Ian's Sports and Other Stuff Blog

9/23 & 9/24/11- Reds @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-09-25T00:45:00.000-04:00

9/23/11
Well this day was filled with rain and cloudy weather. There was no BP, and there wasn't even any players on the field, but I still luckily ended up with a ball. It was tossed to me by an usher that found 2 baseballs, one was tossed to me, and the other was tossed to fellow ballhawk Erik Jabs.

9/24/11
My best game as a ballhawk!
It was my last game of the season, so I was hoping to end the year with a bang. Since it was a Saturday game, the gates opened at 4:30 (Which they should every day). I started the day with 98 lifetime baseballs, 2 away from triple digits!
I found my first ball of the day, which doesn't happen much at PNC anymore, because of the sweepers (ushers).
My second ball of the day and 100th lifetime, was tossed to me by Pirates pitcher Aaron Thompson. I was hoping to get him to sign it, but I couldn't get his attention again.
My third ball was a toss up from Dave Sappelt.
My fourth ball was tossed to me in center field, by an unknown Reds player.
My fifth ball was crazy. Myself and Zac Weiss were down the first base line, when we both called for Francisco Cordero to toss us a ball, I don't know who he was throwing it to, but it took a crazy bounce and hit my chin.
My sixth ball, with a hint from Zac Weiss, was snagged behind the Reds dugout as they were leaving the field after BP.
After BP, I was happy with a career high tying 6 balls!
But I wasn't done! In the top of the second, I snagged Alex Presley's warm-up ball for my seventh and new career high ball of the day.

It sucks that I couldn't upload the picture of my 100th lifetime baseball on here, I will put it on my Facebook though.

SEASON STATS
8 balls at these 2 games.
34 balls at 23 games this season.
1.48 balls per game.
105 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

Three Games, One Post

2011-09-15T21:04:00.000-04:00

9/7/11 - Astros @ Pirates (PNC Park)
This day was my birthday, I was hoping for a present from the ballhawk gods, and I got it! I snagged three balls at this game.
First, was hit by an unknown Pirate, the ball bounced at the warning track, when I reached over the wall, and it went into my glove.
Second, was hit by Jimmy Paredes, this snag was a ground rule double, that was hit directly at me.
Third, was a toss-up on the Clemente Wall, from Astros coach Doug Brocail.

9/9/11 - Marlins @ Pirates (PNC Park)
Another good day at PNC, snagged four balls.
First, was a toss-up from Marlins pitcher, Brad Hand.
Second, was hit by catcher John Buck, it bounced off a row of bleachers, and I had myself positioned perfectly for the rebound into my glove.
Third, was a toss-up in Section 140, from Burke Badenhop.
Fourth, was hit by John Baker, I was in Section 144, when it was hit very close to me, it looked like it was going higher than it actually did, so I ran up two rows, it orginally fell short, but a lucky bounce near me helped me pick up the ball.

Also, my cousin Josh was at this game, after I snagged the Baker ball, I ran back down to 140, to help Josh get a ball, I got a Marlins pitcher to toss a ball to him, it was either Badenhop or Hensley.

9/13/11 - Cardinals @ Pirates (PNC Park)
This day was slower, but I was content with the two balls I snagged in somewhat weird ways. To start off, I have to say that Cardinals BP is always disappointing, it should be 10 times better than it is, with sluggers with Pujols, Berkman, Holliday, and Molina.
Well, I didn't snag my first ball at this game until around 5:40. It was crazy, I was in 140, I was walking up a few rows where I noticed a ball lodged between a seat, and there was a guy sitting two seats over from it, I don't think he noticed it, well if he would have he would have picked it up, but he just sat there, and then I picked up the ball.
My second ball, was tossed to me by a cop after BP, it was laying on the steps by the bullpen, I asked him if he could grab the ball for me, he did.

SEASON STATS
9 balls at these last 3 games.
26 balls at 21 games this season.
1.24 balls per game.
97 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

*I am obviously three balls away from 100 lifetime, and I will be at 2 of the last 3 Pirates home games, against the Reds, wish me luck!

8/23/11- Brewers @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-08-26T14:18:00.002-04:00

Sorry, this is over a week late.

Highlight of the day: I met Zack Hample.
What sucked? Everything else. I got shutout, I didn't get any autographs, I really didn't try too.
Whats worse? I had to perfect chance for a ball during the Pirates portion of BP, but they both bounced off my glove, and were snagged by another ballhawk.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
17 balls at 18 games this season.
Under one ball a game.
88 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

My next game? September 7th, my birthday!

8/17/11 - Thunder @ SeaWolves (Jerry Uht Park)

2011-08-20T12:43:00.002-04:00

I spent 5 days in Erie last week, missing some of the Pirates homestand. I didn't care though, I was happy to be up in Erie, I went to this game, went fishing, and ate lots of food, and worked out.

Anyway, the Erie SeaWolves were playing the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees AA team.
(I'm sorry about this, but the pictures are small and messed up)
After I got into the stadium, I walked out to the outfield walkway to find a ball laying there, I picked it up, and then I saw some players signing down the 3rd base side, so I went down for autographs. That's where I got SeaWolves infielder, Shawn Roof, to sign the ball I found.

(In the last two games, I've attended in Erie, I've gotten an autograph, and last year a bat.)

Not alot to say about the game, I was focused on trying to get a foul ball, 3rd out ball, or any type of sovenier.

Here is a picture of the stadium during the game from down the first base side.

I left Erie on Saturday morning, but Friday I bought something really awesome. It was a 36 pack box of 1991 Topps baseball cards.

I bought it for $5 at a card store. Awesome find, I think.

My next game is the Pirates/Brewers game on Tuesday night, my only game out of the homestand.

8/5/11- Padres @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-08-06T00:53:00.003-04:00

Following my 5th shutout of the season, and my strange stats I've put up since the end of June, I was just looking to get on the board early, and get some autographs.
When the gates opened, we ran in, and once again I didn't find any Easter eggs, but I'm pretty sure another ballhawk found one, that doesn't happen much anymore.
I got my first and only ball of the day thrown to me by Jason Grilli.
About a minute after I got that ball the Pirates began leaving the field, as they were, I luckily got Alex Presley to sign my Pirates ball that I've been bringing to games.
And then, when the Padres came out, BP became boring, very boring.
From what I saw, the Padres hit 5 homers ALL of BP. While I was still in the bleachers, I got the Padres all-star closer Heath Bell, to sign my Padres hat. (Which I will display and never wear again).
Then I moved over to sections 139-141 to try for another toss-up. I got Padres pitcher Ernesto Frieri to throw a ball my way, it was thrown directly at me, but I lost it in the sun, and it was a little underthrown.

The Padres won the game 15-5. Now, on Monday as I am writing this, the Padres swept the Pirates. The Pirates are currently on a 10 game losing streak, with a series starting in San Francisco tonight.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
17 balls at 17 games this season.
1 ball per game.
88 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

By the way, I will miss the Cardinals and Reds series during the next Pirates homestand. I will be in Erie that week, I will be attending another Erie SeaWolves minor league game while I am there. My next MLB game could be August 22nd in Cleveland, but if not. I will be at the Brewers vs. Pirates at PNC the next day.

8/1/11- Cubs @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-08-02T22:44:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the late update, folks.
Nothing important here to talk about, I got shutout. Only had 2 or 3 chances to snag a ball.
I got Michael McKenry's autograph finally, after like 3 tries.
My cousin Josh came to the game with me, he snagged 2 balls, both were thrown, one by Kevin Correia, other by Xavier Paul.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
16 balls at 16 games this season.
1 ball per game.
87 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

7/22/11- Cardinals @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-07-23T14:46:00.004-04:00

Good thing about this post? Theres pictures!
Only because I am tired of posting pictureless blogs of games, so I am using a friends computer.
Well, this day was hot, very hot. Other than the temperature, it was going to be a great day for ballhawking... Until it started to rain! AGAIN!
So, no BP, for the second game in a row for me.
While trying to get an autograph from James McDonald, I also asked Herbie for a ball, he threw it to me in the bleachers from the bullpen, it was the only ball for me at this game.
After the sun came back out, the tarp was taken off the field.

...And then it was put back on the field.

There was another rain delay.
The game was scheduled to begin at 7:35.

The game was too crowded to move around, so there were no chances for a game ball.
I left the stadium around 9:15.
Below: What I collected at this game.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
16 balls at 15 games this season.
1.07 balls per game.
87 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

7/18/11- Reds @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-07-21T01:07:00.000-04:00

Okay this is my first game after the All-star break, and like I've been wanting for a while I wanted to have a big day.
Would I have it today?
No.
First, I was down on the riverwalk hoping for a Pirates lefty to hit one out, but Pedro Alvarez is the only one who can ever hit them out, but he still isn't back in Pittsburgh yet from his injury. Once again, nothing came out.
Meanwhile, a huge strom was coming through Pittsburgh, it didn't even rain at the stadium, there was a little mist.
Then, once the gates opened, the tarp was on the field and BP was cancelled.
GREAT!
At 5:30, I went to the first base side, where there was Reds pitchers warming up. For a second, I thought Mike Leake was going to hand me the ball he was throwing with, but he handed it to a kid that was standing next to me, I didn't even see the kid.
The tarp remained on the field, but it didn't start to rain at the stadium until after 6! BOTH TEAMS COULD HAVE HAD A FULL BP!!!
Since the death of the fan in Texas, who was reaching for a ball that was thrown by Josh Hamilton, the Pirates no longer throw the warm-up balls into the crowd.
The game eventually got under way after 8. The game was delayed in the top of the 1st, so I left hoping that the game would be postponed and played another day, so I could aviod the shutout, but the game was played and I had my 4th shutout of the season.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
15 balls at 14 games this season. (WOW! I need to step it up BIG TIME!)
1.07 balls per game.
86 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

2011 MLB All-Star Week Review

2011-07-14T22:31:00.000-04:00

Here is my late recap of All-Star week.
HR DERBY
It seems like every year the player I pick to win the HR derby always gets eliminated in the first round. To aviod that again, I picked two players this year, Rickie Weeks and Jose Bautista, but still they lose in the first round.
So next year I might pick four players, but my luck they will be the four that get eliminated in the first round.
Well, Robinson Cano won the 2011 HR derby with a total of 32 HRs.

All-Star Game
The NL won the All-star game for the second year in a row, after that long losing streak.
The final score was 5-1, Prince Fielder was named MVP, which was the first All-star game HR hit by a Milwaukee Brewer.

The winning pitcher was Tyler Clippard from the Nationals, the losing pitcher was CJ Wilson from the Rangers, and the Giants' Brian Wilson got the save.

Also, I was happy to see three Pirates players on the All-star roster.

7/5/11- Astros @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-07-10T12:25:00.004-04:00

*Sorry for not updating sooner, I am in Maryland, and I have been camping*
After getting shutout for the 3rd time in 2011 the day before, I wanted to bounce back and get on the board quickly, but that wouldn't happen.
First off, Astros BP isn't very good, other than Pence and Lee. I could have snagged 2 balls hit by Hunter Pence on the fly, but I lost them both in the sun, and couldn't come up with the snag.

The only ball I got at this game was thrown to me by Bud Norris.
That was it for BP. After BP, when the Pirates bullpen was coming out, I had an old kinda dirty Pirates baseball in my bag, I got Herbie and Jose Veras to sign it, for the rest of the season I am taking that ball to every game until the whole ball is covered in signatures.

During the game, I came extremly close to a homerun hit by Brandon Wood in section 141, it was originally dropped and as I was reaching down to grab it between two seats, it was knocked down a row where it was picked up by another fan.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
15 balls at 13 games this season.
1.15 balls per game.
86 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

7/4/11- Astros @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-07-10T12:24:00.003-04:00

*Sorry for not updating sooner, I am in Maryland, and I have been out camping.*
I went to this game with 2 other people, Sarah and Josh, we got to the gate around 10. I was hoping for a good day, like always, but I would end up getting shutout because the bleachers during BP were too crowded and everybody stood there like statues. During all of BP, I only had 2 or 3 chances for a ball.

