Category: stockton ports
7/27/13 at Banner Island Ballpark
Origionally, I was supposed to go to the A’s game this day. It was 1969 Turn-Back-The-Clock day, with a T-Shirt giveaway. The start time was 12:05 and I had just gotten back from vacation the night before, so I wasn’t really wanting to go to the game.
I was sitting on 93 balls combined between MLB and MiLB, so my 7th ball of the day would be a special one. Keep that in mind!
We sold our 2 seats on StubHub and used the money to buy tickets to that night’s Ports game! It was a Drew Granier jersey, the Ports new Friday Alternate one.
The funny thing is that Granier was promoted to AA in Mid-June. Still, cool!
This was going to be a popular game, but I was looking forward to it, as I was sitting on 93 lifetime balls between MLB and MiLB and was hoping to snag #100 today.
My goal was to be in Stockton by 4pm for BP, and my dad and I ended up arriving there at 3:58, so it was perfect timing!
The parking lot was not yet open, so my dad dropped me off, while he went to go wait for the lot to open. I found Vanessa at the front of the line, she had come to this game with Ryan Dalton, who was out behind LF looking for any random balls.
I talked with her for about 20 minutes, as BP got underway around 4:25. I had gotten an official conformation that the gates would be opening at 5:35, rather than 6pm, so I was excited for a potential half hour of BP inside the stadium!
When Ryan and I headed out back, the San Jose Giants were stretching down the LF line.
Meanwhile, the Ports were finishing their catch, having already completed their stretching.
My first ball of the day was curtsey of Addison Russell.
He lined a ball towards the Berm in Right-Center field, and since it was hit hard, it kept rolling past the berm, setting in the bush past the ballpark fence. I had a hunch, so I ran over there, dug through the bushes, and picked it up, coming back to show my dad and Ryan, as I was on the board!
Meanwhile, Ryan chased down a ball, for his first snag on the day.
The next guy in the cage was Bruce Maxwell.
From what I heard from Ryan and Vanessa, Bruce is a class act. Great guy! More on him later on…
Ryan and I were having a good time, as a moment later, he chased down another ball, that was hit towards the Marina, almost in the same spot as the other.
There were 3 rounds of 4 hitters each, and at this point, there was one group left in Ports BP, at this point, it was just past 5pm.
One of the hitters in the final group was Bobby Crocker. Here we go…
He BOMBED at ball down the Left Field line, and I broke off sprinting. Other than me and Ryan, there was one other ballhawk out there, a guy in a Giants hat and orange shirt. He was about 50 feet to my right, so he had a much better shot at the ball.
If you go back 2 pictures, you will see yellow caution tape and logs underneath it.
The ball was hit and we both took off running. It looked like the ball was going to hit the pavement, then roll fast, so he broke past the point of the caution tape. I took a direct line towards where the ball was headed, in hopes to cut it off from the other guy. The ball hit a tree, landing in the circle of dirt around the tree.
As he was much closer, he was almost guaranteed the ball. However, as he was running, he tripped on one of the logs. According to Ryan, as well as my dad, he just ATE IT. They both agreed if he hadn’t done so, I would have had no chance with the ball.
As soon as I picked up the ball, I heard Ryan yell “NICK THIS ONE’S YOU!” I looked up and the ball was coming straight for me. The other guy was still phased from his spill, so he hadn’t caught up with me. I took a few steps forward, in a perfect spot to catch it on the bounce. I got the ball on the bounce,
As soon as I caught the ball, the guy came running up from behind me and gave me a hard slap on the arm, in an attempt to knock the ball out of my glove.
I didn’t let go of either ball and came back to join my dad and Ryan.
That guy didn’t move from this spot for the rest of Ports BP. He was pissed that he had fallen and not gotten either ball.
How pissed was he? A ball landed 10 feet to his right and he didn’t move to go pick it up. Ryan was able to WALK over and grab it for his 3rd ball of the day!
I finished Ports BP with 3 balls, the same as Ryan.
Then came the Giants BP…
Quickly, I got a ball in Giants BP, when Ricky Oropesa lined a ball over the Ports bullpen.
It hit the base to the scoreboard and more or less stopped. Ryan figured there was no way to get it, but I reached under the fence and picked it up for my 4th ball on the day!
Neither of us got any balls up until the points at which the gates opened.
We headed back at 5:20, to join Vanessa, who had stayed in line, saving us all a spot. The gates opened at 5:35, and I headed right for the berm in right-center field.
Soon, a ball was hit back behind the inflatable kids slide in right field. I ran over and picked it up for ball #5.
I then ran over to the RF wall, where Edward Concepcion was picking up a ball. Without having to ask, he tossed it to me for ball #6. I needed 1 more to reach 100 combined balls.
Moments later, Brock Bond launched a ball high, right at me. I moved back to the edge of the berm and secured it in my glove. Ball 100!
I know most people don’t think this is a big deal, it’s “cheap to count them together. Think of it this way. Ichiro is almost at 4000 hit combined between Japan and MLB. That’s still a big deal, right?
About 5 minutes later, I was joined by Ryan, who hadn’t snagged any balls inside. He then walked over to the slide and picked up two balls that were just sitting there. HOW HAD I NOT SEEN THEM. I felt ridiculously stupid, however he had missed one, and I picked it up for #8 on the day!
BP then came to a close, at which point I ran down to the cage, in hopes of snagging a ball that was lying around. I spotted a ball sitting by the Ports dugout and called out to Chris Lofton who picked it up and tossed it to me. It turned out to be an MLB ball! I then put it in my backpack and took one out, giving it to the nearest kid.
At this point, I joined back up with Ryan and Vanessa, as we sat in our seats and talked for roughly half an hour.
We then noticed Bruce Maxwell, the Ports catcher (Whom I had mentioned earlier in the entry), signing autographs down the right field line.
Ryan, Vanessa, and I headed over there, where Ryan and I both got him to sign a ball for us. Bruce is a class act!
Meanwhile, this guy was busy getting photos and cards signed.
We headed back to our seats and talked for another 10 or so minutes, as the Ports began to warm up.
Over on the 3rd base side, the Giants were doing the same.
One interesting thing I noticed was that the Giants had brought a bat boy with them, so there was no need for the usual guy in a Ports uniform to sit in the dugout. My guess is that he is the manger’s son.
As both teams were starting to play catch, I swung over to the Ports team store to get a new hat, as my current one was a size too small and about to cut off the circulation to the rest of my body.
I emerged from the team store, stuck on my *San Jose* Giants hat, and ran down to where they were finishing up with catch, where I failed to get a ball.
Ryan, Vanessa, and I once again reconvened behind the Giants dugout to talk for a little while longer, where we saw something quite amusing take place.. A 3 year-old boy was celebrating his birthday at the game, and the Ports let him throw out the first pitch. He was also going to say play ball before the game got underway, so after the first pitch, he hung out by the Ports dugout.
He made several attempts to run onto the field, being scooped up and carried back to the on-deck circle by people including his mother, Jeremy (The Ports In-Game host), as well as one of the umpires.
It’s the little things that make you smile.
Around 7:10, the national anthem was sung.
And it was time to play some baseball!
Ryan and I headed out to the parking lot to chase foul balls, as the Ports allow unlimited re-entry privileges.
On the mound for the Ports was James Simmons
In the bottom of the first inning, Bobby Crocker stepped to the plate to lead off the Ports half of the first. He popped a pitch over the roof and the ball settled under a car. I ran over and picked it up! It was my 3rd straight MiLB game with a foul ball!
