe Saunders,
He singled into center for not only his first MLB hit, but his first MLB run batted in as well!
Since Josh Reddick was playing closest to me, and the lighting was just right, I tried taking some “artsy photos” like these.
I liked this shot of the Oakland sky at night.
During the inning break, I took a look up to the CSN booth to see that Scott Hatteberg was in the booth instead of Ray Fosse. I love Scott as a player and person, but he is not cut out for TV…
Mike Morse, the Mariners RF, was heckled plenty throughout the game.
Jed Lowrie had a BIG day at the plate.
Coco Crisp doubled in the 3rd inning.
Then after Jed Lowrie and Chris Young walks, Yoenis Cespedes flied out, however Coco Crisp came home to score, giving Yoenis a sac fly.
Like I just mentioned, Jed Lowrie was on second…
But Derek Norris struck out to end the inning…
I was enjoying taking pictures, so I got a few like this one of Josh Reddick
Or this one of Yoenis Cespedes.
Ot this one of Chris Young.
Around the 4th inning or so, I decided to try my luck with foul balls and headed up to sections 223 and 222. No foul balls for Nick.
I then headed over to 224, where I got this amazing panoramic shot!
I decided to head back to the bleachers in the 5th or 6th inning, as I was having no luck whatsoever with foul balls.
Tommy Milone was pitching a great game!
I enjoyed taking pictures like this one.
And this one…
Jorge, one of the members of the bleacher crew had brought balloons to the game. Here he is with one of them…
Everyone was having fun with them, including Tom Bentley, who put one in his King Felix foam crown.
The 7th inning was a very interesting inning for me personally. Here is Josh Reddick jogging off the field after the top of the 7th.
LOOK AT THAT HAIR!!!
Ready for the exciting story? Here it is… I was sitting on the end of the row, on the asile, giving me more mobility in the event of a home run. Well in this case, sitting ont the asile hurt me. In the bottom of the 7th, on the 3rd pitch of the At Bat, Jed Lowrie smashed the ball to right field. At first, I didn’t think it would end up in the bleachers. I was expecting it to clank off the bleacher railing or the tip of the out-of-town scoreboard and get back onto the field. I would then politely call out to Michael Morse for the ball. Click HERE to watch the home run.
So I first figured that nobody in my row had a glove, so it would make it harder for them to catch the home run. Keep in mind that my row was completely full, no room for me to move. Take a look at this screenshot that I drew on…
As you can see, I was on the end of the row, on the asile, while the guy that caught the ball (With His Glove, might I add) was smack dab in the middle of the row. He also reached over the railing a good 2 feet to make the catch.
Oh the frustrations. I couldn’t really beat myself up about this, as I am NOT about to push past a row of people, including my own mother to make the catch. It’s just one of those things that frustrates you…
Here is A’s bullpen coach Darren Bush answering the bullpen phone.
If you remember, I was the ONLY person that recognized him in the clubhouse at A’s FanFest.
In the middle of the 8th inning las year, the A’s played Call Me Maybe. Everyone hated it. Guess what song they played this year? I will give you four hints…
Yep. Call Me Maybe. And don’t worry, Ross is not the only one who hates it. Everyone to his left was doing the same thing, but I couldn’t get a good picture of any of them.
Oh, hey look who was back! It was @Shakabrodie! AKA, Benjamin Christensen.
In the 8th inning, Josh Reddick was hit by a pitch.
But the A’s didn’t score. Then, in the top of the 9th, Chris Resop came in and had a 1-2-3 inning to seal the win for the Green and Gold!
I got another picture with my 2 BP balls.
And we said goodbye to the Coliseum.
Like I’ve said before, I made a video that showed not only what it was like to get from BART to the Coliseum and to walk around the Coliseum, but in that video, I showed what it was like to get from our seats to BART. Check it out here and skip ahead to the 7:37 mark and that will put you right where you need to be!
In a day or two, I should have up an entry about the Stockton Ports game I attended a few days ago at Banner Island Ballpark. In the mean time, Check out my entries about the World Baseball Classic game I attended, the High School Game Baseball game I attended at Banner Island Ballpark, or you can read the entry I wrote up about Opening Day in Oakland. Enjoy!
Thanks everyone for reading!
- 3rd Game of the Year
- 2 Balls at this Game
- 3 balls in 3 Games this season = 1 Ball Per Game
- 2 Consecutive Games with at least 1 Ball
- 31 Lifetime Major League baseballs
- 46 total balls
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
1/27/13 at A’s FanFest
Wow. This was a truly incredible day!
Last year, A’s FanFest was the same weekend, on Sunday, January 29th. It was a lot fo fun and you can read about it here!
It started off at 6am, when I woke up and slowly got ready, with the rest of my family out of bed by 6:45. We were out of the house and on our way to Oakland at 7:20, getting there around 7:50, where I found about 6 lines, each with 20-50 people. I got in the shortest line, which was to the far right. My dad and sister shortly arrived from the parking lot, with folding camping chairs and blankets, as we had a 1.5 hour wait in front of us.
Like I mentioned in this entry, the event was taking place mainly at the Oracle Arena.
My sister and I decided to wander around a little, so we headed towards the Coliseum, where people were waiting anxiously in line for single-game tickets, like I did last year.
We then headed past Gate A and up the ramp towards the BART Plaza.
Along our way, I got a couple of photos of signs like these.
When we got to the BART Plaza, I saw an electronic sign that was flashing “FAN FEST SOLD OUT. SINGLE GAME TICKETS ON SALE AT 9AM.”
When we got over by B and C gate, I took note of the parking lot.
The day before, there had been a supercross event at the Coliseum, so they have been unable to hold FanFest there. All of the semi-trucks were still parked in the lot.
We eventually made our way back, at which point I decided to sit in one of the chairs and relax.
My dad got a couple more good photos of me.
The lines behind us grew much longer.
And this guy’s hat attracted more and more attention!
Around 8:45, this was the scene.
At this point, my dad and I left the line, bringing the chairs and stuff back to the car, as we headed to go pick up our media credentials for BlogFest!
On our way pack to the car, the line had gotten pretty long!
At 9am, we picked up our passes. This is what my press pass looked like. How cool is that?
We made our way back towards the Arena, where we still had 25 minutes to wait in line.
At 9:30am, the lines started to move, and people were brought in. I would say there were 20 or so people in front of me in line.
It felt like a mad dash to get to the bleachers! I ran inside the barricaded area between the Coliseum and Arena, and ran inside, up an escalator, and got in a very short line for the Authenticated Memorabilia stand, which quickly grew VERY long. I’m sure you are wondering what the big deal was.
This was the scene before I was let in.
As soon as you walked in, to the right, there was a table, with game-worn batting helmets and hats, each was $40.
In the center, there was another table with the $40 helmets.
In the right of this picture, you see people crowding around the coveted jerseys table. BP/Spring Training jerseys were $30 each, Bob Melvin/Josh Reddick/Brandon McCarthy jerseys were $200 each, and all other jerseys were $100 each. In the center, you should see a table with plastic bags, that inside contained dugout jackets that were each $100!
There was also this table, with game-used bats for $100.
And to it’s left, there were champagne bottle from the Playoff clinching and AL West clinching clubhouse celebrations for $30 each.
Along with these items, there were signed aprons from MUG Root Beer float day for $20, DVDs commemorating the 2002 20-game win streak for $20, and bases for $100.
Game-used pants were $10 each, and I would say they had about 7 different styles, mostly from throwback games.
There were also 2 tubs of game-used baseballs, which I thought nothing of. I later saw people with lots of different commemorative balls, which I think would have been cool to have!
I grabbed this program that was sitting by the bin of balls
In the end, I purchased a #31 nameless batting practice jersey ($30), which I knew must have been worn my Kirk Sarloos, because he was #31 when the A’s wore this style of jersey.
I also got a game-used batting helmet ($40)
Pair of game-used throwback pants ($10)
This Root Beer float day apron, signed by David Justice ($20)
And these COOL knee savers, with the #8 on them, so I will assume that they were Kurt Suzuki’s ($10)
I got those 5 items, spending $110. How cool is that??
From there, my family and I walked around the upper concourse area, where my dad peeked in on the court area and snapped a few really cool pictures!
We quickly stopped at the Kids Club table, where my sister purchased a kids club kit and got an autograph voucher.
From there, we headed down to the lower concourse, where I was looking for anything free.
I grabbed these 5 soft balls at a Sport Clips table
Along with a few other freebies
At the Sport Clips table, they were giving free hair cuts, which I thought was kind of cool! 
We stopped at the Stockton Ports table, where I got a bunch of free stuff!
4 of these Baseball cards
And 4 of these bookmarks:
4 of these team photos
And these two items as well!
After that, we stopped at the Athletics Magazine table, where I signed up for a 2013 subscription, and was given this free magazine from 2012!
From here, we headed outside.
We decided to get in line for the clubhouse tours! We entered at the Employee Entrance
And were ready to head down this long ramp
The only reason they couldn’t hold it in the Coliseum was because of the Motercross event the day before. There were a bunch of dirt mounds on the field.
We walked through the concourse a little, then down a few more ramos, before we got to this sign
We then walked down this tunnel
We eventually got to what seemed like the area near the clubhouse.
We walked past the Umpire’s room
And saw this sign
There were a few more signs like that along the hallway like these
We then walked past the weight room
And took a look inside
We kept going, walking past theses signs
Finally, we were right accross the way from the clubhouse, in the hallway with lots of cool memorabilia
We walked past Steve Vucinich’s office. “Vuch” is the A’s equipment manager
We finally got inside, and I took another pictures of this sign
This is how the clubhouse was laid out
Ariel Prieto, Yoenis Cespedes’ interpretor, as a locker right next to Cespedes
Jim Miller, Travis Blackley, and Dallas Braden all have lockers next to each other
Last year, Mike Gallego, Eric Sogard, and Tommy Milone greeted people in the clubhouse. This year, it was new bullpen coach Darren Bush. Here is the thing… NOBODY recognized him! Except for me, that is!
I immediately approached him, and he was very excited to see that someone had recognized him. I felt bad for him! Darren is a great guy, and I have a feeling I will be getting a few balls from him in 2013! 
We left the clubhouse at headed out get autographs, since the autograph coupons we had received upon entry were for session #1, which was supposed to end soon. There were 3 autograph stations outside, in the area between the Coliseum and Arena. There were signs above each station with the people signing at each table.
The line for Cespedes and Taylor was way too long, so we got in line for Josh Donaldson and Ray Fosse. We got in line and stood there for about 5 minutes, before we were next in line.
I got both Josh Donaldson and Ray Fosse to sign both sides of the bill of a souvineer french fry helmet that I got at a game in 2012
This was the scene behind the autograph lines
Cespedes and Taylor were both busy signing
My dad was accidentally given 2 autograph coupons for session 1, so he gave his second one to me, so that I could get two more autographs!
I got in line to get Tommy Milone and Pat Neshek to sign the souvenir helmet as well
After we got autographs, we headed to the under level of the Arena. I saw a line where you could take a picture with Sal Bando and Billy North, along with the *4* A’s World Series trophies.