Josh was shutout during BP as well, but he would end up getting a ball in the top of the first from bullpen catcher known as Herbie.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
14 balls at 12 games this season.
1.17 balls per game.
85 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

6/25/11- Mustangs @ Power (AFL- Consol Energy Center)

2011-06-28T03:08:00.003-04:00

My friend has season tickets for the Pittsburgh Power arena football team, and I wanted to go to one all season long, and he said that he had four tickets for this game. I was very excited to be there.

Arena football was always fun to watch on TV.

All four of us got to the arena, just before the game started. What I didn't know is that my friend has season tickets in the Captain Morgan club! WOW! Also you don't have to get up for anything, we had very good service, as for the game, the Power won, on the very last play of the game.

The attendance was 8,227.
Final Score: Pittsburgh Power 39, Milwaukee Mustangs 38.

I only took one picture at the game, if my computer was working 100% correctly, I would have taken more, and this post would have been so much better.

6/24/11- Red Sox @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-06-28T03:07:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the late update, I've been busy the last couple days. Also I'm sorry that this will be another pictureless post.

But here we go...
I was excited to see the Boston Red Sox play for the first time in person, also since I was shutout in my last game, I was hoping for a big day, even though I knew it would be a packed stadium.
I was happy to get on the board early, with a toss-up from Pedro Ciriaco, two minutes after we got in.
When the Red Sox came out, it started to rain, I started to think that BP would be stopped, but Boston kept hitting, and I was happy.
When David Ortiz was hitting, he hit a ball directly toward me, I put my arm up as high as I could, but the ball when over my glove.
I was told it barely went over my glove, and I couldn't turn around to get the ball in time.
I also had a chance to get a ball that was hit by JD Drew, but it was picked up by someone else, just before I could grab it off a seat.

As for the game, I had a chance for a toss-up from Andrew McCutchen, I lost it in the lights, and some lady ended up with it, she handed the ball to me, but since someone else in the stand had possession of the ball before me, I couldn't count it, so I quickly gave it to a young girl, who was extremely happy to have a baseball.

Also I was happy that the Pirates won the game, and then took 2 of 3 from the Boston Red Sox.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
14 balls at 11 games this season.
1.27 balls per game.
85 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

6/20/11- Orioles @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-06-22T23:20:00.000-04:00

Not much to say about this game at all, I got shutout, for the second time this season.
I was hoping for a big day, cause the Orioles BP is one of the top in the MLB in my opinion.
There was alot of people and nowhere to go.
I only had about 3 chances to snag a ball during BP, and one chance during the game, which was the warm-up ball thrown by Andrew McCutchen.

My next game is Friday against Boston, I'm excited for this game, hopefully I can bounce back with a good day.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
13 balls at 10 games this season.
1.3 balls per game.
84 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

6/13/11- Mets @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-06-14T00:43:00.003-04:00

*My computer is still messed up, so there won't be any pictures in this post either, sorry. I have someone coming to fix my computer within the next couple days*
I didn't get a ball during the Pirates part of BP, because they got off the field a few minutes after the stadium opened.
A few minutes after the Mets came out, my first ball of the day was thrown by Jason Pridie.
Then once I went over to center field, in Section 140, my second ball of the day was thrown to me by Pedro Beato.
During the game, I was sitting up in the PBC sections, a perfect spot to snag a foul ball, but none at all were hit my way.

Final Score: New York Mets 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 3.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
13 balls at 9 games this season.
1.44 balls per game.
4 consecutive games with atleast one ball.
84 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

6/10/11- Mets @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-06-10T22:28:00.002-04:00

*My computer is messed up right now, and I can't upload pictures, sorry folks*
I hate that the Pirates start BP earlier than they did last season, because we only get to see the last group of hitters once we are in the stadium, and the last doesn't hit many homers at all.
The Pirates got off the field at 5:11, and as they were leaving the field, I got Pirates bullpen catcher Herberto Andrade to throw me my first ball of the day.
My second ball of the day was thrown to me by Mets pitcher, Jason Isringhausen, the ball was thrown high, I stuck my arm up as high as I could, and the ball hit the side of my glove, I quickly turned around and picked it up.
I stayed for most of the game, and didn't get another ball.
Since it was a Friday, it was a t-shirt giveaway, in my opinion its one of the better t-shirts the team has given away.

New York Mets 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 1.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
11 balls at 8 games this season.
1.37 balls per game.
3 consecutive games with atleast one ball.
82 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

6/7/11- Diamondbacks @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-06-07T23:25:00.003-04:00

This was my first game in two weeks, so I was hoping for a really good day. The day started off here.
Below: View from Riverwalk.

When the gates opened at 5, we all started to run in, but a supervisor told us, that we weren't allowed to run in.
Oh, what a shock the Pirates got off the field early! Again...
Below: Pirates getting off the field.

Pirates BP on this day was pathetic.
Then the Diamondbacks came out, and I was hoping for a good BP from them.
Below: Diamondbacks BP

Just before 5:30 I went over to Right Field to look for easter eggs, I couldn't find any. While I was up in right, ballhawk Zac Weiss, told me the first name of the Diamondbacks bullpen catcher, Jeff Motuzas, I yelled for Jeff, and then he threw a ball my way, I caught it, then I had possession of it, but then I somehow dropped it, and then another guy picked it up and then he offered my money for the ball, I said no, but he Insisted that I get money for it, then the guy handed me $6. That was the only ball I would get during BP.
Below: Crowd in bleachers during BP

Look at that crowd during the latter stages of BP, it would have been great if the Diamondbacks hit alot of homers.
After BP, my cousin Josh took a picture of me with Pirates catcher, Chris Synder.

After that, me and Josh met up with my uncle John, my other cousin Paige, my uncle's friend Matt and his two kids. They went over to their seats in Section 123, and I stayed out near the bleachers the whole time and got something to eat.
In the 5th inning, I caught Andrew McCutchen's warm-up ball for my second ball of the day.
Then in the 7th inning, Josh caught Andrew McCutchen's warm-up ball for his fourth of the day.
Then after that, we went over to Section 123 to meet up with my uncle and everyone else.
This was the view...
Below: Seat view in Section 123.

The Pirates scored 5 runs in the 8th, Joel Hanrahan came in for the save, and the Pirates won!
Below: Pirates win!

Final score: Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 8.

Below: What I collected at this game.

Below: Upclose on the one ball that I kept.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game. (Gave "sold" one)
9 balls at 7 games this season.
1.29 BPG (balls per game)
2 consecutive games with atleast one ball.
80 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

I Think Atlanta Moving To Winnipeg Is A Bad Idea

2011-06-04T12:17:00.000-04:00

On May 31st, the NHL announced that the Thrashers were purchased by True North, and are going to move to Winnipeg, but I think its a bad move by the NHL. Hockey isn't like other sports like football and baseball. Hockey needs teams in southern cities, so the sport can grow and expand.

For example in Winnipeg, basically all of the younger children play hockey, but its not the same story in Atlanta, maybe a small amount of children play. Hockey teams need to be in the south so children can watch a hometown team and become interested in hockey.

People are saying that the Thrasher have no fan support, which I agree, you know why? Because since their first season (99-00) they only made the playoffs once, and in America, and in any other sport that is not going to draw fans. Yeah sure, in Edmonton or Toronto they haven't been playing well at all for a few years now and are still selling out every game, you know why? Because its Canada and hockey is Canada's sport. It doesn't work the same way in the United States.

Another thing, what is the point of this move? Winnipeg's arena is going to be the smallest in the league, with around 15,000 seats. Since its Canada and the first year for a NHL team in Winnipeg they will sellout every game without any issues, even though they will probably finish in 4th or 5th place in the division.

The team will average 15,000 all season long, and Atlanta averaged 13,469 in the 10-11 season, so to me it seems like the team is getting moved so there will be an extra 1,531 people at home games. In the 2010-2011 season the Thrashers were 28th in the NHL for attendance, and Winnipeg's 15,000 per game would have 24th in the NHL, behind teams like Nashville and Florida were Canadians like to say should have an NHL team. Speaking of Nashville, the NBC market in Nashville had one of the highest ratings in the United States for game one of the Stanley Cup finals, they had better television ratings than cities that are considered to be "hockey towns", seems like Nashville is becoming a hockey town.

Also another reason NHL teams are need in the south is that people from the Northern United States and Canada move to places like Florida, California, and Arizona because of the warmer weather, I'll use the Penguins for this example, if a Penguins fan moves from Pittsburgh to Tampa, they'll be able to go to two games a year in Tampa, two more games down in South Florida, and even two more games up the road in Atlanta (another reason the move is bad). Like think about this, if you and your family are planning a vacation and you would like to go to a hockey game to watch your favorite team play, where would you rather go on vacation, Florida or Winnipeg? Give me three things to do in Winnipeg, and then give me three things to do in Florida.

In my eyes, this is a bad move by the NHL, but also this is my personal opinion, you guys will all have your own.

5/24/11- Braves @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-05-24T22:07:00.002-04:00

After getting shutout on Friday against the Tigers, I wanted to get back on track with a quick start against the Braves. I got to the stadium around 4, and got in line, played catch with two other ballhawks (Zac Weiss and Baseball Joe) and around 4:30, I went down to the Riverwalk with Nick and Erik, they both got a ball down there, but I came up empty.
When the stadium opened, we all rushed down to the bleachers, looked for Easter eggs, I didn't find any, but right away I snagged a ball the bounced around, and landed on a bleacher. I picked up the ball right before a younger kid got there, I took a quick look at the ball, and handed it to the kid. About 2 minutes later, James McDonald threw me a ball for my 2nd ball of the day in just under 5 minutes. Then after that, an unknown Pirate batter hit a ball that cleared the bleachers, and rolled into a kiosk, I ran there, but the ball wasn't there, the ball completely rolled through it, and I couldn't come up with the ball, then at that time, the Pirates got off the field, at 5:09. I quickly changed into my Braves shirt. Ran over to center field to look for balls, none where there.
Below: Braves BP

The Braves had the Angels 50th anniversary balls, sadly I couldn't come up with one.
I went back over to the bleachers, they were getting packed.
Below: Bleachers

After BP, I relaxed and eat some good PNC Park food, no joke, I love it.
The bleachers were strangely packed for a Tuesday night game in May, probably because the large amount of Braves fans that were in attendance.
Below: Bleachers during the game.

I stayed for most of the game, the Pirates were shutout, the game had great pitching.
Final score: Atlanta Braves 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 0.
Below: What I collected.

Below: Up close on the one ball that I kept.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game (one ball given to a kid)
7 balls at 6 games this season.
1.17 BPG (balls per game)
78 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

5/20/11- Tigers @ Pirates (PNC Park)

2011-05-20T23:17:00.002-04:00

Well to start off some bad luck, a few days before this game my phone broke, so I was having a little bit of bad luck. Well I got to the stadium around 4:10, got an extra ticker for my friend, and got in line. I spend a few minutes on the Riverwalk with two other ballhawks, and when I got back up to the gate there was a huge line waiting to get in the stadium, thankfully I was up front. When the gates opened we all raced down to the bleachers and my friend Matt snagged a ball right away. For the first half hour the bleachers weren't empty, but weren't packed either.
Below: Bleachers

I had a couple very good opportunities to snag a ball, but I couldn't come up with it. During the first 30 minutes, I saw atleast 3 balls hit into the center field sections, my plan was to run over before 5:30 and pick them up, but when I got over there, the ushers had already picked up all of the balls. I stayed over in there for a while, but no luck, I had one chance to snag a ball. Then I went back over to the bleachers. The bleachers had mostly Tiger fans there, so it was useless to ask for a toss up.
Below: Bleachers again

BP ended, and I was shutout. I was hoping to get a toss up from a Pirate outfielder, or a game HR ball, but I couldn't come up with one. My streak of 22 straight games with a ball is over, well I'm going to start a new start Tuesday night.
Below: What I collected at this game.