Meanwhile, on the mound for the Giants was Kelvin Marte
He struggled in the 2nd inning, but came back strong after that.
Will showed up in the first inning, as he was pulling a doubleheader. He went to the A’s game in Oakland, went to an Eric Sogard signing in Dublin, then came to the Ports game.
Anyway… He has a great relationship with Ports manager Webster Garrison, or “Webby.”
Every time Webby would jog over to the 3rd base coach’s box, he points to Will, as Will yells “Webby!”
He’s a really cool dude!
One thing Vanessa had been mentioning throughout the game was how she loved Ryan Cavan’s mustache. I can understand why!
Oh, and also in the 2nd inning, Antonio Lamas and Dusty Robinson hit back to back home runs!
The Ports had the 3-1 lead after 2 innings, but starting in the 3rd inning, San Jose came charging and never looked back. They scored 1 run in 3rd inning, as well as the 4th inning, then added on 2 in the 5th, and 3 more in the 7th, making it 8-3 at the 7th inning stretch.
I spent the first 6 innings in the parking lot, chasing foul balls, as well as talking with a ballhawk named John, who had just moved from Omaha to Reno. Really cool guy! He’s been to over 40 Minor League stadiums and is going to be starting an MLBlog soon, so keep on the lookout!
I only had the 1 foul ball after the first 6 innings, so I decided to come back inside and go for 3rd out balls and actually enjoy a bit of the game.
Remember that bat boy I talked about earlier? I found it kind of funny that he was wearing a Stockton Ports helmet with the rest of his San Jose uniform.
Seriously though, Ryan Cavan has an amazing mustache!
In the top of the 7th, San Jose tacked on those 3 runs against one of the newer Ports relievers, Schaffer Hall.
He had started the season with the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League, but after playing a game with the River Cats (And Getting the win, might I add), he was sent down to Stockton, where he started 7 of his first 8 games, and has been in the bullpen since.
Jeff Soptic came in to pitch the 7th inning for the Giants. Not only is his name cool, but he makes fantastic faces on the mound.
In that bottom of the 7th, the Ports scored 3 runs, shortening the Giants lead to 8-5.
In the top of the 8th, I hung out by the Ports dugout, in hopes of snagging a foul ball or 3rd out ball. Eric Sim struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning, and thankfully Bruce Maxwell kept the ball. I called out to him, he recognized me from pre-game, and tossed me the ball.
It was my 11th ball on the day, a new all-time record for me! Since Bruce is one of Vanessa and Ryan’s favorite players, they thought the ball was pretty cool!
In the bottom of the 9th, I moved myself down close to the Giants dugout in hopes of getting their lineup card, or a broken bat, as there had been one earlier in the game.
However, there was a scare in the 9th inning. With 1 out, and runners on 1st and 2nd, Myrio Richard was hit in the head with a pitch from Derek Law.
It was scary. How scary? Ryan almost caught the ball. He was sitting in the first row, and the ball nearly landed in his glove, but he appropriately decided it would be inappropriate to make a real attempt for the ball, given what had just happened.
He ended up only being a bit shaken up, so he loaded the bases, brining the winning run to the plate with only 1 out, as Myrio representing the tying run.
Josh Whitaker and B.A. Vollmuth both struck out, sealing the 8-5 W for San Jose.
After the game, I rushed down to the Giants dugout to try and get the lineup card. I asked the Giants manager, Andy Skeels for it, but he gave me a look like I was an alien, peeled the lineup card off, and put it in his binder. I then asked Lipso Nava, their hitting coach for the broken bat. He asked me why I would want a splintered bat, but before I could respond, he left the dugout.
At this point, I left for the Ports dugout, just hoping that there lineup card would still be there. I asked both Myrio and Bruce for the card, but neither of them was “allowed” to give it to me.
I ended up asking the bat boy, and he peeled it off and gave it to me!
Then, Ryan popped his head out from next to the dugout with what? THE BROKEN BAT!
How cool is that?!?
We then got a group picture, Ryan holding his bat, me holding the lineup card and 4 balls, and Vanessa holding the other 6 baseballs I snagged on the day.
My dad then got a picture of me with the lineup card (Which was typed) and all of my baseballs from the day in my MLB Network drawstring backpack.
Then, Ryan noticed what he thought was a stat sheet, so he called over Jeremy, the Ports in-game host. He peeled it off the wall, and it turned out to be from the last game Ports Ryan had been at, on July 19th!
At that point, we had noticed the Rosin bag sitting on the dugout bench, so Vanessa asked Jeremy if we could hold it.
I got a picture with it.
And so did Vanessa.
COOL STUFF!
And no, I didn’t get to keep it. As much as I would have wanted to, there is a 50% chance it had been on Tim Hudson’s head at some point, and I don’t really want to run that risk. Not only that, but there is a good chance it will spontaneously combust.
But the best reason of all for not keeping it was given to me by Chris Kusiolek (@Oak_AllDay on Twitter)
I asked Jeremy if they really need it that bad, but he said they do, so there goes that….
Anyway… it was a REALLY fun day! I had a great tim ballhawking with Ryan (We snagged 19 balls combined) and it was a lot of fun to hang out with him and Vanessa for the day. Hopefully I’ll be back at Banner Island soon!
- 20th Game of the Year… 6th MiLB Game of the Year
- 11 balls at this game
- 47 MiLB Balls in 6 MiLB Games = 7.83 MiLB Balls Per Game
- 12 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 1 Ball
- 6 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 5 Balls
- 62 Lifetime Minor League baseballs
- 104 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.
5/27/13 at Banner Island Ballpark
Time for some more Minor League Baseball in sunny California!
Originally, I had tickets for the 1:05 A’s/Giants game in Oakland. Knowing how slim my chances of snagging a ball were, and based on my previous Giants game in Oakland, along with the fact that I don’t have the patience to deal with the stupidity of drunk Giants fans (Beer in cheaper in Oakland than San Francisco), I decided to sell our two tickets for the game on StubHub.
Since they were part of my season ticket plan, when I sell tickets on StubHub, I can choose to have my profit go towards my A’s account. That means that I won’t have to pay as much for my season tickets next year. I also sold my tickets to the A’s/Giants exhibition game in Oakland back in March, so between these two games, I’ve made $130. That’s $130 that we won’t have to pay towards season tickets next year!
All of a sudden, I realized that I wouldn’t be going to a game on Memorial Day. I headed over to the Ports website to look at tickets for a game in June, when I saw this…
I had been thinking about this game already, but now, my mind was made up!
I didn’t have school on Friday, so I had a 4-day weekend, and my parents told me that I had to finish my homework before they would buy the tickets. I finished it, showed them this, and it was a done deal!
My mom decided she didn’t want to go, but my sister did, so my dad went ahead and bought 5 tickets. Why 5? We got 3 seats where my dad and I have say for our last two Ports games, right next to the visitor dugout, so that 3 the of us could sit there, but my sister and I each individually purchased a ticket behind the Ports dugout, which would allow me to go for 3rd out balls over there as well.
My dad had to leave for his 3rd business trip of the month on Tuesday morning, so he wanted to get back before it was too late on Monday night. His goal was to be home by 9pm after the 6pm game, which would mean leaving around 8pm. If you know me, you know that that was the last thing I wanted. After all, I was hoping to grab the lineup card!
My hope was that given the fact Reddick was rehabbing, I wanted to get all of both Batting Practices. My though was that if the gates opened at 5pm, I would want to get there around 2pm, which would mean we would need to leave the house around 1pm. We were in for a LONG day!