I was just standing next to the line watching the “action” when it got to a point that nobody was moving forward. Apparently Ray Fosse was scheduled next for the photos and *Everyone* in line was waiting for him. The volunteer that was controlling the line yelled out that anyone that wanted a photo with Billy North and Sal Bando, along with the trophies, could go to the front of the line.
I put everything with my parents, since they didn’t want a picture, and I jumped right to the front of the line. Oh Yeah!
We then headed to the main level, where we got some food and checked out the Sacramento River Cats table.
I picked up this wristband at the stand
After we got our food and sat down, I realized that it was time for my dad and I to head off to BlogFest.
We left my mom and sister at the Q&A session and headed off to drop off some stuff at our car before heading to meet up.
If you don’t remember what BlogFest is, just click here to read what I wrote a few weeks ago about it!
I got to the meeting spot at about 12:40.
There were lots of other bloggers there as well, including people from A’s Farm, BeanBall, Athletics Nation, newballpark.org, A’s Fan Radio, and many more!
We walked into the Oracle Arena, down some stairs, through a few tunnels, into the underbellies of the Oracle Arena, and we arrived here!
When we got into the room, I set up in the back corner of the room with my phone and laptop 
This was the setup in the room
This was the sight from the side of the room
The back
We had about 15 minutes to prep before Adam, who coordinated this event, brought in 2012 AL Manager of the year Bob Melvin!
After Melvin, PR Director Bob Rose came in and talked to us for a little bit, while Adam went to get Assistant GM David Forst.
Adam soon showed up with David Forst!
Once we finished up with David Forst, Adam went to get Mike Gallego, the A’s 3rd base coach, who had some great stories to tell!
I’m sure you are wondering what those 3 guys said…
Here is the deal. I have an audio recording of all 3 interviews. Right now, I am working to transcribe all 45 minutes of interviews, and publish IT ALL in a separate blog entry, with analysis of what they said.
It is taking a long time to get everything together, so hopefully, I will get everything up within the next week!
We left the press conference room with everyone else and headed back up to meet up with my mom and sister.
My dad had to leave to go pick up my grandmother and uncle, as we would be driving them out of town after FanFest, so I was alone with my mom and sister.
If you remember from this entry, then you know that in the mail, my family was invited to a special season ticket holder photo meet-and-greet session. The line was getting long, so my mom got in line, while my sister and I decided to wander around.
We headed upstairs to the Memorabilia sale that I had visited earlier, and prices had drastically decreased!
Jackets, baseballs, bats, helmets, and Spring Training jerseys had sold out, however game-worn jerseys were $40, Game-worn hats and pants were $5 each, champagne bottles from the 2012 clubhouse celebrations were $15 each, DVDs from the 2002 season were $5 each and aprons from MUG Root Beer float day were $5 each.
I first grabbed a 2002 DVD for $5
Then this pair of pants for $5, so that I would have matching home and road pairs.
I then went over to take a look at the hats. $5 for a hat is a great price alone, but these are 59fifty hats that are usually $40 with tax. Then consider the fact that they are game-worn!
They only had road and 2012 BP hats left, and since I already have a 2012 BP hat, I searched through all the road hats, and found 2 in my size (7 3/8).
I got this one
That had Tye Waller’s #46 written on the inside
This hat is special for me because Tye Waller tossed me my first ever baseball.
The second hat I picked up was this one
It had a #37 written on the inside, with a MLB Authentication sticker
I looked it up through MLB’s authentication program, and check it out!
Ron Romanick, the A’s pitching coach in 2011!
Can you guess what I did?
Yay!! “Official” Certificate printed out from the MLB.com website!
After making this $20 purchase (No, my sister did not ask for anything), we headed back down to wait in line with my mom. The line was moving VERY quickly!
We got to the front of the line, to find YOENIS CESPEDES was taking pictures with group #4 of season ticket holders!
I really wish my dad could have been there with us. It was very, very awesome!
After this, we headed back upstairs, since my sister and I both had received special autograph coupons that allowed us each to get another autograph.
I handed mine and the souvenir helmet that I had previously gotten signed to my mom and she and my sister got in line for Eric Sogard’s autograph.
I headed back to the memorabilia sale to look around. All they had left were jerseys, DVDs, pants, and a few hats. They were desperate to get rid of everything! Hats were still $5, and those were swooped up quickly. DVDs were still $5, and there were A LOT of those left over.
However, they had A LOT of pants left, and there was a lady walking around yelling “PANTS ARE $1 EACH!”
WHAAAAA? I immediately ran over and picked up 3 more pairs of throwback pants- the 3 pairs that they had laying out that I hadn’t already picked up.
Then, I took a look at the game-used jerseys that they had lying out. They were…. *$20* each!
I looked at each jersey, and since there was only one in my size, I immediately grabbed it!
A #63 Danny Farquhar green jersey! How cool is that?
Who is Danny Farquhar you might ask?
So…
*He never played a game for Oakland, just the AAA River Cats
*He was in the A’s organization twice
*He was waived for a guy that I saw make his MLB debut.
AWESOME!
Here was my final haul of stuff that I picked up at the memorabilia sale. Great deals, neat stuff, AWESOME!
I talked with a few people, and before I knew it, my mom and sister came back.
Here is the helmet that I got signed
PRETTY COOL!
At this point, we headed out and met up with my dad, grandma, and uncle and headed out of Oakland.
This was an amazing day, and I had some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities! I met great people, got great deals, and had a great time!
This event put me just one step closer to Opening Day!
For me, I am looking forward to an exciting season as an A’s fan and season ticket holder!
Later that night, I went on BlogTalkRadio with RF Bleacher regular Will MacNeil to talk about the RF Bleachers and our experiences at FanFest. You can listen to that broadcast here.
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
2012 in Review
Wow. 2012 was an crazy year for me, with so many fun experiences!
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read my blog, and for all of the support that everyone has given me.
I would like to start of by saying that this is my 100th post at 7000 Coliseum Way!!!! Expect many more to come in 2013!
This entry will be complied of many things. IT IS VERY LONG: 3,659 Words to be exact.
I first want to present to you the 7000 Coliseum Way 2012 Annual report, as created by WordPress.com:
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 8,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 14 years to get that many views.
Click here to see the complete report.
Thank you to my top 5 commenters in 2012!
1) Max- Max commented 64 times this year! He was very supportive with Fan Packs, giving me tips, and always was ready to comment! You can follow him on Twitter here. Thanks Max!
2) Connor- He commented 32 times! Like Max, Connor always commented on the Fan Pack entries, giving me tips, and too has been very supportive all year! Thanks Connor!
3) Quinn- Quinn was the first person to subscribe to this blog, and he always was commenting, supporting my ballhawking, as well as giving me tips for fan packs. You can follow him on Twitter here. Thanks Quinn!
4) Chris- Chris is a fellow ballhawk, living in New York. He commented 27 times in 2012, and was very supporite with my ballhawking, as well as my Mail Time! posts, giving me tips for fan packs. You can follow him on Twitter here. Thanks Chris!
5) SpencerS- Spencer is a fellow Bay Area ballhawk. He commented 7 times in 2012! I’ve gotten the chance to meet him, and he is a great guy! He, too has given me lots of support with ballhawking in 2012. You can follow him on Twitter here. Thank You Spencer!
If you read this blog, then chance are, you know who Mateo Fischer is. He writes the MLBlog called Observing Baseball, and even thought he was not one of the top commementers, he was one of my greatest supporters in 2012 with the growing popularity of this blog. He wrote a review entry as well, and you can check it out by clicking here. You can click here to follow him on Twitter or here to LIKE Observing Baseball.
I would also like to thank Zack Hample, Zachary Weiss, Wayne Peck, Todd Cook, Shawn Bosman, Rick Gold, Malcolm MacMillan, Paul K, and McCovey Cove Dave for all of their support this year. Click on any of their names above to give them a follow on Twitter.
*Zack was the one that first got me into ballhawking, which I have to thank him for.
*Zachary Weiss has also been one of the most supportive people, giving me advice and support with ballhawking as well as blogging.
*Wayne writes the MLBlogs Collection of Baseball and A View From the Bullpen, and I was fortunate enough to meet him this past October. He has encouraged me trough my ballhawking and been a great friend to me this past year.
*Todd Cook writes a fantastic blog, called Cook and Sons Baseball Adventures. He gave me constant competition with the myGameBalls.com Photo Scavenger Hunt, which I appreciate. He also wrote a book called the Baseball Log, which I own. I highly recommend that you go give it a look!
*Shawn Bosman was my first co-host on The Nick Badders Show, and I thank him for doing that with me, as well as giving me the encouragement to continue my ballhawking.
*Rick Gold is a ballhawk who is also an editor for MLB.com. I met him in May, and he too, as given me an encouragement in my ballhawking. As a teen, he ballhawked at the Coliseum, which is a great connection!
*Malcolm, too has given me great advice and encouragement with my blog, as well as ballhawking, and given me some ideas for things to do at Minor League Stadiums.
*I haven’t know Paul for very long, but in the time I have known him, he has helped me tremendously. He was the first person to ever call in to The Nick Badders Show, which gave me extreme confidence. He has been one of the main supporters with my radio gig, which I am thankful for. He listens to every broadcast, and is always ready to give me feedback. He writes the MLBLog called A Piece of The Game, and wrote an entry reviewing his 2012 season as well. Click here to check it out.
*McCovey Cove Dave has also supported me in my ballhawking and been a great friend to me on Twitter. I’ll be trying my best to spend a game out in McCovey Cove sometime in 2013.
Most imporatntly, I need to thank my Dad (Dan), my Mom (Anne), and my Sister (Pascale). Without these three people, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do today. They are the ones who give me the support to continue my work at home. They are the ones that take me to the games, go to games with me, and allow me to ballhawk, even though I am not spending time with them. They are the reason that I am able to succeed, I cannot thank them enough.
From here, I will go over my entire year at 7000 Coliseum Way. I’ll share my month-by-month memories from blogging, to ballhawking, and mail!
I’ve gone back and read each post, and it amazes me how far my writing has come. In December of 2011, 1,000 words was a lot for me for one entry! Reaching July and August, some of my entries managed 3000 words!
In the month of January, I have a feeling a lot of you were not reading this blog. I had 75 views total in the month of January, that is an average of about 2 views each day.
On January 17th, I posted an entry about SOPA. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I was thinking when I was writing that entry. If you want to check it out, you can right here.
Shortly after that, on January 19th, I posted an entry with pictures of me, one at each of the 5 stadiums I had been to in my life. If you want to take a brief glance over that entry, it is here.
About a week later, on January 25th, I published an entry with LOTS of pictures that I had found from baseball games from 2005-2010, which you can read right here.
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On January 27th, I published an entry about my expectations for the games I would go to in 2012, along with some information about A’s FanFest, an entry you can read here.
The following day, On January 28th, I posted a quick poll asking what A’s gear I should wear to FanFest, an entry that can be found here.
The very next day, on January 29th, my family and I were off to FanFest! We purchased some tickets, and had a complete blast! Check out that exciting entry here.