Neil Walker had a great game with 5 RBI's
Final Score : Detroit Tigers 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 10.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
5 balls at 5 games this season.
1 BPG (balls per game)
76 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

5/13/11- Orioles @ Rays (Tropicana Field)

2011-05-14T11:29:00.003-04:00

*I took more pictures at this game, but since my computer isn't working that great right now, I only put the most important pictures from the game on here, if you want to see that rest then go to my Facebook page, they are on there*
Last week, I was on vacation down in Florida. I went to this game with my uncle and cousin. We arrived at the stadium a little late (5:15 to be exact) But I still had an hour of BP. As I walked into the outfield sections, I passed up a ball that was laying on seat, someone else got to it before I could.
Below: Rays BP

Left field got crowded quickly, and I looked over to right field and it wasn't very crowded so I went over there. I stayed there for most of BP, many homers were hit my way, but I couldn't get them because of all the people and there wasn't much room to go.
Below: Orioles BP

I only got one ball at this game, it was hit by an unknown Oriole.
For the Orioles last group of BP, I went back over to left field, where many BP homers were hit, but I only had a shot at one of them, there were too many people. The only ball I had a chance to get over there was dropped by a person, I saw the saw start rolling down the rows and it stopped by a woman's foot, right before I had a chance to grab it, someone else did.
Below: Very crowded.

After BP ended, we went up to our seats in the upper deck, Section 307, Row T, Seat 8.

The game was awesome, Matt Joyce and Johnny Damon both hit HR's.
Final score: Baltimore Orioles 0, Tampa Bay Rays 3.
When I got back to my place, I took the two usual pictures.
Below: What I collected.

Below: Upclose on the one ball I snagged.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
5 balls at 4 games this season.
1.25 BPG (balls per game)
22 straight games with at least one ball.
76 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

Florida, Here I Come!

2011-05-05T15:00:00.001-04:00

Early tomorrow morning, I will be leaving for Florida for a week! Hopefully going to a baseball game while I'm down there!

4/26/11- Pirates vs. Giants (PNC Park)

2011-04-27T07:01:00.002-04:00

When I got to PNC Park, the sky was overcast, but it wasn't raining, but a few minutes after I got there, it started to rain.
Below: Rain, please stop.

Before the rain began, I peeked in the stadium onto the field to see if there was any BP, but it was cancelled because of the rain. So when the stadium opened at 5, another ballhawk, Zac Weiss, and I were the first two into the stadium, I ran down into the bleachers, and found a wet ball laying in the first row.
Below: Spot where I found the ball.

It was barely raining at this point, I thought the Giants would have taken BP, but the tarp stayed on the field.
Below: Tarp on the field.

I wanted to keep the wet ball, so I did something I did once last year.
Below: Wet ball covered in paper towels.

After that, I ran down the first base side where some Giants pitchers were throwing.
Below: Giants pitchers.

Below: Brian Wilson

I tried to get Wilson's autograph, but I couldn't.
I was glad Brandon Wood got the start for this game.
Below: Brandon Wood

The tarp stayed on the field, and the game was scheduled to start at 7:50.
Below: Game time, 7:50

Finally the tarp was getting taken off the field.

Below: The games Pirate starter, Charlie "Electric Stuff" Morton.

In the top of the 3rd, I got Andrew McCutchen's toss-up.
Below: Cutch

When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Upclose on the two baseballs.

Below: What I collected.

San Francisco Giants 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
4 balls at 3 games this season.
1.33 balls per game (BPG)
21 straight games with atleast 1 ball.
75 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

4/22/11- Pirates vs. Nationals (PNC Park- Postponed)

2011-04-22T23:01:00.002-04:00

Even though rain was in the forecast all day, I still decided to go to the ballpark. It rained all day, it rained on my way to the stadium, and it just kept raining.
Below: Rain, rain go away.

At 5, two PNC Park employees said that the game was cancelled, and will be made up on Monday.
*UPDATE: I didn't go to the makeup game, because I wasn't feeling well*

4/13/11- Pirates vs. Brewers (PNC Park)

2011-04-13T22:40:00.003-04:00

I got to PNC Park around 3:40. I noticed that access to the Riverwalk was blocked off, then I saw that it was starting to get flooded.
Below: Flooded riverwalk.

I was the first one in line, so when the gates opened, I raced down into the bleachers with the other ballhawks behind me. I had the best chance to find Easter eggs, but there weren't any.
Below: Pirates BP

Up until the time when the Brewers came out for BP, the sky was overcast, but as soon as the Brewers came out, the sun came out, and I couldn't see anything because I forgot my sunglasses at home.
Below: Brewers BP

After I took the picture above, I ran over to center field to look for more Easter eggs, but there weren't any there either. Since I was already over that way, I stayed over in center and right field for Prince Fielder to hit, but he hit ball after ball into the river. It was almost 6, and I didn't have any balls. Then, around 5:50, Brewers pitcher, Mitch Stetter threw me my one and only ball of the day.
After BP was over, I took another picture of the Riverwalk.
Below: Flooded riverwalk.

Then I did what I always do after BP (Eat Diamond club pizza, and relax before the game).
The starting pitcher for the Pirates was Kevin Correia.
Below: Kevin Correia.

Below: Game view.

Notice in the picture above? Very low crowd. The attendance was 8,775.
During the game I had the perfect chance for a McCutchen toss-up, but I lost it in the lights, and couldn't come up with the ball, it was just that kind of day.
Below: I thought it looked cool with the moon in the picture.

I left the game in the top of the 9th, when I got home I took the two usual pictures.
Below: What I collected.

Below: Close up on the one ball.

Milwaukee Brewers 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 0.

2011 SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
2 balls at 2 games this season.
1 BPG (balls per game)
73 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

Pittsburgh Penguins- Regular Season Stats & Playoffs.

2011-04-12T16:20:00.000-04:00

The Penguins play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs (I wish that the Pens could have played the Lightning in the second round, cause that's when I'll be in Florida). This isn't much of a series preview, I'm just going to tell you my prediction, and that is Penguins in 6 games.

Here are the 2010/2011 Pittsburgh Penguins stats leaders.
Games Played- Letang/Talbot (82)
Goals- Sidney Crosby (32)
Assists- Kris Letang (42)
Points- Sidney Crosby (66)
+/-- Sidney Crosby (20)
Penalty Minutes- Matt Cooke (129)
Power Play Goals- Sidney Crosby (10)
Shorthanded Goals- Pascal Dupuis (4)
Game Winning Goals- Jordan Staal (4)
Shots- Kris Letang (236)
Shooting Percentage- Brett Sterling (21.4%) He only played 7 games.

Marc-Andre Fleury finished the season with 36 wins, which is 6th in the NHL. Fleury had a great season, he started out the season slow, but in November turned his game around, and played like the Fleury everyone knows.

Tyler Kennedy really impressed me this season. He scored 21 goals this season. Before the season started I thought he would score around 15 goals.

Even though the Penguins were hurt by injures all season long, it was still a great one.

LETS GO PENS!

4/8/11- Penguins @ Islanders (Nassau Coliseum)

2011-04-09T20:30:00.042-04:00

After the Pirates home opener, I went up to my cousins house in Ohio for a night, cause Friday morning I left for New York City (Great place, been there twice in 2 months!) We all stayed at my uncle's friends house, he lives in Manhattan. This was my second time at Nassau Coliseum, its an old crappy looking arena, but I like it.
Below: Nassau Coliseum

Below: Warm-ups

During warm=ups, my cousin and I went down by the glass, but I couldn't get any good pictures.
Below: Faceoff and seat view.

Section- 332, Row- L, Seat- 8.
I didn't take any pictures during regulation, sorry.
The was tied at 3, and went into OT.
Below: Scoreboard in OT.

Nobody could score the game winner in OT, even though both Penguins and Islanders had some good chances to win. The game went into a shootout.
Below: Shootout.

The Penguins won the shootout, and the game, 4-3 was the final score.
Below: Final

Like I said before, the arena is old and not appealing, I like it. I'd love to come back to Nassau Coliseum again for a third time. The attendance of the game was 16,250.
Goals
PIT-Mike Rupp, assisted by Eric Godard and Craig Adams.
PIT-Zbynek Michalek, assisted by Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy.
NYI-Blake Comeau, assisted by Matt Moulson and Jesse Joensuu.
NYI-Blake Comeau, assisted by Michael Grabner and Travis Hamonic.
PIT-Mark Letestu, assisted by Mike Rupp and Aaron Asham.
NYI-Travis Hamonic, assisted by Kyle Okposo.
Shooutout
PIT-Chris Kunitz

Below: What I collected at this game.

2 tickets, and game day roster card.

The regular season is now over, and the Penguins will play the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs starting on Wednesday night. Hopefully I can get tickets for a playoff game this year.
LETS GO PENS!

4/7/11- Pirates vs Rockies (PNC Park- Home Opener)

2011-04-08T06:40:00.018-04:00

*Sorry for the late update, I was in New York City for the weekend*
So here we go! I was extremely excited for the Pirates home opener, I got to PNC Park around 10 am. All the ballhawks were there, when the gates opened, I ran into the stadium and got into the bleachers (since I am a season ticket holder this year). As soon as I got into the bleachers, I almost got hit by my one and only ball of the day, it was hit by an unknown Pirate.
Below: Pirates BP

The bleachers started to get crowded.
Below: Bleachers

I changed into my Rockies gear, and had a unsuccessful BP with them, the outfield was very crowded and nobody could move around.
Below: Rockies BP

After BP I went up to my ticketed seat, to see the view, I should have stayed there.
Below: View from seat.

Section- 301 Row- H Seat- 8.
The only ball I got at this game was signed by Joel Hanrahan, my favorite Pirates pitcher.
Below: Hanrahan ball.

I went back down to the bleachers for the game, got a slice of pizza (as always)
Here are some other pictures from the game.

Below: Everyone on the field.

Below: Game view.

Below: Paul's Posse sign.

I stayed at the game until the 8th, it was too crowded to get another ball. There were people everywhere, I barely watched any of the game, cause I couldn't see over all the people. Like I said above, I should have stayed at my seat. By the time I left the stadium I was really thristy, thankfully people were handing out free Pepsi.
Below: Pepsi Max.

Good stuff.
Below: What I collected at this game.

Colorado Rockies 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 1.

Season Stats
1 ball at 1 game this season.
1 BPG (balls per game)
72 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

2011 Pirates Season Tickets

2011-03-25T15:14:00.000-04:00

I ordered my Pirates 20-game season ticket plan almost a month ago, and I finally got it today! Below is a picture of some of the stuff that came in the package.

Now I'm even more excited than I was before! Pirates home opener is April 7th!

Lets Go Bucs!

2011 Fantasy Baseball!

2011-03-23T13:24:00.000-04:00

This year I decided to play fantasy baseball for the first time, every fantasy game I play is always on ESPN. I had my draft a while ago, but it wasn't until today that I decided to post it. Also, I decided to create my own league called Evan Longoria's Hat. My team name is the Ball Gazers.

Take a look at my roster, what do you think?
POSITION PLAYERS
C - Joe Mauer (MIN)
1B - Adam LaRoche (WASH)
2B - Rickie Weeks (MIL)
3B - Ryan Zimmerman (WASH)
SS - Stephen Drew (ARZ)
2B/SS - Ben Zobrist (TB)
1B/3B - Matt LaPorta (CLE)
IF - Ike Davis (NYM)
OF - Hunter Pence (HOU)
OF - Shane Victorino (PHI)
OF - Adam Jones (BAL)
OF - Logan Morrison (FLA)
OF - Austin Jackson (DET)
UTIL - Matt Wieters (BAL)
Bench - Marco Scutaro (BOS)
Bench - Sean Rodriguez (TB)
Bench - Freddy Sanchez (PIT)
PITCHERS
Roy Halladay (PHI)
Jon Lester (BOS)
Brian Wilson (SF)
Tim Hudson (ATL)
Andrew Bailey (OAK)
Ricky Nolasco (FLA)
Madison Bumgarner (SF)
Bronson Arroyo (CIN)
Joel Hanrahan (PIT)
Jon Garland (LAD)

Its almost time for the 2011 regular season! I'm excited!