Fast-Forward to Monday afternoon.
We left our house shortly after 1pm. Around 1:40pm, I decided to check the weather in Stockton, as it was raining when we left my house. What did the weather forecast say?
Rain until 4pm. WHAT THE HECK???
I was beyond pissed! We considered stopping at an outlet mall, but decided to tough it out and keep heading on to Stockton with hopes of BP.
We arrived in Stockton just after 2pm. I ran over to check to see if the cages just magically happened to be set up.
I didn’t get a picture, but THEY WERE!!! AND PLAYERS WERE HITTING!!!
My sister and I sprinted out behind LF just in time for the last hitter to finish up. Super…
We decided to just walk around by the marina and out behind RF to see if there were magically any balls. Nope.
It was starting to rain, so we headed back to the car. From there, we took a short drive down the street to a thrift shop. We spent 15 minutes there, before we all got bored. We decided to head back, as there was NOTHING else to do.
It was around 2:45 at this point. Pascale and I decided to go back out to the LF area, this time to play some catch.
Around this time, players started taking the field. Pitchers like Seth Frankoff began playing catch.
The position players were just arriving in the dugout.
Remember how I said Josh Reddick was playing? He was all suited up for BP!
The pitchers were playing catch in center field.
And the position players were stretching.
And they began to throw and play catch.
I only showed 2 pictures, but in all, it took about 30 minutes before they started hitting. I was getting anxious!!
The first guy to step into the cage was Wade Kirkland.
And I was on the board quickly!
He lined a ball over the bullpens, where it rolled under the fence and into my glove!
There was a mark on the ball, most likely from the bat.
The next guy to step into the cage was catcher Philip Pohl.
He then hit a ball in the same spot Kirkland had, and I had ball #2!
Next in the cage was Ryan Delgado.
He BOMBED one out of the stadium that hit off the Stockton Arena. I ran over and picked it up for ball #3 on the day.
After that, it was pretty quiet.
Rashun Dixon had some good hacks.
Then, came the real show of BP. Josh Reddick.
Between me, my sister, and my dad, there were lots of pictures taken!
He was BOMBING them out!
Then, he hit one that I saw roll hard through the grass of the CF berm. I ran over to check.
Sure enough, it was sitting right next to the fence. I grabbed it for ball #4 on the day! And it was a Josh Reddick BP homer!
That was honestly it for Ports BP. Nothing much exciting happened.
66ers BP was worse.
There were a few pitchers throwing bullpen sessions.
You know it’s bad when they don’t hit a single ball over the outfield wall.
I was pretty fet up.
Around 4:20, it got to the point where I knew that they wouldn’t hit anything out, so I headed to go get in line.
The gates were supposed to open at 5pm for the 6pm start, so I figured I would be close to the front.
I got there, and ushers were opening the gates… WHA???
I got my ticket scanned, and I was in at 4:30!!
I headed for a place down the LF line where I had seen a few balls land. No luck. I decided I wanted to try some ballhawking on the berms, so I decided to head out there.
Then, I looked up and a ball hit by Matthew Scioscia (the son of Angels manager Mike Scioscia) was flying my way. I looked up and after it bounced in the seats, I scooped it up for ball #5 on the day!
Then, I headed out to the metroPCS Home Run Hill.
Back where my dad was, this was the scene near the gates. It was 4:35. Un.be.lievable.
My sister was chilling out on the berm with me as well.
Then, someone on the 66ers hit a ball that bounced off the roof of a private seating area between the RF and CF berms. I was on the CF one, so as soon as I saw it off the bat, I took off running. I sprinted over to where it was rolling, but some guy that was walking by scooped it up.
There were a lot of balls that were just a few feet away from the wall. If only I had a retrieval device!
You can see it in his hand in the picture below.
The 66ers were hitting like crap…
But I was enjoying running around!
Eventually, BP came to a close, just before 5pm.
That’s when I saw these people show up!
In the #3 jersey is Will MacNeil, then the guy in the A’s hoodie is “famous” Jorge. Over Jorge’s right shoulder is Anson.
Why were they here? For Reddick’s rehab of course!
Once the 66ers finished BP, they took infield practice.
When they were done with that, Zach Wright tossed me one of the balls they had used. It was my 6th ball of the day.
After that, my sister and I walked around the concourse a bit. We got some food, sat in our seats, talked, and were REALLY bored!
As the 66ers started walking towards the dugout, I caught a few of them and was able to get my ticket signed.
At this point, I headed over to the walkway, where players were coming out, hoping to catch Josh Reddick at some point.
This is the tunnel that the players walk out of.
As you can see, there is a special walkway just for them.
Everyone was crowded, waiting for the players to come down.
See those costumes in the corner?
This is what they looked like…
Stockton is the asparagus capital of the world, so those would be the asparagus heads for the “Asparagus Race.” Like the Brewers sausage race. Except not sausages…
It was around this time, that I spotted Omar Gutierrez, with his kids known as “The Champ” and “Super J.” They were able to get Addison Russell’s autograph.
This ball is for sure a keeper!
They got a few other players to sign their program.
Then, Super J got Splash to sign his mask!
And yes, of course, Josh Reddick did come onto the field.
But he didn’t stop to sign autographs.
After most of the players had taken the field, everyone began to stretch and warm up.
Then, they all started playing catch.
It was funny. The entire time, Josh Reddick was doing something different than the rest of the team. He was off in his own little world!
Since it was Memorial Day, there were special people there to present the colors.
A veteran threw out the first pitch.
And we were ready to go! The umpires took the field!
And the lineup cards were exchanged.
And the players took the field.
The National Anthem was played.
And it was time to go!
Does this face have any significance to you?
His name is Mike Huss. Why is he special? Well a week before, Will MacNeil had been at the Ports game, which had gone into 17 innings. In the 15th inning, he yelled something out ‘Terrible strike zone, midget!’ to Mike Huss, who was the home plate umpire. Obviously, it was nothing inappropriate or vulgar, but the umpire took it the wrong way. What did he do? He EJECTED Will from the game!
Now, keeping that in mind, read this article. How funny is that?!?! Also check out this article on MiLB.com about the incident Quite amusing! I seriously recommend reading both articles, they will be well worth your time!
Josh Bowman was on the mound for Stockton.
The first inning was a bit rough for him.
Zach Borenstein singled to left field, scoring Eric Stamets.
This made it a 1-0 game.
Josh Reddick was hitting 2nd in the lineup for the Ports.
In the top of the 1st, he grounded out for the 2nd out.
Then, Max Muncy flied out to LF to end the inning.
I still find it amusing that Mike Huss was umpiring!
The 2nd inning was the killer inning for Stockton.
After a walk, hit by pitch, Sac bunt, and strikeout, the 66ers had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 3 outs.Then, they strung together 2 singles,a home run, and a double, bringing the score to 6-0.
Brandon Efferson was pitching for Inland Empire in this game.
For those of you who don’t know, Webster Garrison is the Ports manager, and he is very good friends with Will and Ross.
The Ports have this 2012 A’s AL West Champs banner in the stadium, listing all of the former Ports on the team.
In the Ports half of the 2nd inning, they had 2 1-out hits, one of them from Antonio Lamas.
But they were unable to capitalize on the 2 hits.
Remember this game when my high school played at Banner Island Ballpark? Well this is the dugout that we had been in.
In the top of each inning, I sat behind the Ports dugout, hoping for a 3rd out ball. There was a lot of competition.