1 Month. 75 views. 5 posts.
Moving on to February. I had 45 views, which is about 1 view a day.
I had only 1 post in February, on February 13th, I posted an entry with my projected A’s roster, which you can read here.
2 Months. 120 views. 6 Posts.
In March, I had 36 views for the month, which is barely an average of 1 view a day.
My first entry of the month was on March 25th. That is 40 days without an entry! I wrote a short bit on a few random things, an entry you can find here.
The very next day, on the 26th of the Month, I had another entry up, this one, I called “Pictures of the Day.” I simply shared a few pictures that I had found and enjoyed that were baseball-related. Check them out here.
Then for my 3rd post in a row, and of the month, I shared some baseball videos that I had found and liked, titling it “Videos of the Day.” Check them out here.
3 Months. 156 Views. 9 Posts.
Coming into April, we were already a quarter of the way through the year. In April, I had 227 views, which is about 8 views a day.
On April 5th, I attended Opening Day at PETCO Park in San Diego with my dad and unfortunately did not snag any balls. You can read all about that experience here.
On April 6th, I posted an entry about the first 3 days of my Spring break, which I spent in Southern California with my leadership class from school. I was attending a conference about leadership in Costa Mesa, and it was a LOT of fun. You can read about it all here.
Then, on April 13th, I went to Stockton to see the Ports take on the Modesto Nuts. There, I snagged my first ever MILB ball, and you can read the entry here.
On April 18th, I found a funny video that I wrote a QUICK entry about. You can see it here.
Finally, on April 22nd, I went to my first A’s game of the season, a game in which I snagged 3 balls, including my first lifetime foul ball. You can read all about that day here.
4 Months. 383 Views. 14 Posts.
In May, the views dipped a little, with 146 views, or about 5 views per day.
My first post of the month was on May 10th. I shared a quick meme that I made, then talked about my next game. You can find it here.
On May 11th, I saw the Tigers come in to Oakland, on Fleece blanket night. I snagged one ball and got the chance to meet Rick Gold. You can follow him on Twitter here and check out the entry about the game here. 
Then, a week later, on May 18th, I attended my first game at John Thurman Field in Modesto. There, I got my 2nd lifetime Minor League ball. You can read about it all here. 
Finally, 8 Days after that game, my family joined me for Michael Choice bobblehead night, for my second game of the year in Stockton, where I snagged my 3rd lifetime Minor League ball. You can read about it here.
5 Months. 529 Views. 18 Posts.
In June, the views picked up again with 286. That averages about 10 views a day.
My first post of the month was on June 13th, where I talked a little about Matt Cain’s perfect game. I think more of me was just writing it because the A’s had just played one of the best games of their season, plus R.A. Dickey one-hit the Rays, and MLB Network was focusing on the Giants. Don’t get me wrong, a perfect game is amazing, I just wish that other stories had been covered that night as well. Check it out here.
Then, on June 20th, I went to MUG Root Beer Float Day at the Coliseum with my mom and sister. The A’s were playing the Dodgers, who I wanted to see, as they were using commemorative balls. However, I was unable to snag a ball that night. That being said, it was still an awesome day. Read about it here.
The very next day, on June 21st, I set out with my dad and friend Ryan for another A’s and Dodgers game, with hopes of getting a commemorative ball. Derek Norris was making his MLB Debut in this game. Even though I was shut out for the second day in a row, the game ended with a bang! Check it out here.
Finally, 3 days later, on June 24th, I was back at the Coliseum again, for more interleague baseball, this time between the A’s and Giants. I got shut out for the 3rd game in a row, however I did snag something cool, and the game once again ended with a bang! Read it all again here.
6 Months. 815 Views. 22 Posts.
July was when things started to take off for me. This blog had 667 in the month, which is 22 views a day.
After a week of Boy Scout Camp to start off the month, my first post was on July 12th, titled “How was Josh Reddick not an All Star?” In it, I talked about Reddick, the 2012 All Star Game, Kurt Suzuki, as well as BallhawkFest 2012, which I didn’t end up going to. If you want to check it out, click here.
Then, on July 14th, my dad and I headed out to Municipal Stadium in San Jose to see the San Jose Giants take on the Visalia Rawhide. It was our first game in San Jose, and I snagged 6 balls at this game, which is the most I’ve ever snagged at a minor league game! Read all about that exciting day here.
On July 16th, I posted about the A’s recent success, with their magnificent sweep of the Twins. Read it here.
On July 20th, the A’s were 12-2 in July. I wrote a post about their incredible month, along with all of their Walk-Offs. Remember, there is an A in wAlk off! Check out that entry right here.
The very next day, on July 21st, my mom and I were off to Oakland again, this time to see the A’s take on the Yankees. I got two balls in this game, and it was a lot of fun to sit in Section 149 for the first time! Read about that game here.
7 Months. 1,482 Views. 28 Posts.
August was a special month. There were 868 views, which is an average of 28 per day.
In the month of August, 7000 Coliseum Way was the 42nd most viewed MLBlogs Fan Blog! I wrote an entry all about it here.
On August 1st, my mom, sister and I headed out to the Coliseum for some weekday baseball between the A’s and Rays. I had won tickets on Twitter two days prior, so we got the tickets for free! I snagged 2 balls at this game, giving away one. If you want to read about that game, click here.
Then, 4 days later, on August 5th, my whole family went to see the Blue Jays take on the A’s, with a Jemile Weeks drawstring backpack giveaway. I snagged one ball at this game, and you can click here to read about it.
About 2 weeks later, on August 18th, my family joined my friend Sal and I for Scott Hatteberg bobblehead and Moneyball Movie night. It was a whole lot of fun, and I snagged 2 balls. Click here to read about it.
2 days later, on August 20th, my mom and I got seats right behind the A’s dugout to see them take on the Twins. There were barely 10,000 people there, and I snagged 6 balls, giving away 2 of them. It was a lot of fun and I recommend that you click here to read all about it.
Then, on August 26th, my dad, sister, and I were in Modesto for some more California League action. I snagged 3 balls, including my 3rd foul ball for the year, and got to play catch with my sister on the field! Read all about it right here
8 Months. 2,350 Views. 33 Posts.
The views just kept increasing. In September, 7000 Coliseum Way was viewed 1,124 times, averaging to 37 views each day.
On September 1st, my mom and I headed out to the Coliseum to see the Red Sox in town. I snagged 2 balls, one of them being a Fenway Park 100th anniversary ball! That entry can be read here.
I was getting a little behind on entries, so I published a quick post with a list of upcoming posts. If you want to, click here to read it.
The next day, on September 2nd, my Grandma and Uncle accompanied the rest of my family to the Coliseum for Breast Cancer Awareness Day against the Red Sox. I snagged 3 balls, including a toss-up from Yoenis Cespedes! Read about that day right here.
Later that week, on September 7th, my dad and I took a final trip to Modesto to see the San Jose Giants battle it out with the Nuts to move onto the next round of the California League playoffs. I snagged 3 balls in this game, it was a lot of fun, and you can click here to read it! 
Then, a week later, on September 14th, my family was out to Oakland again, this time for sold out Star Wars fireworks night against the Orioles, where I snagged one ball. Click here to read it.
9 Months. 3,474 Views. 39 Posts.
Then, come October, the views shot up once again, with a total of 1,581 for the month. That is an average of 51 per day!
In the month of September, with 1,124 views, this blog was the 31st ranked blog, on the Latest Leaders list for the second month in a row! At the beginning of October, I wrote about that and a few other things. Check out that entry here.
On October 1st, the A’s clinched a spot in the playoffs, and I wrote a quick entry about it here.
On October 10th, I was fortunate enough to attend the 3rd game of the ALDS, in Oakland, where I met Wayne Peck. You can check out his blog here and read the entry about the day here or check out his post on it here. Unfortuantely, I didn’t snag a ball, thought I had a great time!
On October 30th, I put together a post with all of my ballhawking stats for the 2012 season. Check all that out here.
Finally, on October 31st, I published a quick entry about Josh Reddick winning the AL Gold Glove for RF and the pumpkin that my mom carved with the A’s AL West Champs logo. Check out that entry here.
10 Months. 5,055 Views. 45 Posts.
November was more or less the same, with 1,528 views, I once again averaged 51 views each day, however I started to post more frequently.
My first post of the month was on November 7th. I gave my favorite pictures from FanFest as well as April and May. Check it all out here.
I then took a poll on November 14th as to what kind of entries you guys were interested in me writing. Feel free to look at it here.
I then started receiving Fan Packs from teams. On November 16th and 17, I got Fan Packs from the Indians and White Sox, as well as the Diamondbacks and Rangers.
I then left for a 5 day trip with my family, from November 19th-November 23rd to visit family in Omaha. You can read about days 1, 2, 3 ,4, or 5. I got the chance to catch up with family, visit Werner Park and TD Ameritrade Park, and hold my baby cousin for the first time!
When I got back, I continued to receive mail. I got packages from the Reds, Red Sox, and Astros.
I also received packs from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia 76ers. 
11 Months. 6,583 Views. 58 Posts.
In December, this blog 1,833 views, a new record, with an average of 59 views per day!
On December 1st, I got a fan pack from the Buffalo Bills and Frederick Keys.
Then, on Decmeber 4th, the MLBLogs Latest Leaders came out for October and November, and I was still in the top 50! 4 months in a row! You can check out my entry about it all here.
Over the next week, I got fan packs from the El Paso Diablos, Detroit Tigers, and Detroit Pistons.
On the 8th of December, I posted an entry about my bobblehead collection, which you can check out here.
The next day, on December 9th, I blogged about my new radio show, The Nick Badders Show, on BlogTalkRadio, an entry you can find here.
On December 11th, I wrote about the very cool envelope that I got from the Harrisburg Senators.
The next day, December 12th, I talked about the packages I received from the Vermont Lake Monsters and Atlanta Falcons.
On December 14th, I wrote about the packages I got from the Houston Rockets, Round Rock Express, and New York Yankees.
December 18th was the day I wrote about my best ever mail day! I received 5 envelopes, from the Benoit Snappers, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts, and Richmond Flying Squirrels.
December 22nd was the date of my last Mail Time! post in 2012. I got an envelope from the Minnesota Twins and talked about my BlogTalkRadio shows, an entry that you can find here.
Finally, on December 29th, I went to a Stockton Thunder ECHL hockey game with my dad and had a blast! You can read all about that fun day here.
That brings us to this entry. Entry #100 at 7000 Coliseum Way. It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come this year, with my blogging and ballhawking skills. In January, I never would have expected to be where I am today. I never would have thought I would have 27 envelopes stacked up in my bedroom from sports teams.
I NEVER in a million years would have expected to have the following that I do now. 43 Facebook Likes. 103 Twitter followers. 195 more Twitter followers. I want to again thank you all for your support with this blog, I could never do it without you.
AGAIN, Most imporatntly, I need to thank my Dad (Dan), my Mom (Anne), and my Sister (Pascale). Without these three people, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do today. They are the ones who give me the support to continue my work at home. They are the ones that take me to the games, go to games with me, and allow me to ballhawk, even though I am not spending time with them. They are the reason that I am able to succeed, I cannot thank them enough.