Pennsylvania and Florida Weather Comparison

2011-03-06T15:16:00.001-05:00

Here is a little weather comparison between Southwest Pennsylvania and Bradenton, FL.

My backyard.

Bradenton, FL.
.
Oh boy, I can't wait to move to Florida some day. Also look at that Pirates score, come on Bucs!

Pirates season opener in 25 days!
Pirates home opener in 31 days!

Pittsburgh Penguins Stats Update

2011-03-05T12:38:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks, I'm a few days behind on this. Finally, here is another Penguins stats update.
The only two Penguins this season to appear in every game are Kris Letang and Max Talbot. Even though Sidney Crosby has been out for 2 months, he is still the team leader in goals and points, and still is one of the top scorers in the NHL this year. (Imagine if he never got hurt!)

Goals- Sidney Crosby (32)
Assists- Kris Letang (38)
Points- Sidney Crosby (66)
+/-- Sidney Crosby (20)
Penalty Minutes- Michael Rupp (111)
Shots- Kris Letang (191)
Shooting Percentage- Dustin Jeffrey (22.7%)

2011 Pittsburgh Pirates Preview/Ballhawk Goals

2011-02-28T11:33:00.003-05:00

April 1st is just 31 days away! Lets hope for a great 2011 MLB season and a great ballhawking season!

Things that I want to see from the Pirates in 2011
Andrew McCutchen to hit around .290 with 15 HR's, 65 RBI's, and 30-35 stolen bases.
Pedro Alvarez to hit 25-30 HR's.
Neil Walker and Jose Tabata to have great 2nd seasons, and build off their excellent rookie seasons.
Also for Lyle Overbay to prove me wrong and not be a bust, I originally said he'd only hit like 6 HR's and play terribly, hopefully he'll end up proving me wrong.
Joel Hanrahan will hopefully have a great season at closer, around 25 saves would be nice.
The starting rotation not sucking, which probably won't happen.
Garrett Jones hitting atleast 25 HR's.

I'm not going to go into much more detail than that, I'd just like to see a winning season from the Buccos.

2011 Ballhawk Goals
75 balls.
Average around 2-3 balls a game.
Catch another home run.
20 autographs.
Go to Cleveland, Baltimore, and back to Washington D.C. for a game.

That's basically it, I'm not creating insane goals, because then I won't feel bad that I didn't reach them at the end of the season.

Other Pictures From New York City

2011-02-14T21:34:00.002-05:00

Sorry to keep you guys waiting for these pictures. I wanted to have it up on Thursday or Friday, but I've been lazy and busy since my last post.

*Next post, 2011 Pirates season preview*

2/13/11- Penguins @ Rangers (Madison Square Garden)

2011-02-14T21:33:00.004-05:00

I was excited I got to be at the world's most famous arena!
Below: Screen outside Madison Square Garden

*I meant to crop the picture, instead I wanted to get all my NYC blogs finished.
Unlike the game against the Islanders, I got to see warm-ups at this game, even though I missed the first few minutes because the lady at the concession stand took 15 minutes to serve me and 2 other people.
Below: Warm-ups

Where my seat was, it was a little dark, so when I got a picture of myself it turned out dark.
Below: Me at Madison Square Garden.

I took a picture during the national anthem (something I'm going to start doing at the hockey games I attend).
Below: During the anthem

Then when the game started, I took the picture that I always take.
Below: Game picture/View from my seat

Section-348 Row-E- Seat-1
In the first period, there were 4 goals scored within the 10 minutes, the score was tied up at 2. The second period was all Rangers, they scored 3 goals, and took a 5-2 lead. Then the Pens scored a goal in the 3rd, but couldn't come back. The Rangers won 5-3. The attendance at this game was 18,200.
Below: Final score on scoreboard

When I got outside of the arena, I got my picture taken again, but I edited this one a little bit.
Below: Me outside of Madison Square Garden

Below: 3 tickets I collected at this game

Final post about New York will be up tomorrow, it will have all of the other picture I took in New York City.
*My next Penguins will probably be in the playoffs

2/11/11- Penguins @ Islanders (Nassau Coliseum)

2011-02-14T01:43:00.005-05:00

It starts on Friday morning, at 6 in the morning to be exact, I was on a tour bus on my way to New York City. With rest stops, stops for food, and traffic, I missed most of warm-ups at Nassau Coliseum. Our hotel was right next to the arena, so when we all arrived at the hotel around 6:30, I took my suitcase into the lobby, grabbed my jersey, put it on and ran over to the arena. Quickly, I took a picture of the arena.
Below: Nassau Coliseum

I got there just in time to take a picture of warm-ups.
Below: Warm-ups

Then I got a nice picture during the national anthem.
Below: During the National Anthem

And I took a picture of the opening faceoff plus view from my seat.
Below: Faceoff, view from my seat.

Section- 221 Row- L Seat- 3
I randomly decided to take a picture of the scoreboard, because this arena is older and I thought it looked cool, makes me miss Mellon Arena.
Below: Scoreboard

As you can probably tell from the picture, the score was only 1-0 at this point, before the Islanders went crazy, and the boxing match started.
Then a penalty shot was given to the Islanders, so I decided to make a video of it, watch it below.

At the 1st intermission, I took a quick picture of the concourse, because I thought the arena had a minor league/high school/college vibe. Plus, the whole was small.
Below: Concourse

I didn't take any pictures of the fights, brawls, scraps, because I was too focused on that, and listening to all the penalties that were given. This is something you never see, and after the Islanders scored their 9th goal, I somewhat wanted to see them score a 10th goal, it would have been somewhat sweet to see that. After the game, I took another picture of the scoreboard with the final score.
Below: Scoreboard again.

The next morning before I headed to Manhattan, I took a better picture of Nassau Coliseum.
Below: Nassau Coliseum

Below: What I collected at this game.

The Islanders won 9-3 in this "wrestling match" I would like to list all the goals, penalties from this game, but that would take a while, so I'm going to take the easy route, and put a link below about the game.
Game recap from the Penguins website (click here)
A total of 346 penalty minutes from this game, that is crazy. The attendance at this game was 12,888. Even though, the arena was small and sort of to get to, I liked the arena, like I said before, it had a minor league vibe, which I like.
*Stay tuned for the next two posts*

Two In One Post

2011-02-09T18:48:00.000-05:00

This is just like my last post. So here we go!

1) Super Bowl
What can I say? The Steelers lost, too many mistakes. That is basically the only thing I have to say about, but anyway congratulations to the Green Bay Packers on winning it.

2) New York City
I will be leaving for New York City early Friday morning. I will be at the Penguins @ Islanders game Friday night, and then the Penguins @ Rangers on Sunday.

Just thought I would update you all on stuff! My next post will be the two posts about the Penguins games.

Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NHL All-Star Weekend, And Penguins

2011-01-31T15:29:00.003-05:00

I have 4 topics to cover in one post, so here I go!

1) Super Bowl- In my playoff predictions, I went 5-5. Of course, since I am a Steelers fan, I'm definitely picking the Steelers to win. The Packers are a very good team with Aaron Rodgers, his passing against the Steelers secondary should be interesting to see. Anyway this year is stairway to seven, or knocking on seven's door, however you want to say it for the Steelers.
My predicted score
Steelers 27 - Packers 21

2) Pro Bowl- I didn't even watch the Pro Bowl, its not very interesting to me. I saw on TV that the score was 42-0 or something like that at one point, and I know the NFC won.

3) NHL All-Star Weekend- I did watch the NHL All-Star game, and the Superskills. I didn't like the fantasy draft idea though, I'm one of the few NHL fans in the world that didn't like it. The skills competition has always been my favorite of the All-Star weekend, and this year was great. Zdeno Chara, of the Boston Bruins, broke his record with 105.9 mph slap shot!
*Here is a video from YouTube of the shot

And for the game itself, Team Lidstrom beat Team Staal 11-10. For more information on the game click here for the Wikipedia page of the All-Star game.

4) Pittsburgh Penguins January Review
In January the Penguins had a record of 6-4-1, and now have a record of 31-15-4 (66 points) this season.
Current Stat Leaders
Goals - Sidney Crosby (32)
Assists - Crosby/Letang (34)
Points - Sidney Crosby (66)
+/- - Kris Letang (22)
Penalty Minutes - Engelland/Rupp (76)
Shots - Evgeni Malkin (179)

Crosby's injury kept him out for almost all of the month, and only recorded 1 point. Steven Stamkos passed Crosby in the goals lead and points. Hopefully, Crosby can get back in the lineup soon. Also Evgeni Malkin will be back soon, he will not play against the Rangers.

*By the way, I leave for New York for two Penguins games on the 11th!
Lets Go Pens!

NFL Playoffs - Conference Championship Round

2011-01-18T20:42:00.004-05:00

I went 2-2 in my picks last week, so my playoff record is now 3-5 (terrible!)
*My predicted score in parenthesis

AFC
#6 - NY Jets (17)
#2 - Pittsburgh (20)
Of course I'm going to pick my team to win (so this really isn't much of a preview), this is looking to be a very good game. The Jets shocked the NFL with a win over New England last week. The Jets won the first game between the two teams in the regular season, but this is the playoffs that doesn't matter! Like I said before, the Jets were my pre-season Super Bowl pick. The Steelers are lucky though, we got another home game, and we don't have to play New England, but since the Jets beat them, it makes them look alot tougher. Steelers win close.

NFC
#6 - Green Bay (28)
#2 - Chicago (24)
Same seeds as the AFC! Anyway, I'm picking Green Bay, I said why in last weeks playoff post. They look like the 6th seed Steelers from the Super Bowl 40 year. Chicago is tough, but I think Green Bay can beat them. What makes this game awesome is that this is an old classic football rivalry. I think the Packers are going to score a later touchdown to win this game.

NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round

2011-01-12T17:49:00.000-05:00

I went 1-3 with my Wild Card round picks. Hopefully this week will be better.
*Predicted score in parenthesis.

AFC
#5 Baltimore (17)
#2 Pittsburgh (20)
I shouldn't have picked this game, because I am Steelers fan, and of course I'm going to pick them to win. Anyway, the Ravens are a very good team, and will give the Steelers a challenge like always. Steelers in a close game.

#6 NY Jets (17)
#1 New England (28)
The Patriots are just too good. I'd love to see the Jets win, but New England is an all around great team. The Jets are going to have to do alot to win, but I don't see it happening.

NFC
#6 Green Bay (24)
#1 Atlanta (21)
The Packers look like the Steelers when they won the Super Bowl with the 6th seed. I want to see Green Bay win this one, they have a good chance because of the good defense, but Atlanta's offense is very good, this will be a great close game.

#4 Seattle (17)
#2 Chicago (13)
I'm a believer now! If Seattle's offense can do what they did against New Orleans, but the Bears' Defense is much better. Seattle won't score like they did last week, but if their defense can stop the Bears, then Seattle will leave Chicago with a date in the NFC Championship.

Empire State Of Mind!

2011-01-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

I'm going to New York in the middle of February! For 2 Penguins games! (One against the Islanders and the other against the Rangers)

I'm very excited! This will add 2 more arenas to my list of ones I've been too. Nassau Coliseum and Madison Square Garden will the 7th and 8th NHL areans I've been too!

NFL Playoffs - Wild Card Round

2011-01-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a little post with my picks for the NFL playoffs wild card round.
*My predicted score in parenthesis.

AFC
#6 - NY Jets (20)
#3 - Indianapolis (24)
I originally picked the Jets to win the Super Bowl way back before the pre-season, but I can't see the Jets winning this one. Peyton Manning should have a great game.