The 66ers catcher in this game was Abel Baker.
In the 3rd inning, with 1 out, Dusty Robinson stepped to the plate.
He lined out to the 3rd baseman.
Addison Russell ended up grounding out to end the inning.
The 4th inning was quiet for Inland Empire.
Josh Bowman had settled down, retiring them in the 4th, despite a 1-out single.
In the middle of the 4th inning, the Ports do this thing where they pick 10 or so kids to chase Splash around the field.
Yeah…
BUT… Super J was lucky enough to be one of the kids that gets to do it!!
Cool stuff!
In the bottom of the 4th, Josh Reddick led off.
He fouled off a lot of pitches…
And had a tough at bat…
But he ended up popping out to the SS.
This was the inning where Brandon Efferson was shaken up a bit.
While the Ports were hitting, someone (Either Max Muncy, Tony Thompson, Antonio Lamas, Bobby Crocker, or Dusty Robinson) lined a foul ball down the RF line.
Guess who came up with it?
It was Wiggi! She leaned over the railing, making a nice snag on the hard-hit foul ball.
After having already scored 2 runs, Dusty Robinson decided to drive in another.
He singled in Antonio Lamas.
The 66ers tried to pick him off a few times at first base.
But it was pretty easy to read the pitcher’s move.
After the single, Efferson settled down, getting Philip Pohl to ground out to end the inning.
Josh Reddick took his spot in RF.
At this point, my sister and I headed over to the RF berm. Given the fact I hadn’t had any luck with foul balls or 3rd out balls, I decided to go for home runs for an inning or two.
In the top of the 5th, the 66ers continued to tack on runs, scoring 2 more on a triple off the bat of Andy Workman.
That was it for Josh Bowman. 8 runs allowed, with a runner on 3rd base he is responsible for.
The infield gathered on the mound as T.J. Walz came in to pitch.
The runner on 3rd scored on a single, then after another single, he got 3 quick outs to end the inning.
In the middle of the 5th, the Ports had a game where 3 members of the Ports “Promo Squad” used a slingshot to shoot 3 playground balls in the air. The contestant on the field has to catch them in this net.
Always entertaining.
In the 5th, B.A. Vollmuth was called out on strikes, bringing Addison Russell to the plate.
He ended up grounding out, bringing Josh Reddick to the plate.
Josh singled on a ground ball to right field.
This put him on first base.
Max Muncy then struck out to end the 5th inning.
Reddick was back out in right field.
And T.J. Walz was back on the mound. Can you say awesome mustache?
He retired the 66ers 1-2-3.
In the bottom of the 6th, Inland Empire pitcher R.J. Alvarez struck out the side, with 1 walk.
After the strikeout of Dusty Robinson to end the inning, I called out to catcher Abel Baker to toss me the ball, which he did!
Ball 7 on the day!
After I got this ball, Vanessa Demske called out to me, I turned around to see she was sitting just a few rows behind me! I moved back to talk to her, as well as Twitter friend Jamey Van Dyke.
At this point, it was well after 8pm. My dad had wanted to leave at 8pm. He was letting us stick around for the final out!
My dad is awesome, isn’t he!?!?
In the 7th, the 66ers went down 1-2-3 again, but Myrio Richard came into the game in right field for Josh Reddick, as he was only slated to play the first 6 innings.
With 2 outs in the 7th, Max Muncy doubled to center field, scoring 2 more runs to make it 10-5.
Between the 7th and 8th innings, they held the asparagus race.
The green one lost it’s head…
Yep…
The 7th inning, as well as the first 2 outs of the 8th inning were pitched by 240-pound Tony Pena.
Around this time, Will, Vanessa, and Jamey wandered off, but I found them quickly, talking to this woman.
Wiggi, Ross, and Drew were still over down the RF line.
Back to the other group. In the top of the 8th inning, my sister and I had been headed over to the Ports dugout, when Will and Vanessa stopped me and introduced me to Bess Frankoff, the wife of Ports pitcher Seth Frankoff, who at the time was on the DL. Bess is the one in the teal.
I guess they had all been interacting on Twitter for a while and had gotten to know each other.
I spent the next inning talking with the group.
We also were able to get Bess to take this group shot of us.
In the bottom of the 9th, I temporarily parted ways with everyone, as I was hoping to get a broken bat. Earlier in the game, someone on the Ports (I CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHO!!!) broke his bat someone (I DON’T REMEMBER HOW) and the Ports bat boy brought one of the halves to the 66ers dugout.
The Ports went 1-2-3, sealing a 10-7 win for Inland Empire.
I tucked my head into the dugout.
A player walked by, and I simply asked him for the broken bat, and he told me yes, as long as I was careful with it!
I handed it to my sister, in hopes of getting the lineup card.
It had already been handed out… BUT STILL!
My dad wanted to leave, but I had to say a quick goodbye to everyone first.
Everyone loved the broken bat! In my last Ports game, I got a lineup card. This time I got a broken bat. COOL STUFF!
QUICK NOTE: I think out of everyone, Vanessa thought the lineup card and bat were the coolest. This past week, she took it into her own hands to end up with a souvenir, and after Monday and Tuesday’s Ports games this past week, look what she ended up with! (This is not my picture)
We all parted ways, at which point I got this picture with the bat.
It was a great game! 7 balls, 1 broken bat, and lots of new friends!
- 11th Game of the Year… 3rd MiLB Game of the Year
- 7 balls at this game
- 19 balls in 6 games this season = 3.16 Balls Per Game
- 22 MiLB Balls in 3 MiLB Games = 7.33 MiLB Balls Per Game
- 9 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 1 Ball
- 6 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 3 Balls
- 37 Lifetime Minor League baseballs
- 75 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.
4/21/13 at Banner Island Ballpark
This game was going to be me, my dad, and Uncle Seth, who I have mentioned before.
We left our house around 10:50, so we got to Stockton around 11:45.
Throughout the course of the day, before the gates opened, I made another vlog, similar to what I did for this game.
As soon as we got there, we found that nobody was collecting money for parking. FREE PARKING!
I then immediately headed out back for BP.
As you can see from my tilted picture, there was little action, but the cages WERE set up.
The first batter to step into the cage for the Ports was Addison Russell.
About 5 minutes after I arrived, look what I had!
Yeah!
Only the Ports took BP, there were no Nuts players anywhere to be found.
And believe it or not, the Addison Russell ball was the ONLY one that cleared the bullpen area, despite strong swings.
Believe it or not, none of the bunts left the yard!
BP was VERY boring all-told.
Around 12:20, right when batting practice was coming to a close, the song Milkshake came on over the PA in the stadium. Wade Kirkland was patrolling left field. You know the app called Vine? Well watch this. He was kind of bored. Dance moves were not to bad.
BP came to a close around 12:25 or so, so I decided to walk around the Marina area and ballpark exterior.
Seriously, how awesome is this?
As I’m sure most of you know by now, the Stockton Arena sits right next door.
Basically, I wandered along the waterfront as far as I could go, before I reached the fence of the parking lot.
At this point, I decided to turn back. On my way back, I saw this…
I decided to wander around over towards the Pro Shop area.
In the windows, they have every Ports giveaway since 2005. I noticed these two bobbleheads…
Those will both be giveaways later on this year!
I headed over to the Suite Holder gate to get a better view of inside, where I saw this.
That lady was writing in the lineups for both teams on the whiteboard in the concourse.
I then decided to head back and get in line.
I seriously couldn’t wait to get inside!