I think I have covered everything. If you think I have left something out, let me know in the comment section down below.
Thank You for having the patience to read this LONG entry, and stay tuned for many more entries in the new year.
12 Months. 8,416 Views. 72 Posts.
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Best Pictures of 2012- FanFest, April, and May
Wow. What a crazy season. My dad took a majority of the pictures featured on this blog, and all of them were excellent. I wanted to take some time to comprise a few entires with of all of the best photos that were taken at the 21 games I went to in 2012. At the end of each month and game, I will have a poll for you to choose your favorite picture of that month.
This entry features the 6 games I attended in April and May, as well as FanFest in January
***If you would ever like permission to use any of the photos on this blog for any reason, please send an email to nickbatters@gmail.com***
In line at for tickets early in the morning before FanFest
Posing with Eric Sogard
Posing with Tom Milone
Inside the A’s clubhouse
A sign showing times for BP according to game time
April: Padres catcher Nick Hundley warming up before the Padres took on the Dodgers on opening day.
4/5/12 at PETCO Park
Padres catcher Members of the U.S. Navy holing the American flag on Opening Day at PETCO Park for the National Anthem.
Griffin Benedict, one of the Padres bullpen catchers in the bullpen.
Watching the game, sitting right next to the bullpen
4/13/12 at Banner Island Ballpark
Me at Banner Island Ballpark with the Ports Prize Pack that I won on Facebook
Having the water wiped off of our seats as we showed up with a rainbow in the background
A pre-game view of the home plate area from our seats
A.J. Cole throwing his last warm-up pitch in the top of the 1st inning
The tarp being put on the field during the rain delay
Sitting right next to the dugout for the final few outs of the game
4/22/12 at the Oakland Coliseum
MyGameBalls.com Scavenger Hunt Picture: Sitting in the seat I determined to be te farthest away from home plate
Tyson Ross pitching on his birthday. He tossed me a ball before the game.
Jordan Norberto tossing sunflower seeds to fans behind the bullpen
MyGameBalls Scavenger Hunt Picture: Bonus Photo- Posing with my 3 balls at the game in front of the O.co Coliseum sign
May:
5/11/12 at the Oakland Coliseum
A view of the Coliseum from the last row of the 3rd Deck
Tom Milone pitching. Photo taken from the 3rd deck.
Everything that I got at this game. Ball, Drawstring bag, Blanket, Hat
Chad Oberkacker at the plate. He threw me a ball before the game.
Miles Head, who threw me my first ever Minor League Ball in Stockton in April
A.J. Cole Pitching. Look at his eyes.
A.J. Cole again. His eyes…
These signs are all over John Thurman Field
5/26/12 at Banner Island Ballpark
Batting Practice at Banner Island Ballpark
The Marina behind Banner Island Ballpark
Yordy Cabera at the Plate
A Ports pitcher pitching in the Top of the 9th
Ok. That’s it for this entry. I’ll try to have the entry for June and July up in 1 week. Make sure to vote in each poll, as I’ll be compiling an entry of the best pictures from 2012!
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
2012 ALDS – Game 3
Postseason baseball in Oakland for the first time since 2006. Awesome!
My dad and I left the house just after 12:30, making a quick stop along the way to get lunch at Subway, and a sporting goods store to buy a cheap Tigers hat, then we are on our way.
We got there around 1:45, over 2 hours before the gates would open at 4:07.
I had been tweeting back and forth with ballhawks Wayne Peck and Spencer Sanborn for a while (you might remember them from this entry) and I knew that they were both going to be there, and was excited to meet Wayne for the 1st time.
This is what the line looked like when I got there
Yep. I was the only one in line at Gate B. And my dad had brought a camping chair to sit in in line. Yep. This was going to be a long day. I had a LOT of time to kill, so I walked around.
If you have read this blog for a while, then you know what the outside of the Coliseum looks like. First, I walked towards the BART ramp.
I got to the BART Plaza
I then headed towards A and D gate. Parking lot A was empty. It was ridiculous. I was expecting more people, but I guess not!
Gate A was empty as well.
Over by D Gate (Where there was nobody in line), the 95.7 The GAME booth was being set up
I stopped in at the D Gate team store, browsed around a little, and was on my way up towards the Arena plaza.
There were a lot of news vans parked outside. Let me see if I can list all of the stations. CSN Bay Area, CSN California, MLB Network, TBS, ESPN, KTVU Channel 2 News, NBC Bay Area News, KRON 4 News, CBS 5, ABC 7, and there were probably a few more.
I then noticed a very familiar face stepping out of a CSN California van. Do you have any clue as to who the guy is in the green shirt?
You probably don’t but I recognized him right away. That man is Brodie Brazil, who hosts A’s Pre and Post-game Live, and is the San Jose Sharks rink-side reporter, as well as a 95.7 insider. Huge Bay Area celebrity.
I was then stopped by a security guard, who asked to see my ticket, then did the Bernie.
I wandered around the Oracle Arena a little, found the player parking entrance, and just walked around. I then headed down to Gate C, where there was 1 person in line.
When I got back, my dad was happily relaxing in his chair, reading the paper. I was ready to go. But we still had just under 2 hours.
There was still nobody behind us in line. I was bored. So I talked with my dad. Time passed. More time passed. Then I walked around one the Coliseum more time to stretch my legs.
Ok, are you ready for a crazy story? So I was walking past Gate A, and after I had walked 50 or so feet past the gate, I heard a ball hit the pavement. I immediately turned around and ran back. Somebody scooped up the ball immediately. I headed over to take a look at the ball, and when I asked to take a quick look, I was shocked to see that it was a near perfect 2012 Postseason ball. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????
Where did this ball come from? Wha— uh??? I was at a loss for words.
I was headed back to Gate B when I noticed a familiar face. It was Wayne! Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of him right away. I chatted with him for a minute, before he headed to the team store to look around.
Sooner or later, a lady got in line behind us. We talked with her for a few minutes. I spend a lot of time on my phone, then decided to go put it in the car and walk around some more. The line at Gate D was getting decently long, and in the front of the line was Spencer Sanborn!
I got back to the line. It was just my dad and the other lady. There was 1 hour until the gates open. WTH???? There was almost NO ONE in line, and the gates would be opening soon.
A minute or two later, Wayne got in line with us. This is what he (and a lot of other people) thinks of the “O.co Coliseum”
That is definitely the best facial expression I have ever seen regarding a professional sports facility.
We talked for a long time about a variety of things. Ballhawking, the Coliseum, how much the Coliseum sucks, crazy ballhawking adventures. Wayne is a good guy. He wrote a great blog entry about this game that you can find here! He also went to the game the following day, which you can find here.
My dad got a picture of us before the gates opened.
Do you like my shirt?
Right before the gates opened at 4:07, (Nope, to 4pm or 4:05, but 4:07) the line was getting pretty long.
The gate was all set up and ready to go
And we were off!
Actually… we weren’t. They let us go get in line at the turnstiles at 4:00
Shorty, after 4:07, they let us in. My ticket scanned perfectly and I headed through the turnstile. But it wouldn’t budge. The arms were never unlocked. And the ticket taker couldn’t open it. So after a few minutes, I just walked around and received my bright yellow rally towel.
BP was underway and I was ready to go.
That’s a view from our seats in the bleachers. I headed there immediately, but quickly headed down to the RF line.
Do you see the guy in the Tigers had and shirt in the orange sleeves? That would be Spencer.
The A’s were taking BP, and the pitchers in Center Field were entertained by attempting to throw balls into the 2nd deck as well as the 3rd deck seats that are tarped off.
Adam Rosales took some hacks in the cage with Chris Carter watching on
The Coliseum wasn’t very full, but the energy was awesome, and everyone was pumped!
The A’s didn’t hit anything to the RF bleachers, or down the RF line, unfortunately. As they concluded BP and jogged off the field, they got a very solid round of applause from the crowd.
Tigers pitchers had been playing catch down the line, and despite my bright orange shirt and Tigers hat, I didn’t manage a ball.
Ask anyone that was there would agree that BP was a show. Miguel Cabrera was BOMBING ball after ball into the 2nd deck, and even a few balls onto the 2rd deck tarps.
One odd thing I noticed was the middle section of the 3 open 3rd deck sections.
I guess it would the overflow media and press area. Interesting.
Prince Fielder was launching some balls pretty far as well. But he wasn’t pulling the ball. He was hitting it 2nd deck in LF.
Those guys are STRONG.
Jhonny Peralta had some strong hacks as well
BP was frustrating. There were very few balls hit down the RF line, and those that were hit were fielded by the same guy who ignored fans.
There were a couple that spent a lot of time standing next to me that I guess are Tigers season ticket holders. The one ball that I came closest to during the 1st 45 minutes was a ball that was thrown to ME specifically, that they reached out in front of me and barehanded. Ok then…
During the regular season, the bleachers were General Admission, but since it was the PLAYOFFS, they had assigned seating. Because they didn’t have to worry about being the first ones in line, the RF Crew started to trickle in during the 1st hour of BP
For those of you who don’t know, that man is Will MacNeil, one of the Die-Hards in Section 149. He is an awesome guy and I have talked with/about him before in entires like this one and this one. He is the proud owner of a very cool item. A replica WWE wrestling belt. Josh Reddick sent it up there in the beginning of the season.
He is a great guy!
That’s Will on the right, and you can follow him on Twitter here. I am not 100% positive who the man on the left is.
All the guys out there are great. I strongly encourage you to sit out there some time. It’s awesome.
Back to BP…
Guys like Alex Avila
And Quintin Berry were not hitting anything to RF. It was frustrating
This guy had some awesome signs. That man would be Ian Sagerbaen, and was dubbed my MLB.com’s Cut4 as the Greatest Sign Maker in MLB History
It was frustrating be trapped behind A’s fan screaming for balls
And despite the fact that you can pick me out of a crowd of green and gold right away, I guess Tigers players couldn’t
I realized BP was ending soon, so I took off for the Tigers dugout.
Obviously, you can find me easily in this crowd
I got behind the dugout and was calling out to players for balls
The cages were taken in…
And I was shut out for BP…
Frustrating…
With this disappointing loss, I headed back to the bleachers, where I found this guy was handing out signs
I got two different ones that were both double-sided.
Here is the first
And the second
I then wandered around for a little bit. I walked around the concourse and the bleachers, when my dad noticed this thing being rolled onto the field.
They were set up all across the outfield.
As a helicopter flew overhead
Slowly, the Tigers began to come onto the field to warm up
I wasn’t able to get down close to the field on either the 1st or 3rd base side, so after multiple attempts, I headed back to our seats in time for Stomper and “The Herd” to come around the warning track.
The Color Gaurd marched onto the field.
It was time for the player introductions!
This was one of Ian’s signs that he gave to someone to hold up
When it came time for the A’s to be introduced, sparklers at the bottom of the firework carts were set off
Everyone with their yellow rally towels was pumped up!
Each time a player on the A’s was introduced, a firework shot off.