#5 - Baltimore (28)
#4 - Kansas City (10)
Matt Cassel vs. Ravens defense, sorry Matt. I think Ray Rice will have a great game, and the Ravens defense will get to Cassel early and cause him to make mistakes.

NFC
#5 - New Orleans (31)
#4 - Seattle (14)
Seattle basically has to play without one single error. Saints win big, they want to repeat as champions. I think Drew Brees will have an amazing game. Sorry, Pete Carroll even though I'm picking you to lose, you are still one of my favorite football coaches.

#6 - Green Bay (17)
#3 - Philadelphia (21)
I think this is the best matchup of the wild card round. Michael Vick has had such a great year, and he wants to do great in the playoffs, that's why I pick the Eagles.

1/1/11 - Penguins vs Capitals (Heinz Field- 2011 Winter Classic)

2011-01-02T13:02:00.003-05:00

I was lucky, I got a ticket for the 2011 Winter Classic, and was more excited than I have ever been. The day finally came, at first I was upset that the NHL delayed the game from 1pm to 8pm, but after I thought about it. It seemed like the best idea for 2 reasons. First reason, is that I would get to sleep in, and not have to wake up extremely early. The second reason is that it would the at night.
When we first got to Heinz Field, we walked around outside for a few minutes to see the festivities going on. Like a Pittsburgh area band called Radio Tokyo.
Below: Radio Toyko on stage.

Once we got into the stadium, and got to our seats, I took this picture.
Below: Winter Classic logo on the scoreboard.

Soon after my cousin and I got to our seats, we saw a few Flyers fans walking up the steps.
Below: Flyers fans.

And when the players came out for warm-ups, I recorded this.

And here is a picture from warm-ups

The next 2 pictures, I took during the USA and Canada national anthems.
Below: Canada's flag in the crowd.

Below: USA flag in the crowd.

And finally the game started...
Below: Faceoff view from my seat.

Section 530, Row Z, Seat 4.
That was the only picture that I took during the game, sorry about that. I wasn't thinking about taking more pictures, I should of though.
The attendence was 68,111. Also I found the 2011 Winter Classic wikipedia page. Click here too see it.
After the game ended, my cousin took this picture for me.
Below: Me after the game.

When I got home, I took the pictures I usually take after a sporting event (I know, same routine!)
Below: What I collected.

Below: Upclose on my ticket.

Since I collect ticket stubs, I have alot of them, but this one is my favorite.
Even though the Penguins lost, I had a great time at the Winter Classic, it is a once in a lifetime experience. I'm happy and lucky that I got to go! The final score was 3-1 Capitals.
GOALS
Pittsburgh
Evgeni Malkin, his 14th, assisted by Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Washington
Mike Knuble, his 9th, assisted by Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green.
Eric Fehr, his 6th, assisted by Marcus Johansson and Jason Chimera.
Eric Fehr, his 7th (2nd of the game), assisted by Jason Chimera and John Erskine.

Three Stars
3rd - Evgeni Malkin
2nd - Eric Fehr
1st - Seymon Varlamov

Also, since I couldn't make a post for the Penguins stat leaders at the end of December, I'm going to add it below.

Goals - Sidney Crosby (32)
Assists - Sidney Crosby (33)
Points - Sidney Crosby (65)
+/- - Kris Letang (20)
Penalty Minutes - Deryk Engelland (76)
Shots - Sidney Crosby (159)

2011 New Year's Resolutions/Look Back Through 2010

2010-12-30T14:30:00.000-05:00

Basically, my resolutions for 2011 are just about the same as 2010's. Like maintain my current weight, and continue to workout. Visit new stadiums and arenas. Meet some more famous people. I don't really like to go all out with resolutions, but hopefully I can accomplish these in 2011.

Now, here is a quick pictureless recap of my 2010.
Watched so much of the Winter Olympics.
Went to Prudential Center (Newark, NJ), Nationals Park (Washington DC), and saw the opening of Consol Energy Center here in Pittsburgh and already went 3 times.
Got my 1st game HR ball (hit by Rickie Weeks of the Milwaukee Brewers)
Went to 2 amazing concerts. (Warped Tour 2010 and Brooks&Dunn)
Went to Florida, again! Always an amazing vacation.
Made people happy.

And that is just some of the things that I wanted to share. Next post is very soon.

Have a Happy New Year everybody!

Pictures From Maryland

2010-12-27T13:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry people, I have been lazy from blogging lately, but here are some pictures from Maryland.

Below: Bullocks (aka, best restaurant on Earth!)

Below: A Civil War trails sign in the center of Sykesville.

Below: Entrance to Millard Cooper Park

I just wanted to share a few pictures from down there. I love Maryland, I go down there twice a year to visit some family.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-25T14:33:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas (or any other holiday you celebrate) and have a Happy New Year!

*Short random post.

12/12/10- Steelers vs. Bengals (Heinz Field)

2010-12-12T18:35:00.004-05:00

Great game to be at! We got to Heinz Field around 10:40, and got in line.
Below: Heinz Field entrance.

When the gates opened, we began to walk towards our seats, but stopped for some great wings first.
Below: My amazing wings.

After we got to our seats, we walked down by the first row to be close to the field, and near the away player entrance.
Below: On-field practice.

From where we were at, close to where the Bengals came out, I got to see some of the players up close.
Below: Bengals #94, Domata Peko.

*After that, my camera wasn't working good, so the rest of the pictures were taken with my phone.

Below: Game view from my seat.

Section: 128 Row: P Seat: 6.
That was the only picture that I took during the game because it was too cold to keep getting my phone out and taking pictures, sorry.
After the game, while walking across the Roberto Clemente bridge, I saw a guy with an awesome jersey.
Below: McLovin jersey.

When I got home I took the picture below.
Below: Ticket and terrible towel.

This was a great game to be at for multiple reasons, and here they are: the Steelers played a great game on defense, real Steelers football. Also since we were playing the Bengals, it was fun to talk trash on Owens, Ochocinco, and Palmer.

College Football Bowl Games!

2010-12-11T11:06:00.001-05:00

This post is about the bowl games, and who I pick to win. The team I pick to win will be in bold. Name of the bowl will be underlined.
New Mexico- BYU vs. UTEP
Humanitarian- Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
New Orleans- Ohio vs. Troy
St.Petersburg- Southern Mississippi vs. Louisville
Las Vegas- Utah vs. Boise State
Poinsettia- Navy vs. San Diego State
Hawaii- Hawaii vs. Tulsa
Little Caesars- Florida International vs. Toledo
Independence- Air Force vs. Georgia Tech
Champs Sports- West Virginia vs. North Carolina State
Insight- Missouri vs. Iowa
Military- East Carolina vs. Maryland
Texas- Illinois vs. Baylor
Alamo- Oklahoma State vs. Arizona
Armed Forces- Army vs. SMU
Pinstripe- Kansas State vs. Syracuse
Music City- North Carolina vs. Tennessee
Holiday- Nebraska vs. Washington
Meineke- South Florida vs. Clemson
Sun- Notre Dame vs. Miami
Liberty- Georgia vs. Central Florida
Chick-Fil-A- South Carolina vs. Florida State
Ticket City- Northwestern vs. Texas Tech
Outback- Florida vs. Penn State
Captial One- Alabama vs. Michigan State
Gator- Mississippi State vs. Michigan
Rose- Wisconsin vs. TCU
Fiesta- Connecticut vs. Oklahoma
Orange- Stanford vs. Virginia Tech
Sugar- Ohio State vs. Arkansas
GoDaddy- Middle Tennsessee vs. Miami(OH)
Cotton- LSU vs. Texas A&M
Compass- Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky
Kraft- Nevada vs. Boston College

And finally, the National Championship game!
Oregon vs. Auburn. This will be a very good game. I think it will be a high scoring, offensive game. And my pick is Oregon.

I can't wait until December 18th, next Saturday, for the bowls to start! After all the bowls are over, I will make a post about all of the bowls, and to see if I picked good or not.

Sidney Crosby's Streak!

2010-12-05T13:58:00.001-05:00

It can be defined in one word. Amazing.

During last nights 7-2 win over Columbus, Sidney Crosby scored 2 goals, extending his points streak to 15 games, and giving him 23 goals on the season. He has a total of 46 points this year so far in 28 games. *I am so lucky to have him on my fantasy hockey team* Currently ESPN.com has Sid on pace for 135 points this season. Me and every Penguins and Crosby fan in the world would love to see that happen.

Keep the points streak goin' Sid, and keep the winning streak goin' Pens!

Pittsburgh Penguins: 18-8-2 (38pts) with a 9 game streak!

PIttsburgh Penguins Stats Leaders

2010-12-02T18:49:00.000-05:00

These stats updated after the last game.

Goals - Sidney Crosby (18)
Assists - Sidney Crosby (23)
Points - Sidney Crosby (41)
+/- - Kris Letang (12)
PIM - Deryk Engelland (55)
Shots - Evgeni Malkin (115)
Shooting % - Sidney Crosby (18%)

The Penguins have been on a roll lately, and hopefully can keep it going!
Lets Go Pens!

Happy Turkey Day!

2010-11-25T10:46:00.000-05:00

I wanted to say have a nice thanksgiving with whoever you are with today.
Sit back, relax, eat food, and watch football. There are many good NFL and College football games on the next few days, so enjoy them!

NFL Games Today
12:30 - New England @ Detroit
4:15 - New Orleans @ Dallas
8:20 - Cincinnati @ New York Jets

2010 MLB Awards

2010-11-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

Post about the 2010 MLB Awards. I'm not going to go into much detail.

MVP
AL - Josh Hamilton (TEX)- .359 average with 32 HR's.
NL - Joey Votto (CIN)- .324 average, 31 of the 32 first place votes.

Cy Young
AL - Felix Hernandex (SEA)- Led MLB in ERA and Innings pitched.
NL - Roy Halladay (PHI)- 5th pitcher to win Cy Young in both leagues.

Rookie of the year
AL - Neftali Feliz (TEX)- 40 saves.
NL - Buster Posey (SF)- batted .305 and won the World Series.

Manager of the year
AL - Ron Gardenhire (MIN)- Finally won, after being runner up.
NL - Bud Black (SD)- Barely beat Dusty Baker for the award.

Gold Gloves
American League- Joe Mauer (MIN), Mark Teixeira (NYY), Robinson Cano (NYY), Evan Longoria (TB), Derek Jeter (NYY), Carl Crawford (TB), Ichiro Suzuki (SEA), Franklin Gutierrez (SEA), Mark Buehrle (CHW).

National League- Yadier Molina (STL), Albert Pujols (STL), Brandon Phillips (CIN), Scott Rolen (CIN), Troy Tulowitzki (COL), Michael Bourn (HOU), Carlos Gonzalez (COL), Shane Victorino (PHI), Bronson Arroyo (CIN).

Comeback Players
AL - Francisco Liriano (MIN)
NL - Tim Hudson (ATL)

Hank Aaron Award
AL - Jose Bautista (TOR)
NL - Joey Votto (CIN)

Roberto Clemente Award
Tim Wakefield (BOS)

11/15/10- Penguins vs Rangers (Consol Energy Center)

2010-11-15T22:46:00.003-05:00

*First off, sorry I took so long to update this, I was lazy.

Anyway, I went to this game with my brother. My 3rd inside the Consol Energy Center. We arrived at the arena around 5:40, and went inside, and I finally got a picture of the Mario Lemieux collage.

At 6, when everyone is allowed to go to thier seats, I got some food, and then me and my brother went to our seats, and then I took a picture of warm-ups.
Below: Warm-ups

Game view from my seat.

Section 215, Row J, Seat 16.
At the 1st intermission, there was a little kid shootout, so I took a random picture of it.

Below: Random action picture

Below: Attendance

Below: Scrap

Below: Blood on the ice.