There was a table being set up that had a turtle in a cage next to it…
I decided to get a picture with my uncle and the ball I got during BP.
Then, I got a picture of myself with the ball
The gates opened at 1:07, and after getting my ticket scanned, I headed over to where a few Nuts players were playing catch and stretching.
Just out of the frame was the glove of William Rankin. As he finished running, he tossed me his ball.
After I got that ball, I headed over to section 117. Why? It was on-field player photo and autograph day! When I got there, I met up with Will and Ross. At 1:15, we were all led into a roped off area. Players then lined up along the rope, with pens in hand. Remember the logo ball I got in my last Stockton game? I was ready to get some signatures!
The first player I got an autograph from was infielder Max Muncy, who tossed me a ball and hit me a foul ball in my last Stockton game. My dad and uncle were wandering around the stadium, so I was left to use my phone’s camera to get a photo with him.
Next in line was outfielder Dusty Robinson.
After getting a picture and autograph from Dusty, I moved on to pitcher Seth Frankoff.
After Frankoff was pitcher Jose Macias.
After Macias, I moved on to get an autograph and picture with pitcher Jonathan Joseph.
Then, I got to talk with Blake Hassebrock.
After Hassebrock was outfielder Bobby Crocker
Then, came infielder B.A. Vollmuth (One of the coolest names EVER if you ask me).
The next guy I got a photo with was outfielder Josh Whitaker.
The 10th person I got a photo with was the starting pitcher that day, Deyvi Jimenez.
Then, my dad came down to get a few shots, including this one of me with SS Addison Russell.
I had an absoluste blast with all of this.
It was a small space with LOTS of people.
I couldn’t get pictures with or autographs from all of the guys, so I spent a few minutes talking with Will and Ross, who got lots of photos themselves.
I also go to talking with Eric and Bridget, who are A’s fans that I believe made the trip with Vanessa.
As you can see in the picture above, Vanessa joined us on the field. Remember her from my last game in Stockton?
She, Will, and I then got a picture with Max Muncy and Ryan Delgado.
Do you see the phone in the picture above taking a picture of us? That is Vanessa’s, and here is the picture she later posted on Instagram.
About halfway through the event, I took this panorama of the event, which hopefully captures the chaos of it all.
Around 1:45, they started wrapping things up, at which point Will had a short conversation with Ports manager Webster Garrison.
He and Vanessa then got a quick picture with Webby.
Around 2, I headed over to watch the Ports starting pitcher for the day
Once he was done warming up, I got this panoramic shot from the LF foul pole.
Then I headed over to RF to get the same.
The Ports let a Little Leaguers run on the field with players in this game, for the National Anthem, and it was a very cool sight!
The National Anthem, as always, was great!
The Ports sent Deyvi Jimenez to the mound.
While the Nuts countered with Ben Alsup.
For the Top of the first, I headed over to behind the Ports dugout in hopes of getting a third out ball.
I was unsuccessful, and on my way back, I snapped this panoramic.
For most of the game, I sat down with Will, Ross, Vanessa, Bridget, and Eric, near the first row, chatting.
In the front row, you have Will, Ross, Eric, Vanessa, and Bridget.
I did, however, spend some time sitting up with my Uncle and Dad, where I was able to get shots of people like this one.
And of Will…
With 2 outs at every half inning, I would head behind the dugout of the team on the field and try to get a ball. I was unsuccessful ALL DAY.
As always, my dad got AMAZING pictures.
The Ports scored their first run in the bottom of the 2nd.
Every time Webster Garrison, the Ports manager, walks past the visitng dugout to go coach 3rd Base, Will and a few other fans stand up and yell “WEBBYYYYY!”
Here he is coaching third base.
The Nuts manager is Lenn Sakata.
As I mentioned earlier, I was very unsuccessful with 3rd out balls, so I enjoyed getting to relax and take lots of pictures!
I then took these two pictures…
When I got home, I went into Photoshop and created my first “real,” (And poorly done) panoramic photo.
One memorable play was when Dusty Robinson came to the plate…
And there was an interesting play at first…
Here is Josh Whitaker.
For me, it was awesome to just sit back, relax, and take pictures.
In the 8th inning, Bernie Lean came on…
Can YOU Bernie Lean?
Also in the 8th inning, Juan Crouset stepped to the plate for the Nuts.
He popped a ball foul a few rows behind me. I misjudged it, but immediately picked it up off the ground. Ball #4! It was my 5th lifetime foul ball, 4th at a MiLB game, and 2nd MiLB game in a row with a foul ball!
Right after I picked it up, I heard a young girl (7 years old maybe) quietly say “Dangit.” Without thinking, I handed the ball to her.
Yes, of course, I would have loved to have kept the ball, and I got PLENTY of backlash for it on Twitter, but it was all worth it to see her so happy with it.
When the Ports came to bat in the bottom of the 8th, Nelson Gonzalez went into his second inning of work out of the bullpen.
But, he blew the lead…
Ryan Ortiz had hit a go-ahead home run!
And it was high fives all around!
Jordan Ribera and Taylor Featherston watched as a new pitcher took his warm up tosses.
Modesto called upon Kenneth Roberts to get the final two outs of the inning.
Thankfully for the Nuts, he was able to escape the inning, but not before allowing another run!
In the top of the 9th inning, the Ports were ahead 4-2, so I headed over to my ticketed seat for the first time all game, located right next to the Nuts dugout. At that point, I was hoping to get the lineup card after the game, so I put on my Nuts hat. Will was VERY disappointed in me. He then took this picture of me.
That is my “I know I’m a Ports fan but I have to do this” face.
Jonathan Joseph came on for the Ports to lock down the save.
And the Ports had won!
Some people were getting pictures…
… But I was sticking my head into the dugout to try and get the lineup card.
As soon as I got there, I asked the Nuts manager for the lineup card, but he ignored me and left. Then, Brian Humphries walked over, saw a pile of balls on top of the bat rack and tossed one to me without saying a word. He then tossed out 6 more to other kids that were crowding around the dugout.
Soon, I saw a clubhouse attendant in a rockies hat, shirt, and shorts (The Nuts are a Rockies affiliate) walk over. I asked him for the lineup card, and look!
I thanked him and headed up the stairs, where everyone else was standing. Vanessa snapped this picture of me on her phone of me with the lineup card.
We then got a group picture. From left to right… Bridgett, Will, Vanessa, MEEEEE, Ross, Eric, and my Uncle Seth.
As we were heading out, I noticed it was “Kids Run the Bases” day.
Once we left, I headed to Ross’s car to pick up my 2013 RF Bleacher shirt (To debut in my next game entry) and then headed back to meet up with my dad and uncle.
Cool stuff. Great game.
Thanks for reading!
- 6th Game of the Year… 2nd MiLB Game of the Year
- 5 balls at this game
- 19 balls in 6 games this season = 3.16 Balls Per Game
- 15 MiLB Balls in 2 MiLB Games = 7.5 MiLB Balls Per Game
- 4 MiLB Foul Balls
- 5 Lifetime Foul Balls
- 5 Consecutive Games with at least 1 Ball
- 8 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 1 Ball
- 5 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 3 Balls
- 2 Consecutive MiLB Games with 1 Foul Bal
- 30 Lifetime Minor League baseballs
- 62 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.
4/5/13 at Banner Island Ballpark
On April 2nd, I wrote a short email to the Ports, asking for a Press Pass for the game on Friday, April 5th, and I got a quick reply back saying yes! I emailed them back, asking for one for my dad, since he would be accompanying me to the game, and they agreed to that as well! Thank You very much to the Ports organization for giving me this opportunity!