When all the players had been introduced, it was time for the National Anthem
More fireworks were shot off
Anibal Sanchez finished his bullpen tosses
Then, Bert “Campy” Campaneris, a longtime A’s legend came out onto the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Once the ceremonial first pitch had been thrown, it was 4:59, one minute untill TBS went live to the Coliseum. Dick Callahan, the PA announcer, told the crowd to get crazy, as we would be live on national television soon. The place quickly ERUPTED!!!!
I took a panoramic picture shortly before the game started
Brett Anderson was dealing in this game
Austin Jackson struck out to lead off the game
Steven Drew walked in the bottom of the 1st, sending Coco Crisp to 2nd
Crisp later scored on a single off the back of Yoenis Cespdes
Awesome hair:
Seth Smith homered to right-center field, just past the RF bleacher seats
Grant Balfour began to warm up in the 8th inning, ready to come in for the save
While Balfour was warming up there were some drunk guys sitting in front of a Tigers fan with a young son and wife that started to boo the guy because he was a Tiger fan.
The little boy started to cry at which point everyone started boing the drunk guy. His response? “I didn’t see the kid, okay guys?”
In the top of the 9th, it was time for BALFOUR RAGE!!!!
Just to show you how packed and pumped up the crowd was, I got another panoramic picture
Throughout the game, there was a drunk A’s fan walking up and down the stairs of the sections cheering his head off. He was half drunk and half really excited. I have to admit, he did make the game a little more fun.
In the top of the 9th, he pulled me out of my seat to cheer. It was kind of awkward.
After an Omar Infante strikeout, Miguel Cabrera singled to right field. On a 1-2 fastball, Prince Fielder grounded into a double play to end the game.
Cue Kool and the Gang!
After a few minutes of celebration, something occured to me. I hadn’t snagged a ball. Then, I thought about the home run, and wandered over to see if the ball was somehow still beyond the wall. Nope. IT wasn’t. Oh well.
You know, it was disapointing to not snag a ball, but still, I would count the night as a success.
1) I got to meet finally meet Wayne Peck, who is a great guy.
2) I was the first one in line at a postseaon game.
3) I got a yellow rally towel.
4) I was at a POSTSEASON GAME!
5) I got some pretty cool posters.
6) I WAS AT A POSTSEASON GAME!
7) I had a ton of fun
8) Did I mention it was my first POSTSEASON GAME?
Even though I did’t snag a ball, It was a LOT of fun! I attended my first ever postseason game, and it was more than I could ask for.
I got a final picture with the signs and rally towel
And one with that guy I mentioned earlier
Wow. That was a lot of fun!
Yep. It was my last game of 2012. I had a great season. A lot of fun!
So. Regarding offseason entires, I have a bunch of ideas in mind. I’ll share more throughout the World Series and offseason, so check back frequently more more updates!
BALLHAWKING STATS:
• 0 ballS at this game 
• 23 balls in 15 Major League games this season = 1.53 balls per game.
• 38 balls in 21 baseball games this season = 1.81 balls per game.
• 28 Lifetime Major League baseballs
• 43 total balls
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
9/1/12 at the Oakland Coliseum
Wow. That’s all I can say. I completely lost track of time. It was a 6:05 game with the gates opening at 4. I wanted to be there at 3, do that would mean leaving at 2.
Around 2:40, I honestly thought it was 1:40. I told my dad that I wanted I catch the 2:20 BART train to get my mom and I to the Coliseum around 3.
My dad told me it was almost 3 and I will be completely honest with you, I flipped out. The gates were going to open in just over and hour and I was still at home.
We jumped in the car and just missed the 3:00 train by about 4 minutes.
The train left around 3:20 and we arrived at the Coliseum around 3:50.
This was not going to be a good day.
I almost considered turning around multiple times, but I knew that I needed to just deal with it and go with the flow.
I ran from the train to the BART ramp and down to check gate B. It wasn’t open, so I ran up to gate MM and jumped in line there.
15 people? And it was 10 minutes until the gates opened? Hell. Yes. My mom showed up a minute later, and quickly purchased 2 bleacher seats.
She joined me in line, along with the 149 guys. I had a better feeling about this game!
When we got inside, I ran straight for the RF bleachers. I had to run through the concourse and down 3 flights of stairs, but I got there fairly quickly.
I set my stuff down in the 1st row of section 148. I pulled out my glove and saw that the A’s were taking BP.
The only ball that came close to me during A’s BP was hit 3 rows behind me and I should have had it. It was hit DIRECTLY at me, and I figured it would be right behind me. It bounced 3 rows behind me and I reached my glove to try and get it when it bounced back, but It just cleared my glove and a guy with a baby under his arm barehanded it.
The A’s portion of BP ended 5 minutes later.
I took off my A’s jersey, and headed over to where the Red Sox were playing catch.
2 players that stood out to me were Andrew Bailey and Craig Breslow, both former Athletics.
The Sox started hitting 5 minutes after I got to the RF line.
There was one ball that I had my eye on
I knew for sure it was a Fenway Park 100th anniversary commemorative ball, and I really was hoping to snag one, but when a Red Sox coach went to grab it, and when I called out for it, he ignored me.
When Andrew Bailey and Craig Breslow were done throwing, I asked Andrew Bailey for my first ball of the day.
Not commemorative. But I was still positive. I still had seen a lot of Fenway Park balls being used
The Sox were hitting ball all over the field that were not being fielded. If I had a retrieval device, I would have had at least 10 balls. But I didn’t, so I didn’t.
Then, I saw another commemorative ball in the outfield
After I got the ball from Bailey, I crouched down to take off my A’s hat and put on my Red Sox hat.
There was a guy who yelled at me for doing it, and I just ignored him.
A few minutes later, I noticed Craig Breslow coming over to pick up a ball on the warning track. I called put to him and he tossed me the ball.
I had seen him turn the ball over in his hand before tossing it to me. At first, I thought nothing of it, assuming he was making sure it wasn’t commemorative. I went to put it in my backpack, before checking the ball to see if it had the Fenway Park logo.
YES! My day was complete! I snagged a Fenway Park ball.
Like, literally, I could go home now if I wanted to. I wanted to snag just one commemorative ball, and from what I had heard, they didn’t have them in the bullpen, so I knew I would have to get a ball that had been hit.
So, do you remember the guy who had yelled at me earlier? When I called out for the ball, he yelled “NO! THAT GUY ALREADY HAS ONE!” Like before, I just ignored him. I showed him the logo, so that he knew why I wanted to try to get a ball. He seemed really pissed at me.
I tried to stay away from him, because I seemed to be getting on his nerves.
Batting practice ended just before 5, close to an hour after after the gates had opened.
I was somewhat disappointed with 2 balls, and there was one more ball I came relatively close to.
I was close to the dugout, because I knew BP would be over soon, and there was a ball hit to my right. I knew I would get it, so I ran through the rows, and it bounced softly in the section to my right. I ran to grab it, but so did that other guy.
He got his glove on the *Commemorative* ball, and at the same time my hand landed on his glove. He yelled at me to get my hands off him and that the ball was for him.
I started to walk away, but I stopped when I heard him yelling profanities at me. I just went to go tell the ushers, when he told me that he never wanted to see me chasing balls again. Apparently, I was a grown man who was stealing balls from little kids.
Huh? I was more confused than I had been in a long time. 1) I’m 14. 2) The ball was hit, not thrown. 3) If I’m a “Grown Man” and not allowed to catch balls, then why do you have 5?
It turns out that he had been catching balls for his kids, because they didn’t bring their gloves, and I’m fine with him trying to catch balls, but I wish he had been a little more mellow or something like that.
I guess I don’t have the right to try to get balls from myself? I was getting more and more confused.
Over the course of BP, he had gotten 5 balls for his kids. BTW, for future reference, all three of them were decked out from head to toe in Giants gear.
I explained to the guy that I write a blog, where I talk about my adventures at stadiums, and attempting to snag balls. I gave him my contact card, with my blog’s address on it, and walked away. I did not want to deal with him any more.
I don’t need to get into any situations like this.
I headed over to the Red Sox dugout, hoping to get a ball from someone.
I wasn’t able to get anything, so I headed over to the A’s bullpen, where I saw a few ball lying around.
I figured my best option would be to ask the ball boy for a ball. I got there, and when I did, he headed into the stands to talk to someone. She had an A’s jersey on that had a 1 on the back and said BATBOY KEVIN. I would assume that it was his girlfriend.
When he went back onto the field, I asked him for the ball, but he had already promised it to someone else.
At this point in the evening, it was 5:20, so I headed back to the bleachers, so that my mom could do out and get herself something to eat.
Soon enough, players came out onto the field to start warming up.
I would have gone over to the Red Sox bullpen, but the ushers never let me stay there longer than 3 minutes.
There was a special promotion going on for this game, called Weekend at Bernie’s. I hope you all know the back-story behind the promotion…
No? Ok. I would hope you know about the whole Bernie-ing thing, so I won’t go over that, comment down below if you would like me to explain it, and I shall add it in.
In 1989, a movie came out called Weekend at Bernie’s, staring Terry Kiser as Bernie. The Bernie became popular in Oakland, and not only did Brandon Inge put Moving like Bernie as his walk-up song, but so Coco Crisp now uses the song Bernie Lean as his walkup song.
So I hope this gives you a sense of the promotion. The first 2,000 fans to enter the stadium were given these “Bernie Masks”
And Terry Kiser threw out the first pitch. And of course, he did some dancing on the mound.
Once he had thrown the pitch, he jumped into the arms of Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick, as Brandon Inge watched on.
Time to play ball!
Josh Reddick took his place in right field
And Coco took his spot in center
In the top of the 1st, Coco Crisp came to bat. Guess what?
Lead off home run!
From our seats, my mom was able to get some awesome pictures!
In the 2nd inning, when Brandon Inge was in his first at-bat off of the DL, it was time to bernie!
And in the top of the 4th, Brandon Inge had to come out of the game. He re-aggravated his shoulder injury in the 3rd inning, making a throw. His season was unfortunately over.
A.J. Griffin was the starting pitcher for the A’s, and he was dealing!
His first 4 2/3 innings were perfect.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia stepped to the plate, and bunted for a single. Um… Stay classy, Jarrod.
He was booed for the rest of the game. Along, of curse, wit Cody Ross. If you are a right fielder in Oakland, you’re going to have a bad time. The RF bleachers are very creative. Very. Cody Ross completely missed a fly ball in foul territory early in the game. Then, he misplayed another ball in right field, crashing against the wall in complete failure, prompting the training staff to come out
And don’t worry; in the top of the 6th, the Red Sox got 2 real hits.
My view for the game was really fantastic, it is hard to beat sitting in the right field bleachers for a game!
In the 7th inning, Terry Kiser, Kara (The A’s in-game host), and the two guys behind the Bernie Lean music video came out to the right field bleachers.
This is what had caught my attention originally
Terry took a picture of the right field bleachers and then hosted a bernie dance-off, which was won by a 149 regular.
The two guys from the Bernie Lean Music video actually sat in the row behind me, in section 149. I chatted up one of the guys for a little bit, before he gave me a sheet with a QP code for a free download of the song
And in the top of the 9th inning, BoMel was on the top step of the dugout, like he always is, waiting for the A’s to win their 8th consecutive game.