The 3rd period was insane, the Penguins scored 2 quick goals, and then the Rangers tied it up, and forced an overtime, and then the Rangers scored in OT, and won.
Below: 3-2, Rangers win.

The 2 Penguins goals were scored by Matt Cooke, his 4th, and Chris Kunitz, his 5th. And the 3 Rangers goals were scored by Ryan Callahan, his 5th, former Penguin Erik Christensen, his 3rd, and Marc Staal, his 3rd.

When I got home, I took a picture of what I collected at this game.

Right now, I'm not 100% sure when my next Penguins game will be, but it will be in December, so stay tuned.

Pittsburgh Power Arena Football

2010-11-07T13:12:00.001-05:00

Wikipedia page for the Pittsburgh Power

Pittsburgh Power website

I know that the Arena Football season doesn't start until March, but honestly I am excited for the new Pittsburgh Power, they will play at the new Consol Energy Center, and the first game is in March against Philadelphia. I will go to a few of their games, just because I have liked Arena Football for year, and who knows, they might be really good. Also, according to their website, here are some of the players they have signed so far:

Offense
QB - Bernard Morris
QB - Anthony Morrelli
RB - Kenny Lewis
WR - Rich Gunnell
WR - Mike Washington
OL - Nick Henessey
OL - Richi Anderson
OL - Steven Brazzle
OL - Michael Byrne
OL - Peter Fields
OL - Sione Ohuafi
Defense
DE - Josh Gaines
DE - Terrance Carter
DL - Callahan Bright
DL - Neil Purvis
DL - Terrence Reese
DL - Demetrius Taylor
DB - Carlos Campbell
DB - Tyrrell Herbert
DB - Antonio Smith
K - Paul Edinger

The Power head coach is Chris Siegfried. Also about a month ago, the team held a tryout, which I heard had over 250 football players there, wanting to make the team, we will see soon, who will be on the team.

Congratulations!

2010-11-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

To the San Francisco Giants on winning the 2010 World Series the other night over the Texas Rangers. It was nice to see former Pirate, Freddy Sanchez win the World Series. I originally picked Texas to win, but I was very happy that San Francisco won.

But that means the 2010 MLB season is officially over, it was a great year in the MLB, and also for me ballhawking. I cannot wait til next year, 2011 is goin' to be a great year for baseball!

Happy Halloween & October Penguins Review

2010-10-31T16:58:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween everybody!

And with the Penguins done with their October schedule, I'm goin' to post about the first month of the Penguins season.

Penguins Team Leaders (as of 10/31/10)
Goals- Sidney Crosby (6)
Assists- Sidney Crosby (9)
Points- Sidney Crosby (15)
+/- - Kris Letang/Alex Goligoski (8)
Shots- Sidney Crosby (52)
Shooting %- Pascal Dupuis (22.2%)

Brent Johnson is 2nd in the NHL in GAA and Save Percentage. Also Johnson recorded his 14th career shutout against the Carolina Hurricanes last night.

2010 World Series- Preview

2010-10-24T12:57:00.002-04:00

2010 World Series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants. To be honest, its hard to pick which team I want to win because I picked these 2 teams to lose in the first round.

But when I put some thought into it, I pick the Texas Rangers to win. If Cliff Lee pitches like he did against the Yankees in the ALCS, and the Rangers offense plays great, they will win. I say Rangers in 6 games. In my mind, this is going to be a very great World Series here in 2010.

*Sorry, this isn't much of a preview, I just wanted to give a little bit of my 2 cents.

NFL's Big Hits

2010-10-21T19:00:00.000-04:00

In the last few days, there has been alot of news coming from the NFL about hits. After many big hits last week, the NFL fined a few players, including one of my favorite football players, James Harrison.

Today (Thursday) he returned to the Steelers. A day after he was considering retiring from the NFL. Other players fined are Brandon Merriweather of the New England Patriots, and Dunta Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons.

Click the link below for more information.

Click here.

10/13/10- Penguins vs Maple Leafs (Consol Energy Center)

2010-10-14T14:58:00.003-04:00

Second time inside the Consol Energy Center, I went to this game with my brother.
Below: Outside the arena.

The first time I was at the Consol Energy Center, I went through the other entrance, so I didn't see this...

The Penguins all-time team.
Below: Warm-ups

I thought this looked really cool, I took a picture of the ice during the national anthem.

Below: Faceoff and view from my seat.

My seat was Section 225, Row M, Seat 11.
Below: Attendance

When I got home, I took the picture below.
Below: Everything I collected.

Before the game started, I made a sign at the game that said "Martin's Maniacs" on it. The Penguins lost the game 4-3. The 3 Penguins goals were scored by: 1st goal, Chris Kunitz, assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Alex Goligoski. 2nd goal, Max Talbot, assisted by Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. 3rd goal, Sidney Crosby, assisted by Ben Lovejoy and Matt Cooke. The 4 Toronto goals were scored by: 1st goal, Colton Orr, assisted by Luke Schenn and Mike Brown. 2nd goal, Clarke MacArthur, assisted by Tomas Kaberle and Dion Phaneuf. 3rd goal, Francois Beauchemin, assisted by Luke Schenn and Mike Zigomanis. 4th goal, Clarke MacArthur, assisted by Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin. In the 2nd period, there was a sweet fight between Deryk Engelland and Colton Orr. Also, Evgeni Malkin had a penalty shot chance in the 2nd period, and he missed.

My next Penguins game should be in the middle of November, when the Penguins play either the New York Rangers or Vancouver Canucks.

My Jersey Collection Video

2010-10-11T21:18:00.000-04:00

2010 Ballhawking Stats

2010-10-09T15:08:00.001-04:00

Here is a post for my 2010 ballhawking stats.
STATS BY MONTH
April- 3 balls at 2 games, 1.5 balls per game.
May- 10 balls at 4 games, 2.5 balls per game.
June- 4 balls at 4 games, 1 ball per game.
July- 14 balls at 6 games, 2.33 balls per game. 1 Game HR ball (Rickie Weeks)
August- 8 balls at 4 games, 2 balls per game.
September- 12 balls at 6 games, 2 balls per game.

Most balls in one game- 6 (5/4- Pirates vs Cubs)
Total- 51 balls at 25 games, 2.04 balls per game, 18 hit, 9 found, 24 thrown.

PLAYERS/COACHES I GOT A BALL FROM IN 2010
Garrett Jones, Joel Hanrahan (2 balls), John Russell, Derrek Lee, Randy Wells, Billy Wagner, Evan Meek, Lastings Milledge, Rickie Weeks, Brad Lincoln, Adrian Gonzalez, Darren Balsley, Livan Hernandez, Jason Heyward, Doug Slaten, Mike Morse, Matt Diaz, Jim Lett (2 balls), Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf, Colby Rasmus, Trever Miller, Adam Dunn, Carlos Rosa, Chris Carpenter, Ryan Doumit, Brandon Moss, Brett Wallace.

AUTOGRAPHS
Mat Latos, Manny Sanguillen, Kent Tekulve, Daniel McCutchen, Joel Hanrahan, Evan Meek.

71 TOTAL LIFETIME BALLS

And lastly, pictures from the 2010 season.
Below: Opening Day 2010 (Pirates vs Dodgers)

Below: McKechnie Field (Bradenton, FL)

Below: My dinner at EVERY Pirates game.

Below: Rickie Weeks game HR ball (Actually, ball #41)

Below: Nationals Park entrance.

Below: Game used bat (Tagg Bozied)

Below: New Bill Mazeroski statue outside PNC Park.

Below: Last picture of PNC Park in 2010.

P.S. The MLB Division Series is NOT goin' my way so far!

2010 MLB: Final Month Review/Stats/Division Series Predictions

2010-10-03T18:29:00.005-04:00

This is supossed to be a post about my 2010 ballhawking stats, but I decided to change that to many final month review.
So here we go...
Now that the 2010 MLB regular season is over, its playoff time. The playoff teams this year are, Tampa Bay, NY Yankees, Minnesota, Texas. And for the NL, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Francisco.
Final 2010 Standings
AL East
Tampa Bay 96-66
NY Yankees 95-67
Boston 89-73
Toronto 85-77
Baltimore 66-96
AL Central
Minnesota 94-68
Chicago 88-74
Detroit 81-81
Cleveland 69-93
Kansas City 67-95
AL West
Texas 90-72
Oakland 81-81
LA Angels 80-82
Seattle 61-101
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
Philadelphia 97-65
Atlanta 91-71
Florida 80-82
NY Mets 79-83
Washington 69-93
NL Central
Cincinnati 91-71
St.Louis 86-76
Milwaukee 77-85
Houston 76-86
Chicago 75-87
Pittsburgh 57-105
NL West
San Francisco 92-70
San Diego 90-72
Colorado 83-79
LA Dodgers 80-82
Arizona 65-97

AL Leaders
AVG- Josh Hamilton (TEX) .359
HR- Jose Bautista (TOR) 54
RBI- Miguel Cabrera (DET) 126
ERA- Felix Hernandez (SEA) 2.27
W- CC Sabathia (NYY) 21
K's- Jered Weaver (LAA) 233
SV- Rafael Soriano (TB) 45
NL Leaders
AVG- Carlos Gonzalez (COL) .336
HR- Albert Pujols (STL) 42
RBI- Albert Pujols (STL) 118
ERA- Josh Johnson (FLA) 2.30
W- Roy Halladay (PHI) 21
K's- Tim Linecum (SF) 231
SV- Brian Wilson (SF) 48

Good news for me, and other Pirates fans, we have the 1st pick! Again...
And now for my 2010 MLB division series predictions.
ALDS
Texas/Tampa Bay: My pick, Tampa Bay, not only cause the Rays are my second favorite team, it is because they have an overall great team with everything needed to win the World Series. Texas has all of this as well, but I strongly believe the home-field for the Rays will help them win the series. Rays in 4.

New York/Minnesota: My pick, its hurts to say this but New York. Because the Twins will not have Justin Morneau, but still this is going to be a great series. I see it going all 5 games. Yankees in 5.

NLDS
Cincinnati/Philadelphia: My pick, Cincinnati, because the Reds have been underdogs for years and now its their time to shine, but the Phillies with good pitching will make this a 5 game series. Reds in 5.

Atlanta/San Francisco: My pick, Atlanta, because its Bobby Cox's last year, and I'd like to see Atlanta play good for him, the Giants have great pitching which will make it hard for the Braves excellent hitter. Braves in 4.

9/28/10- Penguins vs Blackhawks (Consol Energy Center- Pre Season)

2010-09-29T19:44:00.005-04:00

My first time in the new Consol Energy Center. I thought the entrance to the arena was amazing.
Below: Arena Entrance

Basically, the whole arena was amazing, I didn't find anything bad about it. I heard so much about the scoreboard at the arena, and when I got to my seat I took a picture of it.
Below: Scoreboard

Below: Pre-game warmups.

Below: Opening faceoff.

Below: Random game action shot.

Below: Penguins win! 4-1!

Below: What I collected at this game.

I sat in Section 234, Row A, Seat 2. Very nice seat, it looks like there is not any bad seats in the area.
The 4 Penguins goals were scored by Evgeni Malkin, Dustin Jeffery, Nick Johnson, and Mark Letestu. And the 1 Blackhawks goal was scored by Kyle Beach.
My next Penguins game will be on October 13th vs Toronto.
And below is a video I made at this game.

9/25/10- Pirates vs Astros (PNC Park)

2010-09-25T20:53:00.003-04:00

My last game of the 2010 season, it was sad to have this year come to an end.
I took the picture below, as I approached PNC Park for one last time in 2010.

Down the street there was a huge cheerleader event goin' on which, at first I thought alot of these people would be at the game.

When the gates opened at 4:30, everyone went down to the bleachers and right away I found a ball in Section 137 in the last row.
Below: Bleacher crowd during BP.