After the game, on the drive home, I got a quick photo of the pass.
This was going to me my first MiLB game of the 2013 season, and my first one since last September in Modesto. It was my first Ports game since May 2012.
We arrived at Banner Island Ballpark around 4:45, just under and hour and a half before the gates were supposed to open.
As soon as we parked, I ran out to the area behind left field. On my way, I peeked in to make sure there was BP, a what do you know? The Ports were taking batting practice!
I immediately sprinted out to the area behind left field. Here is an ariel view of Banner Island Ballpark. I’ll let you guess where I headed.
LOOK at that area behind LF.
As I was running, I heard someone yell “GO! NOW!” I looked up to see a ball heading towards me. I tracked it into my glove, and I already had my first ball on the day.
Ports BP was pretty boring…
I mean, as a fan, it was lots of fun to watch!
If you go back up a few pictures, do you see that kid holding on to the fence? Well he was there with his dad and 3 brothers and I felt bad for him and his brothers. Every time a ball was even hit remotely close, the dad would yell “Go! Now!” and his kids would groan and take off running.
I could tell none of them wanted to be there, or for that matter enjoyed baseball. They not only retrieved hit balls for their dad, but after being told what to say and who the player was, would call out to players on the field for toss-ups…
Yep…
The Blaze players were beginning to stretch and warm up along the LF line.
As I continued ballhawking, my dad began to walk around the stadium to get some pictures.
The Stockton Marina was looking gorgeous
Absolutely amazing.
Ryan Delgado and Sean Murphy were talking it up in the outfield
Everyone gives Stockton a bad rep, but it is an amazing city.
This is the walkway between the ballpark and water.
There is this outdoor seating area right behind the stadium.
There was this ball just sitting under the table…
See?
Once the Ports BP had ended, I only had one ball, but an employee walked by and tossed me that ball for ball #2 on the day.
Yep! It was a Major League Baseball!
Once Ports BP came to a close, that dad and son that I had mentioned earlier ended up walking away, giving me Blaze BP all to myself!
On their way out, I noticed this ball in the employee parking lot for the Stockton Arena.
I never found a way to get that ball…
In between the next few pictures, I will explain how I got the rest of my BP balls, during Blaze BP.
Ball #3 was a sharp line drive that hit the concrete and slowly rolled out of the stadium, right into my glove.
This guy hit a ball that cleared the bullpen, bounced in the seats behind the bullpen, and out of the stadium, right into my glove for ball #4 on the day!
One of these guys, I can’t remember who, tossed me my 5th ball on the day.
If I am not mistaken, it was Sean Buckley, a first baseman on the Blaze who I tweeted earlier in the day!
He just turned around, asked me if I wanted a ball, and tossed it to me!
Pretty awesome that he actually kept up on his word! Go check him out on Twitter @seanbuckley08!
The Blaze had a lot of lefty power, so they were pulling a lot of pitches out to RF, where it is almost impossible to get a ball outside of the stadium.
At 6, BP was still going strong, despite the gates opening at any moment.
Since the gates were going to be opening at any moment, I ran over to get in line with my dad. He had already gotten in line, so there were not to many people in front of us. That gave me 5 balls in Batting Practice alone. My previous MLB and MiLB high for a single game was 6, which I did in July 2012 in San Jose and August 2012 in Oakland!.
I looked inside to see the cages all the way down and the Blaze taking infield.
The giveaway for the game was a ball with the Ports new alternate logo on it.
At 6:09, when the gate finally opened, this was the scene behind us.
I immediately sprinted down to our seats, where I ran down to check out our seats.
Do you see the person walking towards the dugout, from home plate? He had a few balls in his glove and tossed me one for ball 6 of the day, which I failed to photograph.
I then decided to do a little ballpark exploring…
I started out in the LF corner…
And moved on to Left Field
Where I walked past the bullpens and seating area.
I walked around the rest of the outfield before making it to the RF corner.
In the right field corner, there is a small set of stairs that go up and then over and down this utility tunnel that is where the cages, etc.. are kept.
This is the RF corner
And then I made it to the Ports dugout, on the first base side.
My dad got this really cool picture of a member of the grounds crew adding extra dirt to the base lines.
They were also raking the lines.
Up behind the Ports dugout is the indoor batting cage. The Ports were all suited up in their new Friday alternate unis, never before worn!
In order to decide the hitting order, some guys were playing rock, paper, scissors.
On my way back to my seat, I saw this little baseball-card dispenser, that I thought was really cool! I WILL be bringing quarters to my next Ports game!
Once we got back to our seats, I posed with my 6 balls so far, right next to our seats.
Yep. That’s how short the fence is. You can see I was standing right next to the dugout. Our seats were in the first row, the one that my glove was sitting next to, and the seat next to it. Isn’t that awesome!
Here is a quick peak into the dugout.
Here is a panoramic shot from our seats
Here was my ticket from the day.
Soon enough, after a bit of relaxing, both teams started to take the field to warm up.
I immediately headed over to where the Ports were warming up, with one goal in mind: Get Addison Russell‘s autograph!
SUCCESS! I got him to sign my ticket! (Which I forgot to photograph)
*Note that the Ports wear WHITE belts with these uniforms*
Once I was finished up there, I put on my Reds hat and Blaze shirt and headed over to where the Blaze were warming up.
My dad headed over to where the Ports were beginning to play catch.
Even when I was on the opposite side of the stadium, I had an eye on 19-year-old Addison Russell.
There was lots of autograph signing taking place.
Then my dad headed over to where the Blaze were playing catch.
I didn’t get any balls during warm-ups. That’s all.
Look who was sitting just to our right…
It’s Will! For those of you who don’t know (WHY DON’T YOU KNOW HIM BY NOW?), that is bleacher regular Will MacNeil, the man behind the Balfour Rage!
Around the bottom of the 1st inning, Benjamin Christensen (Who I saw on Opening Day and April 3rd in Oakland and was one of the 9 MLB Fan Cave Dwellers in 2012) and Vanessa Demske (Who was a Top-30 MLB Fan Cave contestant in 2013) arrived!
I probably spent 2/3 of the game sitting and talking with the 3 of them. Great people!
Since we were sitting so close to the field, my dad was able to get some really cool close-ups of players, like this one..
And this one…
And this one…
And this one…
The game was just about to get underway…
The National Anthem was performed…
And we were ready to go!
Blake Hassebrock was on the mound for Stockton.
And he escaped the first inning relatively unharmed.
With two outs in the top of the first, I jogged over to the Ports dugout, where I was tossed the 3rd out ball by Maxwell Muncy. It was my 7th on the day.
I had officially broken my record for not only most balls snagged at a MiLB game, but most balls ever snagged at a baseball game.
Addison Russel lead off for the Ports
There was a pitch thrown high and tight to him…
I liked this picture a lot.
Carlos Contreras was on the bump for the Blaze.
Josh Whitaker was batting in the three hole for Stockton.
This is Maxwell Muncy, who tossed me the ball in the top of the 1st.
The bottom of the 1st ended with a strikeout, and catcher Chris Berset tossed the ball to me on his walk in to the dugout. Ball 8 on the day!
This is the umpire…
Here are the infielders standing around in the infield during a pitching change…
In the top of the 7th, I headed back over to the Ports dugout once again to try and snag a third out ball. 2nd Baseman Wade Kirkland had recorded the final out of the inning, and tossed me a ball that I had to jump pretty high for, but caught it. (There was nobody near me) Ball 9 on the day!