That is about it. I had a great time, and didn’t really come close to any home run balls, but it was still a lot of fun!
And it turns out, when I got home and was watching the game on the DVR, I saw myself twice in the RF Bleachers.
The first time was right after Coco Crisp hit his leadoff home run, it showed me doing the Bernie. I took a picture of the TV right before I started to Bernie
And in the top of the 9th, the broadcast showed me again in the RF bleachers
Overall, I wasn’t expecting a good day, but hey, look what happened! It was an awesome day with my mom!
BALLHAWKING STATS: 
• 2 balls at this game (1 pictured because I never got a picture of the two balls together)
• 19 balls in 12 Major League games this season = 1.583 balls per game.
• 31 balls in 17 baseball games this season = 1.824 balls per game.
• 24 Lifetime Major League baseballs
• 36 total balls
• 6 consecutive games in Oakland with at least 1 ball
• 8 consecutive games with at least 1 ball
• 4 consecutive games with at least 2 balls
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
8/20/12 at the Oakland Coliseum
My mom surprised me taking me to another game just 2 days after the bobblehead / movie night. My sister was at a friend’s house and I was days from starting high school. Considering that nobody at all wants to see the Twins play at night in Oakland, she decided that it would be the perfect game for us!
Friday night, I searched around on StubHub a little and found 2 amazing pairs of tickets that I had a very hard time choosing from. Before I tell you about them, I just want you to keep in mind that were you to purchase these from the A’s website, they would be $44. And in total, there are about $5-$10 extra fees for purchasing tickets on StubHub.
The fist pair of tickets that I found was in section 120, the rightmost section behind the A’s dugout. It was listed as row 13, which considering the fact that the first row of this section is row 5 means that theses seats are row 8. I always narrow my searches down, so it only shows aisle seats and these were aisle seats. Row 8 aisle seat behind the A’s dugout. $35 each. $44-$35 = $9 difference! This also was the same section I sat in at the very end of this game.
The other tickets we considered were in section 111. That is the section to the right of the visitors dugout. The seats were row 7, also aisle seats. They were $25 each. Mind. Blown.
I had a very hard time choosing. There was a $10 difference and many ballhawking opportunities.
I made a list of cases for both sides.
Section 120:
• Tye Waller rolls the infield warm-up ball up the dugout roof every time
• There is a very good chance for a 3rd out ball
• If there is a little foul pop up in the stands, I could have a good chance at getting it
• I could probably ask for a line up card or ball as soon as the game is over
Section 111:
• If a weak foul grounder is hit, I might be able to scoop it up
• If I am wearing my Twins hat, I might have a good chance at getting 3rd out and infield warm-up balls
• The seats are right next to the dugout, closer to the action
• They are cheaper
I couldn’t decide, so I let my mom choose, and she told me she always prefers the 3rd base side over the 1st base side, so we went with Section 120.
I wasn’t expecting this to be a very popular game, so I figured we could get there 45 or so minutes before the gates opened, and we would be in good shape.
So, for a 7:05 start time and 5:35 gate opening time, I would want to get to the Coliseum sometime between 4:30 and 4:45, which meant getting to BART around 4:00ish. I was looking forward to this nice, calm, relaxing game.
My mom and I left our house around 2:45. We walked to the bus stop from our house and got there around 3:20, getting to BART around 3:50.
We got to the Coliseum around 4:20.
My mom wanted us to walk around the stadium a little, so I started off by taking this picture of her
There was nobody in line at Gate LL or MM. We headed towards gates A and D, and I was hoping to show my mom the staircase Sal and I had gone up on Saturday, but it was closed, along with gate A. There was one person in line at Gate D, and he looked pretty bored.
We made a quick stop in the D Gate team store to browse, the continued on to our destination of Gate C. I got a few pictures along the way of things like the ramp up to Will Call
The Season Ticket Holder entrance
And the Employee Entrance (Gate EE)
This is what I saw when we headed down the hill towards Gate C
There were only a couple people in line. Sweet! We got in line and set out stuff down right next to them in the front. I was ready to get in.
Literally as soon as we set our stuff down, a kid was walking into line from the parking lot and because he had his glove on at the time, an employee tossed him a ball.
I headed to the C Gate store just to waste some time and ended up watching some soccer on the TV in there with about 10 other guys. I came out and had about 30 minutes before the gates opened at 5:35. So it was about 5.
More or less, I waited until the gates opened. Once we were allowed to go in, I ran through bag check, got my ticket scanned, and sprinted to the bleachers. I got there, and set my stuff down. The Twins were taking BP. I was ready! I spent a quick moment, talking to Will, one of the 149 guys, who had just asked a Twins player for a toss up. I guess he makes sure to get a ball every game to give one to a kid in line every day.
The only guy on the field with a uniform number in his back was Glen Perkins, who is number 15. I checked my roster. As soon as I looked up, a ball was hit to Perkins, so I called out to him for ball #1 on the day.
My 2nd ball of the day was meant to be thrown to the guy in the white shirt pictured below
I reached out for the ball and caught it. After realizing he had been trying to catch it, I asked if he wanted it, and gave it to him. A minute later, he caught another ball, and offered it to me. I told him to keep it, because he had caught it.
There were a few balls I probably could have asked for, ones that went over the fence and people went to get. But I didn’t ask for them. It was 10 minutes in and I had 2 balls. I decided to take off my A’s jersey, hoping I would have a better chance at a ball.
5 or so minutes later, a ball was crushed into the tunnel between sections 149 and 148. I was about 4 sections over.
Unfortunately the Coliseum doesn’t have cross-aisles in the bleachers, just wheelchair seating areas that block potential cross-aisle.
So back to that ball. Ross, one of the guys from 149 took off for the ball. I did as well. I was running through the rows, and since I was running much faster than him, I caught up with him. The ball rolled through the concourse and into the woman’s restroom. An usher got the ball, and Ross told her to give the ball to a kid. She handed it to me, and as soon as she gave it to me, I put it in the glove of a little boy, smiled, and headed back to the bleachers. BP was ending as I got back in.
I grabbed my sharpie and headed over to the Twins bullpen, where I saw somebody signing. He was talking with his family, but I was still able to get him to sign my hat, which I was excited about.
I decided to head to my ticketed seat to check out the view and talk to my mom. She was surprised and pleased with my 3 balls in BP and the signature on my hat.
I then headed over to the A’s bullpen, in hopes of getting my 4th ball on the day. I saw a ball lying on the ground, and hoped that someone would be able to toss it to me. I waited for about 10 minutes, and right when I was about to head back, the security guard down the LF line came over. I asked him for the ball, and he told me that he isn’t allowed to.
I headed back to my seat, where my mom and I headed up to the Deli in the West Side club. There was no line, so my mom and quickly ordered sandwiches and fruit and headed back to our seats. There, I ate my fruit and talked with my mom.
I then noticed Kate Longworth, from ComcastSportsNet talking to Chip Hale, the A’s bench coach while he signed autographs. I had found a ticket on the ground, so I was hoping he would sign it, but he had to do an interview with Kate, so he headed back.
I then headed back to the bullpen. Derek Norris came out to warm-up shortly thereafter. I got him to sign the random ticket. I was hoping to get a ball from Chip Hale when he concluded warming up.
I looked over into the dugout, and saw Chip interviewing and demonstrating something. I hoped that he would be over soon, so that I could have a chance at a ball.
Once Norris was done prepping himself, Chip Hale came out of the dugout and grabbed a few balls from the ball bag.
He then went over all of the drills with Derek Norris, that I have seen him do before.
Derek missed one of the balls, and when he did, I moved over in that direction. As soon as they were done, I asked Chip Hale for the ball on the ground. As soon as I had said “Chip”, he tossed me the ball in his hand.
It was a pearl! Perfect ball, the one he hadn’t used. Beautiful.
I then ran over to where the Twins’ starting pitcher for the day was throwing. I took off my A’s jersey and threw on my Twins hat, where an usher approached me, to tell me that if I wanted to catch a ball, I have to have a ticket for that section. Even thought my ticket was right behind the dugout, I couldn’t get there. I headed back to the A’s dugout, where I saw a few guys stretching.
My mom got some great pictures
Note the ball bag right there. That is where Chip Hale had gotten the balls from earlier, and I was hoping to get one when the guys finished throwing.
I noticed Brandon McCarthy throwing with Casey Chavez, so I went over to the bullpen.
After I left for the bullpen, he finished his warm-up tosses, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get down there, so I focused on getting a ball from the A’s infielders playing catch. Adam Rosales was the lone one working on his swing.
Jemile Weeks all of a sudden ran out of the dugout, in his warm-up fleece. Just a little late I guess…
Once McCarthy was done throwing in the bullpen with Derek Norris, he tossed the ball he used to a kid in the front row and players started to come into the dugout.
I got Jonny Gomes to sign my ticket, quickly followed by Coco Crisp and Tommy Milone.
It was very weird to look out into the RF bleachers and see almost nobody there, except for the 149 regulars.
My mom got a picture of the guys in the broadcast booth. It almost seems like Glen Kuiper is looking right at the Camera.
The meeting at home plate took place
This was our view for most of the game
To the left
And the right
We were all ready to go! I was looking forward to Brandon McCarthy’s start, as I had never seen him pitch in person before.
He looked pretty goo overall
But I do have to say, it wasn’t his best start. He allowed 2 runs in the first inning, on 27 pitches.
I swear Adam Rosales adjusted his socks at least 5 times in the first 3 minutes.
I have to say my mom took some amazing pictures.
Josh Reddick and Jemile Weeks
Yoenis Cespedes
But like I said, Brandon McCarthy really struggled, which I found very disappointing
It not a good thing when the pitching coach has to come to the mound with 2 outs in the 1st inning
A bright spot in the top of the 1st was this picture that I got of section 149
Stomper, the A’s elephant mascot spent the 1st inning in our section, trying to buy food from vendors, who seemed to be very amused. My mom got this fantastic picture of me with Stomp in the background.
Josh Reddick popped up to end the A’s half of the first
Here I am with 2 of my first 4 balls on my day.
So in the bottom of the 2nd, I walked up to look at the price of the sweatshirt, and as I was walking back to the seat, I saw the boy who I had given the home run ball to earlier in BP. He had the biggest smile on his face and looked so happy, clutching the ball close to his chest.
I went over to say hi to him, and his mother told me that he hadn’t let go of the ball since I had given it to him. I gave him a high five and headed back to my seat.
1 out into the 3rd inning, Brandon had allowed 10 hits and 5 runs. Travis Blackley, the A’s long man came in. And wow! he did a great job! He allowed 1 run and 5 hits over the final 5 and 2/3 of the game.
At the top of every inning, the A’s first baseman (This game featured Chris Carter) tosses the ball to Tye Waller, the A’s 1st base coach, who will roll the ball up the dugout roof to a kid or elderly season ticket holder. A’s players always toe 3rd out balls into the stands. 2 different ball chances x 9 innings = 18 chances for balls + foul balls.