Nice low, crowd in the bleachers.
I didn't get another ball til around 5:30, when the rest of the stadium opened and I searched the sections above the Clemente wall, found nothing, and then went down to Section 140, where within a minute of two, I got 2 balls both hit by Brett Wallace.
Below: Astros BP

I left the stadium after BP, to go home and watch the Penguins pre-season game, but before I went home I checked in the grass out on the riverwalk, to try and find another, found nothing.
Below: Grass on the riverwalk

And then walking across the Clemente bridge, I turned around and took one last picture and look at PNC Park for 2010.
Below: PNC Park

When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected

Below: Upclose on the 3 balls from this game.

SEASON STATS
3 balls at this game
51 balls at 26 games in 2010
1.96 balls per game (BPG)
71 TOTAL LIFETIME BASEBALLS

2010 Ballhawk season review/stats post soon!

9/24/10- Pirates vs Astros (PNC Park)

2010-09-24T23:00:00.002-04:00

Went to this game, even though I was feeling sick the whole day. When I got to the stadium, I went down to the Riverwalk outside of the stadium with fellow ballhawk Nick Pelescak. I searched the grass down there and found a old wet dirty ball, the first one I've found down there, and I was happy because I was on the board, before the stadium opened. When the stadium opened I ran over to Section 140, and got a ball tossed to me by Ryan Doumit. And then a few minutes later, I got a ball hit by Brandon Moss. I was very happy, I got 3 balls very quickly, and I was feeling good now. But then things began to slow down when the Astros came out, I missed a few balls hit my way.
Below: Astros BP in Left field.

Over in Left field, I caught a ball on the fly by reaching over a row, hit by an unknown Astro. And that was my 4 balls for the game, good day.
After BP, while waiting for autographs from the Pirates bullpen, the team made the announcement for the Pirates minor league players of the year.

Then I got All-star Evan Meek to sign one of my 4 balls.
Below: Meek signed ball.

I stayed til about the bottom of the 7th, and went home.
When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Upclose on the 4 balls.

SEASON STATS
4 balls at this game.
48 balls at 25 games this season.
1.92 balls per game (BPG)
68 TOTAL LIFETIME BASEBALLS

9/22/10- Pirates vs Cardinals (PNC Park)

2010-09-22T22:59:00.004-04:00

So I got to PNC Park around 3:50, and shortly after that a huge thunderstorm came through and completely wiped out BP. When the stadium opened at 5, I ran in and saw the tarp on the field.
Below: Tarp on the field.

Then shortly after that, the began to take the tarp off the field.

At 5:30, me and 2 other ballhawks went down the first base line, where we saw Cardinals pitchers warming up, and we each got a ball, the ball I got was from Chris Carpenter.
Below: Cardinals pitchers.

Below: Random picture of the night sky.

When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected

Below: Upclose on the 1 ball.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
44 balls at 24 games this season.
1.83 balls per game (BPG)
64 TOTAL LIFETIME BASEBALLS

Look What I Got In The Mail Today!

2010-09-20T21:40:00.000-04:00

An Evgeni Malkin jersey from his Russian team!

Pumped for this NHL season!

9/17/10- Pirates vs Diamondbacks (PNC Park)

2010-09-18T00:03:00.003-04:00

Went to this game with my friend Matt. We got to the stadium shortly before 4. This game was a giveaway night, a Roberto Clemente bronze mini statue thingy. When the gates opened and I ran by section 140, I looked and saw basically players on the field.

Below: Diamondbacks BP

I only got 1 ball at this game, and it was thrown by Diamondback's pitcher Carlos Rosa.
After BP ended, I wait in the bleachers for the Pirates bullpen to come out for autographs, and today was good, I got the ball signed by my favorite Pirates pitcher, Joel Hanrahan.
Below: Hanrahan signed ball.

Okay well fast forward, right after I left, Ryan Doumit hit a HR to the exact area where I stand for lefties. When I saw the highlight of the HR, I was really upset. Lesson learned.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Upclose on the Clemente giveaway.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
43 balls at 23 games this season.
1.87 balls per game (BPG)
63 TOTAL LIFETIME BASEBALLS

My Fantasy Hockey Team

2010-09-12T10:53:00.000-04:00

I had my fantasy hockey draft a little early this year, it had it a couple days ago.
And here's my fantasy hockey team. I was lucky, I got the 1st pick, and I selected Sidney Crosby.

Forwards
Sidney Crosby (PIT)
Patrick Kane (CHI)
Bobby Ryan (ANA)
Mikko Koivu (MIN)
Dustin Penner (EDM)
Wojtek Wolski (PHX)
David Backes (STL)
Rene Bourque (CGY)
Kyle Okposo (NYI)

Defense
Zdeno Chara (BOS)
Bryan McCabe (FLA)
Alex Goligoski (PIT)
John-Michael Liles (COL)
Jack Johnson (LA)
Joe Corvo (CAR)

Goalies
Martin Brodeur (NJ)
Pekka Rinne (NSH)

Bench
Steve Sullivan (NSH)
Mason Raymond (VAN)
Kristian Huselius (CLS)
Keith Ballard (VAN)
Mattias Ohlund (TB)
Sam Gagner (EDM)

NHL regular season is soon! I'm pumped! I can't wait.

9/7/10- Pirates vs Braves (PNC Park)

2010-09-07T22:05:00.003-04:00

Spend my birthday at a Pirates game.
To cut this post a little short (Because I don't have alot of time right now).
Below: A picture of where I got my only ball of the day.

I missed 2 opportunities, to snag another ball during BP, but I came up empty.
After BP, I took a picture of the new Bill Mazeroski statue.

After BP, I got Daniel McCutchen to sign my only ball of the day.
Below: Daniel McCutchen's autograph.

I dropped a Ryan Doumit toss-up at this game, it upset me, it bounced right out of my glove!
I wanted to stay for the whole game, but I left the game early, in the top of the 7th, because there was a storm headed towards the stadium.
When I got home I took 1 of the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

I found one of the Andrew McCutchen photo wraps at the stadium, a good find for me.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
42 balls at 22 games this season.
1.91 balls per game (BPG).
61 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

9/3/10- Pirates vs Nationals (PNC Park)

2010-09-03T22:49:00.006-04:00

Went to this game with my cousin, Josh.
It was Pirates fleecie "Snuggie" giveaway night.
My cousin Josh snagged 6 balls at this game, great day for a young ballhawk.
Click here for Josh's mygameballs page.
My first ball was thrown by Pirates pitcher, Daniel McCutchen.
Below: Nationals BP

My cousin Josh is in the picture above in the first row.
My second ball of the day was thrown to me by a Nationals coach, Jim Lett.

Maxwell and Peralta playin' hot potato.
I got my third ball of the day, which was hit by Adam Dunn, but after I caught it, some lady started to yell at me, cause she said I almost ran into her friend. So I gave the ball to her friend, which she thanked me like a human, not like her crazy friend.
Below: Adam Dunn

Before I left in the 7th, I heard that Kent Tekulve was havin' an autograph sesion in thr Hall of Fame club. I got him to sign a ball for me.
Below: Kent Tekulve

When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected

Below: Upclose on the 1 ball I kept, with Tekulve's autograph.

SEASON STATS
3 balls at this game (1 ball gaveaway).
41 balls at 20 games this season.
2.05 balls per game (BPG).
60 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

9/2/10- Steelers vs Panthers- Pre-Season (Heinz Field)

2010-09-03T06:45:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the late up date, but I've been busy the last 2 days, so I'm startin' it now.
I went to the game game with my brother. We had seats in section 532, overall they were great seats, the guy who has his season tickets in those seats is a lucky dude.
Here are all the pictures I took at the game.
Seat view (pre-game)

Casey Hampton

Lamarr Woodley

Troy Polamalu

Seat view (game)

Daniel Sepulveda punt (action shot)

Attendance

3 tickets I collected.

The Steelers beat the Panthers 19-3. The only TD of the game was in the 2nd, when Dennis Dixon threw a nice pass to Emmanuel Sanders. As of today (Sunday) it is 7 days til the Steelers season opener vs Atlanta. Also for the first 4 games, Dennis Dixon, is the probably goin' to be the QB.
Search Amazon.com for nfl jerseys

2010 MLB: August Review

2010-08-31T22:11:00.000-04:00

Well now that August is basically in the books (I'm doin' this a day early because, I will be busy the next few days).
Here are the current division standings.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL EAST
NY Yankees 81-50
Tampa Bay 81-50
Boston 74-57
Toronto 68-63
Baltimore 48-83
AL CENTRAL
Minnesota 75-56
Chicago 71-60
Detroit 65-66
Kansas City 55-76
Cleveland 53-78
AL WEST
Texas 74-57
Oakland 65-65
LA Angels 64-68
Seattle 51-80

NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL EAST
Atlanta 76-55
Philadelphia 73-58
Florida 65-65
NY Mets 65-66
Washington 57-75
NL CENTRAL
Cincinnati 76-55
St.Louis 69-60
Milwaukee 62-69
Houston 60-71
Chicago 56-76
Pittsburgh 43-88
NL WEST
San Diego 76-54
San Francisco 72-60
Colorado 69-61
LA Dodgers 68-64
Arizona 53-79

AL LEADERS
AVG- Josh Hamilton (TEX) .359
HR- Jose Bautista (TOR) 42
RBI- Miguel Cabrera (DET) 107
ERA- Clay Buchholz (BOS) 2.21
W- C.C. Sabathia (NYY) 18
K's- Jered Weaver (LAA) 200
SV- Rafael Soriano (TB) 39
NL LEADERS
AVG- Carlos Gonzalez (COL) .326
HR- Albert Pujols (STL) 35
RBI- Albert Pujols (STL) 95
ERA- Tim Hudson (ATL) 2.24
W- Jimenez/Wainwright (COL/STL) 17
K's- Roy Halladay (PHI) 190
SV- Heath Bell (SD) 37

The Pittsburgh Pirates clinched their 18th consecutive losing season in August.
Albert Pujols hit his 400th career HR on August 26th vs the Nationals.

All I really have to say, is that September is goin' to be a great month for baseball, its gonna be a great race for wild card, and division winners.

8/25/10- Pirates vs Cardinals (PNC Park)

2010-08-25T22:40:00.004-04:00

I arrived at PNC Park around 3:30. There was bad news has the Pirates started BP early today, which was bad for ballhawks.
At 5, I ran to section 140, and then more bad news...

Look at the time in the picture! 5:03! Ridiculous.
At 5:30, I ran over by the Clemente Wall lookin' for easter eggs, as usual I found none, but about a minute after, I asked Trever Miller for a ball, he tossed it directly at me, and that was my only ball of the day.
Below: Trever Miller

Once again everybody was ready to see Albert Pujols hit his 400th, which he didn't hit in this game, he hit it the next day.

I stayed until Pujols had his last AB, and then I left, as I was walkin across the bridge to leave, the game ended, and took the picture below.

When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected

Below: Upclose on my 1 ball

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
39 balls at 20 games this season.
1.95 balls per game (BPG)
58 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

8/23/10- Pirates vs Cardinals (PNC Park)

2010-08-23T22:26:00.002-04:00

Went with my cousin Josh and uncle John. We arrived at PNC around 3:30, and shortly before 4, it started to rain.
Below: Down pour

The weather continued to look shaky has it got close to 5. But when the gates opened at 5, and we all went it, it was a good sign to see a full BP goin' on. I was shutout for the first 30 minutes of BP, my cousin Josh had a ball thrown his way by Zach Duke, but the ball fell a little short, and he could not get it.
When the rest of the gates opened at 5:30, I ran through the right field sections, as usual, and about a minute after I got up there, Colby Rasmus hit a ball my way, it went over my head, so I quickly turned around a picked it up.
Below: Cardinals BP

I ended BP with only 1 ball, that's my goal for every game, but I was kinda disappointed in the Cardinals.
Albert Pujols hit his 399th career HR in the first, and everyone would love to snag his 400th HR, which he didn't hit in the game, and also didn't hit in the Tuesday's game, so I will be there Wednesday to attempt to snag his 400th, just like many other ballhawks.
Below: Albert Pujols

When I got home I only took one of the 2 usual pictures, I forgot the close up.
Below: Everything I collected (The Pirates always have the stupidest hats for prizes).