Then, in the bottom of the 7th, Wade Kirkland fouled off a ball that skipped over the railing right next to the dugout, straight into my glove for ball 10 on the day!
Once the game came to a close, I rushed over to the Blaze dugout in attempts to get the lineup card, but I was shoved out of my way by a 30-year old man who yelled out “Ken! Can I get dat lineup card pleazz?” Griffey Sr. smiled, pulled the tape off the card, and walked towards the clubhouse, lineup card in hand.
From there, I headed over to where Ben, Will, and Vanessa were, where I snapped a picture of the three of them.
Then, I got a picture with them, each of them holding two of the balls I snagged.
It was a great game! If you remember from my Opening Day entry, Ben has a blog of his own, called Hats and Tats: A Lifestyle.
You can click on the name of Will, Ben, and Vanessa to follow them each on Twitter.
Thanks for reading!
- 4th Game of the Year… 1st MiLB Game of the Year
- 3 MiLB Foul Balls
- 10 balls at this game
- 13 balls in 4 games this season = 3.25 Balls Per Game
- 10 MiLB Balls in 1 MiLB Game = 10 MiLB Balls Per Game
- 3 Consecutive Games with at least 1 Ball
- 7 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 1 Ball
- 4 Consecutive MiLB Games with at least 3 Balls
- 25 Lifetime Minor League baseballs
- 56 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.
.
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.
My Baseball Collections: Bobbleheads
I love bobbleheads. Seriously. I don’t have a whole lot, but they are a baseball-related collection that I enjoy, so I figured I would create a blog entry about them. My goal is to try and post a Baseball collection entry every Friday for as long as I can.
First, I want to start off with the bobbleheads that I have gotten as giveaways at games that I have attended.
The first game that I ever went to and got a bobblehead at was on July 17th, 2011 in Oakland. You can read about that entry here. This game was 80’s Turn-Back-The-Clock day, and the giveaway was an MC Hammer bobblehead that had a rotating base.
Here is the box that the bobblehead came in.
On the box of the bobblehead, the A’s will put information regarding the person that the bobblehead is of. Here, it is for MC Hammer.
On all the A’s 2011 and 2012 bobble heads, the A’s put a checklist on one side of the bobblehead, with all of the bobbleheads from that year. Here it is for the MC Hammer bobblehead.
On the other side, they put something regarding the person on the bobbled
Here is the bobblehead itself.
The back of the bobblehead.
Here is a 4-part photo of the bobblehead spinning
This is one of the coolest bobbleheads I have ever heard of.
If you are wondering why it is of MC Hammer, he was a bat boy for the A’s as a teenager, good friends with Charlie Finley.
If you go down and read the comments, Mateo Fischer suggested that I make a GIF of the bobblehead spinning. Here it is!
Created with Gifboom
Thanks for the idea Mateo! If you have a chance, check out his newest blog entry, where he dissects a baseball!
I wonder if I should try and do this. What do you guys think? I think it would be fun to do it, so let me know in the comments!
The next game I attended and got a bobblehead giveaway was August 13th, 2011 at the Coliseum. That entry, you can find here. The player featured was former catcher, current color commentator, Ray Fosse. Here is the box it came in.
The information on Ray Fosse.
Here is the checklist side
And the player side
This is the actual bobblehead.
I love the touch of the microphone in his hand!
Here is the backside of the bobblehead.
The next game that I went to and received a bobblehead giveaway was May 26th, 2012 in Stockton. THat blog entry can be found here. The featured player was Michael Choice. The boxes for Ports bobbleheads are blank, white, all the way around.
Here is the bobblehead.
And the backside.
The final bobblehead that I have gotten as a giveaway, you may remember, was August 18th in Oakland. It was Moneyball movie night, and Scott Hatteberg bobblehead giveaway. You can find that blog entry here. During the A’s 20 Game win streak in 2002, to win the game for the A’s, Hatteberg hit a walk-off home run, to cap a dramatic game, in which the Royals came back from a huge deficit to tie the game. Here is the box.
The information on the box:
Here is the checklist side
The 4th side commemeates the 20-game win streak
The bobblehead itself is very, very, neat!
Note his name under the bobblehead, with the date of the home run on the side
Here is the backside of the bobblehead.
When that little white button is pressed, the bobblehead will play Bill King’s radio call of the dramatic home run, played from the little speaker that you see, behind the Pepsi logo. Very, very, very cool!
Also notice, that one the other side of the bottom stand, it says “20 GAME WIN STREAK”
This next bobblehead was not a giveaway, however I did purchase it at a game. On Root Beer Float day, on June 20th, (Entry here) I found a stand that had old giveaways from pervious games for sale. I found a Justin Duchscherer bobblehead for $5, which I went ahead and purchaesd. I believe it was a giveaway in 2009. Here is the box.
The information on the box:
Here is the actual bobblehead:
And the back of the bobblehead:
All of my other bobbleheads, I have purchased on eBay.
The first one is a Mark Ellis bobblehead from 2007. Here is the box
The info on the back of the box:
There are a lot of neat details on this bobblehead
Here is the backside.
This is a very simple, classic bobble head. I like it a lot!
The next two I purchased together on eBay, from the same seller as the Ellis one.
The first one is a Jack Cust bobblehead from 2008. Here is the box
The information on the box:
And now the bobble head.
I guess there were a limited number of these made with him wearing the alternate black jersey. I want to say 500 of them were mixed in with the others. However, as you noticed, I have the one with the green jersey. Here is the backside of the bobblehead.
The final one I have to show you is a Travis Buck bobblehead. Here is the box:
The information on the box:
Now the actual bobblehead:
Here is the back of the bobblehead.
I think these are all pretty cool. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments which one is your favorite! I’ll have another Mail Time! entry up within the next few days, so check pack often for that post!
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!
5/26/12 at Banner Island Ballpark
I had been looking forward to this game for a while even though I had gotten the tickets the night before. It was Michael Choice bobble head night.
My family and I left around 4:30 and got to Stockton around 4:20. The line was much longer than I had expected. We got in line, and then I walked around to try and take some pictures.
Then, I headed behind the stadium, where I had never been before. It turned out that the Rawhide were taking BP. I got my glove on and got ready for some action. Then, I saw some little kid walk by with AT LEAST TEN BASEBALLS IN HIS GLOVE. I guess there were a lot of balls hit out there.
Shortly before BP, a man approached me, and came up to me, asked me if I was Nick Badders, and shook my hand. He told me we had met at this game, where I met Zack Hample. I guess his daughter and I had gotten a picture with Zack. Bam! I remembered him.
Now I apologize because I never got his name, so if you are reading this, please let me know in the comments what your name is. Thanks!
I got to talking with him about ballhawking and stuff, and before I knew it, BP was over. No balls were hit out of the stadium while I was out there. Oh well.
At this point, I started walking towards the RF side of the stadium, where I took a picture with my phone of the Downtown Stockton Marina, where fans can dock their boats for the Ports game.
I then walked around the stadium to join my parents in line, with about 15 minutes before the gates opened at 6:05. Here, I formulated a plan with my dad to exit the stadium as soon as we got in and get back in line to get 2 more bobble heads with the two extra tickets I bought. One of those tickets was on the right side of the Ports dugout; the other was down the LF line.