I didn’t get a ball for the first 5 innings. The closest I came was a warm-up ball, were when Tye Waller rolled the ball up, the usher for the section PUSHED fans out of the way to ensure a gloveless kid got the ball.
I got the infield warm-up ball in the top of the 6th, my 5th on the day.
After I got back to my seat with that ball, the usher approached me, telling me to stay in my seat for the rest of the game. He told me not to get any more balls and just to watch the game.
I grabbed my dad’s camera, and headed down to row 3, where I got some pictures. This was my view for the rest of the game.
I didn’t really try for any more balls, so that I wouldn’t get kicked out for pissing the usher off or anything like that.
I kind of just sat in my seat, and when someone went to toss a ball into the stands, I would just kind of hold up my glove in hopes of a ball coming near me. There was one time where I tried for a 3rd out ball from Chris Carter and the usher pointed to the 3rd row seat, telling me to go back.
Due to the fact that the A’s bullpen is not connected to the clubhouse, a lot of times, the relievers are walking back and forth from the dugout and the bullpen.
It was a lot of fun actually not to go for balls, because I got to take some pictures, and a few of them actually turned out ok!
Whenever I watch A’s game at home, one thing I notice is how tense Jonny Gomes looks at the plate
But like I said, it was so much fun just to relax in the 3rd row, taking pictures and enjoying the game.
To give you a perspective of how close the first row is, I snapped this picture of Chris Carter emerging from the dugout. I barely zoomed in at all.
Josh Reddick stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 8th, hoping to lower the Twins lead to 4 runs, but he was unable to, as he struck out on a foul tip.
After Reddick stuck out, Yoenis Cespedes stepped to the plate.
And on the 8th pitch of the at-bat, Cespedes took a huge hack at a slider and…
Flied out to left fielder and former Athletic Josh Willingham.
And just to let you know, this is the usher for the section in case you ever sit in section 121 or 120.
The A’s were unable to do anything in the bottom of the 9th, and the final score was 7-2. As Tye Waller walked in from the 1st base coach’s box, and as he started to walk down into the dugout, I called out to him, asking for the line up card, but he shook his head no.
I had already broken my record for most balls at an MLB game with 5, and was hoping to tie my record for most balls at a game of 6, which I set on July 14th at a San Jose Giants game.
I saw the A’s relievers coming in from the bullpen, and quickly scanned their hands, in hopes of getting my 6th ball on the day. I spotted a ball in Grant Balfour’s hand, and after making eye contact with him, I pounded my glove, holding it up, and had my 6th and final ball of the day.
Wow. It was a great day. I had a great time spending time with my wonderful mom and it was awesome getting 6 balls and having great seats while doing it.
The announced attendance was just under 10,000, and I decided that I need to make it to more game like that. Great day!
BALLHAWKING STATS: 
• 6 balls at this game (4 pictured because I gave 2 away)
• 17 balls in 11 Major League games this season = 1.55 ball per game.
• 26 balls in 15 baseball games this season = 1.733 balls per game.
• 22 Lifetime Major League baseballs
• 31 total balls
• 5 consecutive games in Oakland with at least 1 ball
• 6 consecutive games with at least 1 ball
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
8/5/12 at the Oakland Coliseum
This was my 2nd game in the past 6 days. Let’s go!
We left the house at 8:40 for my dad to drop my mom and I off at BART. My sister had like a sleepover or something the night before, and she was going to come later with my dad.
My mom and I got to BART at about 9:00 and the Coliseum at about 10:30.
Once we exited the BART ramp, we headed towards Gate C, where I figured I would get in line. There was nobody in this line, or the 2 up at the BART ramp. (B and A were closed) Then, my mom reminded me that we needed to get tickets to another game, so we headed over to gate D to buy the tickets. I then remembered that the cast of Nitro Circus 3D was going to be greeting people at Gate D, so I jumped in line while my mom went ahead and purchased tickets for Scott Hatteberg bobblehead day.
Now, let me say right now, it will be hell for ballhwaking. Not only is there a bobblehead (With a sound chip) giveaway, but before the game, there is an on-field reunion 30 minutes before the game starts of the 2002 team that won 20 consecutive games. Then, after the game, if you pay an extra $12, you get to go on the field and watch the movie Moneyball on a huge screen above the center field fence.
I don’t expect to snag many if any at balls, but for me, this is such a great opportunity, that I can’t pass it up.
I was the only one is line
I started talking with this security guard at the gate
He thought I was about the coolest person ever. I talked about baseball, my blog, and stuff like that. He was kind enough to show me the schedule for the day, as I had told him that I snag baseballs. On it, it said that the A’s and Jays were supposed to take BP. If this was true, I was pumped!
He was under the impression that I was an All-Star baseball player. (Not close) This may have had something to do wit the fact that I had an 2 baseball glove, one being a catchers mitt. I also told him I am a 2nd baseman and short stop. That may have led him on to believe I was a leadoff hitter that will be drafted in the first round after high school. I guess his cousin was drafted 6th overall in the last NBA draft, which I think started the whole discussion. If you ever get in line at Gate D and see him, tell him Nicholas Badders sent you.
He ended up walking away when kids starting filing out of the coliseum from some class that A’s players were giving.
This lady was walking around, saying that Chevy was giving away free sun glasses. All you had to do was sign up for a chance to win a car. I sent my mom to investigate, and she ended up getting me some green A’s sunglasses.
Right after she got back, this pulled into the parking lot.
Nitro Circus! This is who got out…
If anybody can identify them for me, that would be great!
One of the things on the myGameBalls.com photo scavenger hunt involved getting a picture of you that had a celebrity in the shot. I complied this picture to submit that I hoped would be worth 6 points.
Those pictures were taken my dad. He arrived with my sister and joined us in line 15 minutes before the gates opened.
When the gates finally opened, I grabbed the giveaway of a Jemile Weeks drawstring backpack and headed to check if there was BP. The cages were up and the Blue Jays were on the field stretching! I ran up to the concourse, threw on my Blue Jays hat, and took off my A’s jersey to reveal my MLB Fan Cave shirt. I was running all over the place.
I ran down towards the Toronto dugout, where there were some players stretching. I called out for a ball, but had no luck. BP got under way, and knowing that the Jays don’t have a lot of lefty power, headed down behind their bullpen. I quickly got a toss-up from their bullpen catcher Alex Andreopoulos.
I am very glad that I didn’t go into the bleachers. There were 2. Yes, 2, balls hit into the bleachers in all of BP. They were both off the bat of Rajai Davis, the speedster that isn’t known at all for his power and jump-started his career with the A’s. The first one bounced into the bleachers from the steps between the foul pole and seats in LF, and the other was hit into the 2nd deck, bounced out, and into the bleachers. The same guy got both. Jose Bautista didn’t hit, and guys like Edwin Encarnacion hit balls out, but ones that didn’t go into the seats.
In total, I guess about 6 balls were hit clear over the wall by the Blue Jays.
There were a decent amount of other people with me down the right field line, and almost none of them had gloves.
This probably was the most I had ever moved around in BP. I was running up and down between the Jays’ dubout and bullpen the entire time. There were no balls that were hit foul into the seats, so I mostly followed balls that were weakly hit. There was one where I leaned over the railing, and even though the usher was holding my legs, I was unable to get it.
It also didn’t help that there were about 50 kids in a roped off area that were getting balls rolled, thrown, and hit to them. About 3 had gloves. Oh well.
It turns out, before BP had started, my dad took a bunch of pictures of A’s pitchers warming up. He also got a cool picture of Casey Chavez, the A’s bullpen catcher rubbing mud on the bullpen baseballs.
Lets start off with Sean Doolitle
Pedro Figueroa:
Casey Chavez (Again)
Travis Blackley (And his awesome glove)
He got some great shots of Blue Jays hitters during BP
The security guard’s sheet was wrong, but that was no big deal. The A’s didn’t hit, but the Blue Jays did. They did end pretty quickly, though. I would guess they hit for 25 minutes. Considering the fact that they had started at 11:15 and ended at 11:40, I was somewhat disappointed. I was also excited that this gave me time to get some more things of the scavenger hunt checklist.
The first picture that I checked off after the one before the gates opened was this hopefully 10-pointer. Todd, Tim, and Kellan Cook took a picutre of Tim sitting in the Orange seat at Camden Yards, holding up Todd’s phone with a picture of Cal Ripken Jr.
I took a photo imitating it. But, I was sitting in the seat, where David Ortiz’s 400th HR had landed.
Then, my dad decided to get this picture.
After this, we headed up to the 3rd deck, as I wanted to try out a cool new iPhone app I had found call 360. It is a 360 degree panoramic picture app. It free, and cool. If you have an IOS device, you should get it. I went to the last row and took this.
I also got this picture on my phone’s regular camera
Then, we headed to get another picture off the checklist. For 2 points, you need to get a picture with a statue in/at the stadium. Right by the Westside Club, I complied this picture
3 statues. From left to right, the 2008 Statue of Liberty All-Star Game A’s statue, the A’s giant piggy bank statue, and the 2010 Mickey Mouse All-Star Game A’s statue.
Then, we headed into the Westside Club, which I believe I have never mentioned before on this blog. It is basically a restaurant/bar in the Coliseum. They even have a custum sandwhich place called Deli 215.
From the Westside Club, we headed back to our seats. I there realized that we didn’t have aisle seat. Other than catching a foul ball, my goal for the game was to find an aisle seat a few rows up.
Shortly after I got back, I went with my sister to get an ice cream helmet, which she thoroughly enjoyed.
When we got back, I grabbed my glove and headed over to where Derek Norris was playing catch with bench coach Chip Hale
When Norris was done, I called out to him for a ball, but it turns out Chip Hale had all of them, and he tossed all 3 of the balls that he had to deserving little kids with gloves.
At this point, Tommy Milone was just about done playing catch with Casey Chavez, and was headed to warm up in the bullpen.
halfway through his warm up tosses, Stomper in his “Smiling Chevron Car” and his “herd” ran around the warm-up track with all of their “goodies.” They had the usual bead necklaces and Ryan Sweeney jerseys that were giveaways in 2010 or something like that.
I got a yellow necklace and gave it to a kid who was sad because he hadn’t gotten anything.
As the A’s relievers started to walk in from the clubhouse, everyone (Minus Pat Neshek) was signing for fans down the line. I got my ticket signed by Pedro Figueroa and then Jerry Blevins.
My family always seems disappointed when I sit by myself at games and go for balls, so at this game, I made a point to make sure to sit with my sister, who utterly hates me ballhawking. This my view for the game.
As usual, my dad got some amazing pictures. Like, really good pictures. As usual, I am going to share them with you.
Anthony Gose bunting in the top of the first inning
Coco Crisp fouling off a pitch
Josh Reddick at bat in the bottom of the first inning
Tom Milone pitching
Derek Norris at this dish
Brandon Inge rounding the base on Norris’s double
Coco Crisp swinging
Yoenis Cespedes swinging
Somebody on the Blue Jays hitting
Evan Scribner in the bullpen
Tom Milone releasing a pitch
Coco Crisp at the plate
Birds on the tarps on the 3rd deck
Rajai Davis swinging
Sean Doolittle in the bullpen
Pedro Figueroa warming in the bullpen
So I bet you are all wondering about foul balls during the game. There were 2 into the seats within 10 yards of me. There were 5 or so that the ball boy could have handed to me, but didn’t. So the two that landed in the seats… 1 bounced on the field and into the second row in the section to my left.
The other I should have caught. I am hitting myself over this. The ball was hit right at me. I lost it in the sky, but I eventually found it. It bounced softly 2 rows behind me and iI ran back and stuck my glove on the ball, which was in a cup holder. I held it there for a few seconds, then pulled it off. I grabbed it with my hand, but some lady yanked it out of my hand. Good going lady. An usher came over and asked if everyone was ok, so I told him that I was emotionally wounded. He chuckled and asked why. I explained. The lady offered the ball to me, but I told here to find a little kid to give it to.
I tried to stay happy, but I was just frustrated about the ball. I should have been able to hold onto it, but it left my hand. There isn’t anything I can do about it at this point.
Tommy Milone just wasn’t on his game, and allowed 6 runs over the course of his 6 innings. Going into the bottom of the 9th, the A’s had RBI doubles from Derek Norris and Coco Crisp, and a 3-run home run from Josh Reddick.
Norris stepped to the plate in the 9th, hoping to extend the game.
Just foul! By just a few feet too! He fouled off 2-3 pitches barely foul, eventually striking out. The A’s would lose 6-5. No Pie. No Kool and the Gang. But overall, it was a fun day!
Before we left, there was one more thing I wanted to do. I had seen a ball under the advertisement board by the bullpen, and something came to my mind. One more thing on the photo scavenger hunt list was to retrieve a ball from the field using items strictly from concession stands. I found a cardboard tray, and after a little modifying, tried to retrieve the ball. This is the photo I submitted.
And on our way out, I saw this sign, which the A’s took down the next day. I miss Kurt Suzuki. I hope he does well in our nation’s capitol.
BALLHAWKING STATS: 
• 1 ball at this game
• 9 balls in 9 Major League games this season = 1 ball per game.
• 18 balls in 12 baseball games this season = 1.5 balls per game.
• 14 Lifetime Major League baseballs
• 23 total balls
• 3 consecutive games in Oakland with at least 1 ball
• 4 consecutive games with at least 1 ball
Nick Badders is a unofficial reporter for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook or follow him @nickbatters or his blog @7000ColiseumWay on Instagram. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
1/29/12 at A’s FanFest
Wow. I was looking through my post library and noticed I never uploaded this. I got all the way through and just forgot to publish it. Wow. I apologize. I still think you all would enjoy reading it, so here it is!
Boy oh boy oh boy. Where do I begin?
So my family left our house around 7:45ish and arrived at the Coliseum at 8:20ish. From there, my dad and I went to go stand in line for single-game tickets. The tickets went on sale at 9. When we got there, I figured that the line wasn’t too bad.
Well we stood in line at D-Gate Box office for a while. A long while.
I waited, rocking my A’s DownFlap hat like a boss.
I had figured that the line would move pretty fast, but wow was I wrong. We waited in line for a while. FanFest started at 10am and right before Oracle Arena opened, I was about here in line.
Yeah… the line was moving slowly. Very slowly. I spent most of the time in line on my phone, tweeting, and playing Angry Birds. (No, not Temple Run because I don’t have an iPhone.) We reached the front of the lne at about 10:30. My dad and I decided on tickets to two games. Like I said an entry or two ago, we were planning on buying tickets to a Giants and Dodgers game. For the Giants game, we got seats right behind the Giants bullpen, like row 6. For the Dodgers game, we got like row 5 tickets, behind the A’s bullpen. I swear there was one guy who was the first person in line for tickets, and he was still there buying tickets when we left. Dang.
After we bought those tickets, we headed to the car to get our stuff then headed to the Arena. Time for FanFest! We went from the car to the Arena, were we stood in line for a minute or two to get in. Once in, we got programs, and took it all in. There was a huge crowd at the entrance, because there were players mingling with fans. Chris Carter, Tom Milone, and Eric Sogard were there, taking pictures and interacting with fans. Some guy mistook Chris Carter for Brandon Allen. It was so funny. But anyways, I got a picture with Tom Milone (Now one of my favorite A’s pitchers)
and Eric Sogard
Eric is a great guy and I am glad he is getting such a great opportunity with the A’s.
After all the players were rushed away, I decided that the best option would be to walk around once and see what all was going on. We headed to the left, and the first thing we saw was a booth where you could take a picture with 2 current or former A’s players. There was a schedule for players or something, and as we walked by, Scott Hatteberg and David Justice from the A’s historic 2002 team were the ones taking pictures. As we walked farther around the concourse, we realized how huge the line really was. There must have been a 30 minute wait at least.
Shorty after we got to the point where the line wrapped around, we noticed another new line. I looked at my program and I saw it was the line for autographs. There were 4 of them around the stadium and all equally long. I quickly peeked in and saw Dallas Braden signing.
Then, we passed the 95.7 The GAME and KFOX radio station booths. 95.7 The Game is the A’s radio station, and KFOX is their sister station. There were also a few food stands and an A’s merchandise stand behind the two booths.
As I kept walking, I saw another line and after taking a quick look inside, I saw Tyson Ross, Vida Blue, and Joey Devine.
As we kept walking, we passed the Fantasy Camp booth, which was followed by the Mathletics booth. Mathletics is basically an A’s math program, for those of you who don’t know.
My mom picked up a few Mathletics books for my sister and I, because once you complete them, you send it in and get 2 free A’s tickets. I completed it as soon as we got home and sent it in the mail the next day.
Then, we passed a memorabilia sale, with game-used items and the A’s Kids Club Sign-up booth. The Stockton Ports also had a booth a little ways down, and they had hundreds and hundreds of Ports silly bands and stuff tat all of the little kids throughout the day were wearing.
Once we passed the Ports booth, I saw the 3rd autograph line, and we just kept walking, until we got to the 4th autograph line, and the place where there was supposed ti be a player meet and greet, which had since been abandoned. I guess that was what they had been doing at the entrance.
At this point it was about 11:00, and my dad and I went into the seating area to watch the Q&A session on the court. They had just finished up with Bob Melvin, David Forst, Jarrod Parker, and Josh Reddick. We waited in our seats for about 15 minutes, as my mom and sister explored a little more. They found us just in time for the 2nd session to start.
Dick Callahan, the A’s P.A. announcer at the Coliseum and Kara, the A’s in-game host introduced the next set of A’s players.
This panel featured new bench coach Chip Hale, catcher Kurt Suzuki, and infielders Cliff Pennington, Jemile Weeks, and Adam Rosales.
Right before the panel started, I got a text from my friend Michael, who was also at FanFest, saying he was going to ask the first question. He, like me is a 2nd baseman, and he asked Jemile Weeks a question about how to get better at playing 2nd base.
The who thing was very interesting, and I really enjoyed it.
Once it was noon, the panel was over, so I decided to find some lunch. I ended up getting an overpriced slice of pizza, and eating it in my seat, waiting for the next session to start.
The next Question & Answer featured Ray Fosse, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, and Gene Tennace from the A’s 70′s dynasty teams.
As well as Scott Hatteberg, who talked about hitting the walk-off grand slam, the 2002 season, and his time with the A’s.
The 6th person in the group was David Justice, who answered questions about being given a chance to play in 2002, and talked about the 20 game win streak, and stuff like that.
It was great to hear from all 6 of those guys, and it was especially interesting to hear from all of the guys who played in the 70′s and their stories.
Once this panel was over, I realized that there was only 1 hour left, and still a lot of stuff that I wanted to do. I was still hoping to get a photo with the 4 World Series trophies, do the Comcast SportsNet SportsCaster Experience, and tour the clubhouse, all of which are located in the same general area.
I deiced that we should go ahead and do the clubhouse tour, and see what we have time for after that, considering how long the lines would be for the other 2 things.
My dad did get a picture of the World Series trophies, however.
The line was pretty long, but I figured that in the end, it would all be worth it, as the other two lines looked long enough that I wouldn’t get to do anything else.
On the way to the Coliseum, we walked past the Warriors’ player entrance
There were also some signs about how you shouldn’t impersonate people in the NBA and stuff like that
After we passed this, we to into the open air, and walked a little ways to the Coliseum. Then, we entered a green and gold and grey and black striped tunnel, which I assumed led to the clubhouse.
Then, we went down some stairs.
After more walking, I saw this sign, which I figured meant we were heading in the right direction.
We also passed the A’s weight room.
Then, we turned a corner, and I saw the A’s clubhouse. Before we got into the clubhouse, we had to walk a little ways. We passed the office of A’s equipment manager, Steve Vucinich.
It looked like he had a nice office…
That you aren’t allowed to snivel in
Once you pass his office, the wall on the left his covered with every issue of Sports Illustrated every printed with the A’s on the cover
On the right wall, there is a huge case of A’s memorabilia. Stuff like hats and jerseys.
There were a lot of issue of Sports Illustrated
And some of the A’s memorabilia was really cool! There was a bobblehead that was the only one of its kind made.
There was also a long line of A’s game-used hats and helmets
Hands down, my favorite hat is the Turn-Ahead-the-Clock hat, which they wore in the 90′s for Turn-Ahead-the-Clock day in MLB, which is the one on the top left
After all of the cool stuff, we entered the clubhouse
This is what it looks like
I looked at all of the lockers thoughout the clubhouse. Some of them had nameplates, some of them didn’t. Some had things in them, some didn’t. Here are Michael Taylor and Brandon McCarthy’s lockers.
Brett Anderson
Andrew Carigan and Dallas Braden
I had noticed that there were players shaking hands with people and the first person I saw was Brandon Allen
The first guy in the line of players was Eric Sogard, who recognized me immediately, and seemed very happy about it, too.
Then, there was Tommy Milone, who also recognized me.
Then Mike Gallego. Everyone is my family was amazed at how short he is. At BaseballReference.com, he is listed at 5’8″. Then, you take away 3 inches, and that is how tall Mike Gallego is.
Then, there was Brandon allen. Overall, it was a really, really, cool experience.
On our way out of the clubhouse, we passed the kitchen, which I immediately recognized from the Moneyball scene featuring Scott Hatteberg and David Justice talking.
Then I saw this sign that caught my eye.
After zooming in, this is what the sign says.
For me, or any ballhawk, I find this sign huge. It lists the times that the A’s are supposed to finish hitting for each game time, as well as the infield times.
We exited back though the way we came, and after a family discussion, decided it was time to go.
I wanted to take one last peek into the arena to see what was going on and this is what I saw.
Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson were signing autographs. My dad told me that I could head down there, and try to get my copy of Sports Illustrated with Dallas Braden on the cover signed.
I didn’t get any autographs, as they had to leave, but it was still cool!
Wow! It was a crazy insane day. I waited in line for a long time, got tickets for games far in advance, and had an amazing time at FanFest!
Now, I apologize for taking so long to get this up. I thought I had uploaded it, but I guess I had not. I hope you enjoy it! Comment, letting me know what you think, and have a great day!
Nick Badders