Soon enough, the gates opened, at which point my dad and I gave my mom our bobble heads and programs and we looked for an exit, which we couldn’t find. After wandering around for a while, and past the cages where some Ports players were getting a little last-minute BP in, we exited out the Season Ticket Holder gate, and got back in the then very short line. We got our bobble heads, and we went to our seats, where my mom and sister were basking in the awesomeness, as they were not with us last month in Stockton.
I then headed over to the Ports team store to get myself a Ports hat, which I did not have yet, and came out with a Ports home cap.
I then headed over to where players were coming onto the field and where Ian Krol, the Ports starter was staring to warm up. I got one of my tickets autographed by some Rawhide player who I was unable to identify.
After Ian had finished warming up with Max Stassi, I called out to both of them for the ball, but I guess they had to use it in the bullpen, because that’s what Craig Lefferts, the pitching coach said.
I then tried for a ball from Nino Leyja, who was finishing up with catch, but it was a no. I went back to my seat, just in time for the line ups and first pitch. The closet I came to a foul ball was when Yordy Cabrera shot a line drive right over my head. Had I jumped straight up, I would have gotten it for sure. But considering how fast off the bat it was coming, I didn’t have enough reaction time to get it.
When there were 2 outs at the top of each inning, I would go behind the dugout in the section to my right, because that was where Ports players were entering my dugout. For the most part, I had no luck.
In the bottom of the 8th, I sprinted out of my seat and got right in the cross aisle, where I called out to Tony Thompson, the first baseman, and he tossed it just a little to my right. The guy I had been talking to before the gates opened jumped up, and it tipped off his glove, and bounced off the rail, onto the ground, where I fumbled it and picked it up. Finally!
In the top of the 9th, I stayed in my seat and when Zach Thornton got a strike out to end the inning, Max Stassi headed over to my side if the dugout. I shouted out his name, pointed to him, punched the pocket of my glove and held it up. He pointed back to me and tossed it to some guy next to the dugout. This prompted the man sitting in the section to my left to ask me if 1 wasn’t enough and how “kids these days are so selfish” and a bunch of other stuff. I could have explained my blog, but I didn’t bother.
The game went into the bottom of the 9th, tied 2-2, with Miles Head due up to lead off. Miles was the one that tossed me a ball in my game last month in Stockton. He fouled off a lot of pitches and then bombed it out to center field. Cue Celebration!
I ran over to the dugout, where there were a lot of other people, as Miles started a post-game interview with “Hot Rod”, the Ports in-game entertainer guy. I asked Webster Garrison, the Ports manager for the lineup card, he was like “yeah, sure, hold on’” and handed it to some guy closer to the front of the dugout.
After that, everyone started to clear away from the dugout and I spotted a ball on the floor of the dugout. I called out to multiple people for the ball, but no one answered.
I stayed around for a while, hoping to ask someone else, but I left at 10:00. It was a good game. I mean, 3 bobble heads, new hat, and a ball, it’s hard to complain! my next scheduled game is June 20th at the Coliseum, but I figure to go to another game before then.
BALLHAWKING STATS:
• 1 ball at this game
• 3 balls in 3 Minor League games this season = 1 ball per game
• 7 balls in 6 baseball games this season = 1.16 balls per game
• 3 consecutive Minor League games with at least one ball
• 5 consecutive baseball games with at least one ball
• 12 total baseballs
• 3 total Minor League baseballs
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. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
5/18/12 at John Thurman Field
This game was strung together at the last minute. After I got home from school around 3, I called my dad, asked him if we could go to a baseball game. The A’s game in San Fransisco was out of the question, so we agreed to go to Modesto to see the Ports play the Nuts.
My dad got home around 5 and we left around 5:20 and got to Modesto at 6:30. After buying $12 tickets next to the Ports dugout, we headed inside. First, we headed to our seats, which were amazing! After the usher checked our tickets, she told us that we had waitress service!
After looking over the menu for a brief moment, I went over to the dugout, where I saw a ball lying on the ground.
Chad Oberacker walked in the dugout, I called him over, and asked him for the ball. He looked puzzled, but he reached down and tossed it to me! Notice that it says Official Minor League Baseball, not Official Ball California League, like the ball at my last Ports game.
Once getting the ball, I handed it to my dad to hold onto and went over to where most of the Ports players were warming up.
There was some other guy there, maybe a year older than me with 3 game-used bats to his side. He was also was holding a lineup card from the previous game and it was signed by at least 30 different players.
He was chatting up all the players and added a few more signatures to his lineup card. As the players finished playing catch, I asked multiple players for a ball, including Max Stassi, Miles Head, and A.J. Kirby-Jones. Despite calling their first names and shouting, none of them tossed a ball to me. As they were leaving, the kid next to me said “It helps if you call out their first names. They are more likely to respond.”
What a concept!
I promptly headed back to the dugout and tried my luck a little more there before the first pitch.
In the bottom of the 1st, I ordered a slice of cheese pizza and a fruit cup, which showed up a little later. The food was ok, but the whole experience was phenomenal! I didn’t focus on really getting balls, I just enjoyed the game.
The Nuts scored 6 runs in the bottom off the 1st off of A.J. Cole, who the A’s received in the Gio Gonzalez trade and I started to understand why the Ports had only won 2 games in May. (And lost 16 in a row)
Now look at his left eye in that picture. Do you see a pupil? I don’t. And that isn’t just the lighting. He really does pitch like that. See?
Miles Head was the one that tossed me my 1st ever Minor League ball at this game.. He did very well on the night, with a double and a triple.
Chad Oberacker didn’t do very well in this game
Sometime halfway through the game, I wandered around the concourse and found a shaved ice stand that sold mammoth shaved ice. (Yes, I do know how goofy I look in this picture.)
In the 7th inning, my dad and I went to sit on the other side of the dugout, which would give me a better chance for third out balls.
I didn’t get any, but i did get a picture of this sign warning fans of balls and bats.
While sitting here, I looked into the dugout and saw the lineup card in the Ports dugout.
My plan was to go over to that end of the dugout for the 9th inning, and as soon as the final out was recorded, ask for it. Little did I know that there would be competition. On my right is the kid that I had been talking about earlier. On my left is some girl that pushed past me to get to the dugout. It wasn’t a big deal; she got a ball, so it was all good.
But when I got to the dugout, I asked A.J. Kirby-Jones for it, and he said he wasn’t allowed to. Then I asked Craig Lefferts, the Ports Pitching coach, and Webster Garrison, the Manager, both who said the same thing as A.J. Once everyone had cleared the dugout, I asked a clubhouse manager, Vic Zapien, who was cleaning up the dugout, for the line-up card. He said yes, then took it off and right before he handed it to me, said he remembered he had promised it to someone else. Oh well. Then he handed a ball to that girl I talked about earlier.
My dad and I were headed out to go look for any home runs that hadn’t been found, when all the lights turned off and a fireworks show started. We stayed for that and headed out. Then, he wanted to head onto some soccer field, where the fireworks had been launched. He convinced me to, but the city fire chief started yelling at us and telling us that home runs were never hit there, although we knew that 2 or 3 had been. Oh well.
Overall, I got a cool ball, waitress service, fireworks, and a huge shaved ice. Hard to complain about that!
BALLHAWKING STATS:
• 1 ball at this game
• 2 balls in 2 Minor League games this season = 1 ball per game
• 6 ball in 5 baseball games this season =1.2 balls per game
• 2 consecutive Ports games with at least one ball
• 4 consecutive baseball games with at least one ball
• 11 total baseballs
• 2 total Minor League baseballs
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. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
7000 Coliseum Way 