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
37 MLB balls in 18 MLB games this year.
2.06 MLB balls per game (BPG)
57 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

8/20/10- Erie SeaWolves vs Reading Phillies (Jerry Uht Park)

2010-08-21T13:56:00.004-04:00

I was in Erie for 5 days, missed 2 Pirates series' at home, but went to a Double-A game in Erie.
This is goin' to be a short post, maninly because I really didn't try to snag a ball at this game, since it didn't count for me or against me.
This was my 3rd time at Jerry Uht Park.
Below: Enterance to Jerry Uht Park.

Since BP was already over before the gates even opened at 6, I walked to the team store, and bought a new bag to wear at games.
Below: Lineups

Early in the game, Bryan Pounds for the SeaWolves hit a HR almost directly to me, I back up to try and catch it on the fly, but it was literally a few inches over my glove, but before I could turn around to try and pick it up, someone else already had it. But to me, it really didn't matter, because I only try to collect MLB baseballs.
Below: View from Outfield standing room

After the game ended and after the fireworks show, right before I left, I found a game used broken bat! Unbelievable, but true, I got my first game used bat, I always thought about gettin' one, but now I finally got it.
Below: 2 pictures of the bat.

Tagg Bozied, now for the AA Philles, he was once played for Indianapolis, AAA team of the Pirates.
Below: Everything I collected

Fireworks Video

*BACK IN MLB ACTION ON MONDAY, FOR 2 GAMES VS ST.LOUIS!*

Break From Baseball?!?!?!

2010-08-15T08:48:00.001-04:00

Yes, the title is true. My last game was on 8/6, I didn't go to any games this past week because the Pirates were on the road, and I will be in Erie this upcoming week, so I will miss both the Marlins and Mets series. While I am in Erie, I will be at a Erie SeaWolves game for the 3rd time, so atleast there is one game.

*Next MLB game, August 23rd.

Johnny Cueto, You're The Man.

2010-08-12T00:42:00.000-04:00

Reds vs Cardinals fight.

Around 3:25 in the video, you see Cueto, my new favorite Reds player, start his fierce kicks. Now, I know some baseball fans don't like that stuff, but to be honest, I loved it!

Johnny Cueto, AKA The Red Ninja!

8/6/10- Pirates vs Rockies (PNC Park)

2010-08-06T23:02:00.002-04:00

I arrived at PNC Park around 3:30.
And I was the 3rd person in line.
Also this game was Andrew McCutchen bobblehead night.
At 5, when the gates opened, I ran over by section 140. And right away I got my first ball of the day, thrown by Ross Ohlendorf.
Below: Ross Ohlendorf

About 10 minutes later, Joel Hanrahan threw a ball in my direction, at first I dropped it and then a Pirates employee handed it back to me, but after I got the ball back, I turned around and I gave it to a kid.
Below: Joel Hanrahan

I was shut out for Rockies BP.
The Left Field Loonies were at this game.

Below: View from where I stand at every game.

There was a big crowd at this game, so it was hard to get a game time toss-up from one the outfielders. My closest chance was in the top of the 9th, Andrew McCutchen threw a ball my way, but like I said there were many people at this game, so it was hard to move around to make the catch.
When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: The one ball that I kept.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game (1 pictured above, because I gave one away).
36 balls at 17 games this season.
2.12 balls per game (BPG)
55 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

8/2/10- Pirates vs Reds (PNC Park)

2010-08-02T22:40:00.002-04:00

Went to this game with my buddy Matt.
At 5, when the gates opened, I ran over to section 140, and got a ball right away. It was hit by an unknown Pirate, I believe it was Pedro Alvarez.
Below: Pirates BP.

And the bleachers were kinda crowded, I went over there anyway.

In the bleachers, I snagged my 2nd ball of the day, hit by an unknown Reds player.
After that I ran back over to the Clemente wall. That's where I snagged by 3rd ball of the day, hit by an unknown Reds player.
Below: View from where I got my 3rd ball of the day.

That was all for BP. After BP, I bought a Lastings Milledge t-shirt.
In the top of the 3rd, I stood in section 140, where I caught the toss-up ball from Andrew McCutchen. My 4th ball of the day.
Below: Andrew McCutchen

Me and Matt stayed until the 8th, I was close to another McCutchen toss-up in the 5th.
When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Upclose on the 4 balls from this game.

SEASON STATS
4 balls at this game.
34 balls at 16 games this season.
2.12 balls per game (BPG)
53 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

2010 MLB: July Review + Brooks&Dunn Concert!

2010-08-01T21:03:00.002-04:00

First off, July 2010 MLB review.
MLB Standings (as of 8/1/10)
AL East
NY Yankees 66-38
Tampa Bay 65-39
Boston 60-45
Toronto 54-51
Baltimore 32-73
AL Central
Chicago 59-45
Minnesota 59-46
Detroit 52-52
Kansas City 45-60
Cleveland 44-61
AL West
Texas 61-44
LA Angels 54-53
Oakland 52-52
Seattle 39-67

NL East
Atlanta 59-45
Philadelphia 57-48
Florida 53-52
NY Mets 53-52
Washington 46-59
NL Central
St.Louis 59-46
Cincinnati 59-47
Milwaukee 48-58
Chicago 46-59
Houston 45-59
Pittsburgh 36-68
NL West
San Diego 61-42
San Francisco 60-45
Colorado 55-50
LA Dodgers 54-50
Arizona 39-66

My Pittsburgh Pirates are well on their way to the 18th losing season in a row! Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic.
The MLB trade deadline just passed, and the Pirates made a few trades, with good and bad news. The good news is that the Pirates got Chris Synder, who has hit 10 HR's this year, which will put him at 2nd on the Pirates in that stat. Bad news is that the Pirates traded away, above average closer, Octavio Dotel, and other average relief pitchers,DJ Carassco(spell check) and Javier Lopez, atleast we still have McCutchen!

And now for the league leaders...
AL Leaders
AVG- Josh Hamilton (TEX)- .362
HR- Jose Bautista (TOR)- 32
RBI- Miguel Cabrera (DET)- 93
ERA- Cliff Lee (TEX)- 2.51
W- David Price (TB)- 14
K's- Jered Weaver (LAA)- 162
SV- Rafael Soriano (TB)- 30
NL Leaders
AVG- Joey Votto (CIN)- .322
HR- Joey Votto (CIN)- 27
RBI- Ryan Howard (PHI)- 81
ERA- Josh Johnson (FLA)- 1.96
W- Ubaldo Jimenez (COL)- 16
K's- Tim Lincecum (SF)- 152
SV- Heath Bell/Brian Wilson (SD/SF)- 30

Surprise, Surprise. Jose Bautista leads the MLB in HR! 32! Only if he could do that for the Pirates.

Part 2! Brooks&Dunn Concert

I went with my girlfriend, it was such an amazing concert. It couldn't have been any better.

7/28/10- Nationals vs Braves (Nationals Park- Day 2)

2010-07-30T13:44:00.003-04:00

DAY 2 AT NATIONALS PARK!

And this would be a big day...
Me and my cousin were the first ones in line, and then Erik Jabs, a ballhawk from Pittsburgh, showed up as well. About 15 minutes before the gates opened, they security told everybody to move into one big line. Me and my cousin got as close as we could to the front again.
When the gates opened, me and my cousin raced into the left field seats to look for easter eggs, but the Nationals haven't even hit before that, so there were none, so we both went over to right field for all of BP again. I didn't get a ball from Strasburg, but below is a picture.

Me and Josh both got our first ball of the day from Doug Slaten of the Nationals. Then I got my second ball of the day from a Nationals trainer, I yelled "Can I get a toss up please?" He looked at me and threw directly to me. Then a few minutes after that, I got a toss up from Nationals outfielder, Mike Morse.
Braves BP, was much less crowded than the day before.

After I took that picture, I got my 4th ball of the day, a toss up from Matt Diaz.
Below: Matt Diaz

That was all for BP.
Since it was very hot at this game, Coca-Cola set up this thing below.

Since there wasn't 40,000 at this game today, me and my cousin sat in the outfield instead of our ticketed seats.

Near the end of this game, I took the picture below of ex-Pirate Matt Capps.

After the final out, I asked Jim Lett, of the Nationals, to throw me a ball up, he did, and that was my 5th and final ball of the day.
When I got back to my hotel, I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected on day 2.

Below: Upclose and fancy on my 5 balls.

SEASON STATS
5 balls at this game.
30 balls at 15 games this season.
2 ball per game (BPG)
49 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

But this post isn't done yet!
Below: Everything I collected on both days at Nationals Park.

Also, a video of Livan Hernandez in the bullpen before the game.

7/27/10- Nationals vs Braves (Nationals Park-Day 1)

2010-07-29T21:40:00.003-04:00

I visited Washington DC/Gettysburg, PA for a few days, and I was in attendence for 2 Nationals vs. Braves games. I went to both of these games with my cousin Josh. Well for the first game there was a huge crowd at the gates because Stephen Strausburg(did I spell that right?) was scheduled to pitch, but was taken out of the lineup shortly before the game.

Me and Josh got to the stadium around 3:15pm, and the picture below is my first look at Nationals Park.

Me and my cousin both got ball#1 on the day from Livan Hernandez.

When the Braves came out for BP, the seats were crowded, below is my view to my right.

And my left...

Shortly after I took those 2 pictures above, Jason Heyward blasted one into the seats and I picked it up.
Below: Jesse Chavez and Jason Heyward.

After BP, I took the picture below of all 30 teams' logos.

Then me and Josh headed to our seats at the very top of Nationals Park.
Section 405 Row N Seat 30.

I made a video of a Jason Heyward At-bat, which I will put at the end of this post.
When I got back to my hotel, I took the two usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected at this game.

Below: Upclose on the 2 balls.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
25 balls at 14 games this season.
1.78 balls per game (BPG)
44 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

7/23/10- Pirates vs Padres

2010-07-23T22:50:00.004-04:00

I got to PNC Park at 3, it was hot out, I mean extremely hot. Luckily I had water.
I stayed in the shade as much as I could at this game.
When the gates opened at 5, I ran over to section 140/141 to get some balls from the Pirates, but the Pirates weren't out there, they decided not to have BP.
Below: The field

That's why the Pirates are in last place, they don't practice enough.
As you can in the picture above, there are Padres players on the field, they began BP shortly after I took this picture. My first ball, was hit my Adrian Gonzalez, the balls bounced off a rail and I reached under the gate to grab the ball. FYI, Gonzalez blasted balls at BP, that's why he's one of my favorite MLB players.
Below: Gonzalez BP HR ball.

Look at the ball! Its like the perfect ball, no marks or anything. Excellent.
At 5:30, I went over to the bleachers and got Mat Latos to sign the Gonzalez ball.
Below: Ball with Latos' signature with him in the background.

I wasn't over in the bleachers for long, I went up above the Clemente wall. Where I had Padres coach Darren Balsley to toss me a ball up.
That was all for BP.
Durin' the game, I took a picture of Adrian Gonzalez on the scoreboard. Pictured below.

The 2nd ball I got at this game, I got signed by former Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen(I don't know if I spelled that right). Pictured below.

Above his name, it says "cool beans" if you wanted to know.
I left in the 8th, because I was gettin' tired and my legs started to hurt. When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Upclose on the 2 balls.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
23 balls at 13 games.
1.77 balls per game (BPG)
42 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

...Wait! This is an update! I got a new glove!

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys authentic

7/21/10- Pirates vs Brewers

2010-07-21T22:50:00.003-04:00

I arrived at PNC Park around 3pm.
Before the gates opened, I went down to the riverwalk outside of the stadium, to look for some balls in the grass. I didn't find any, but there was a young kid around 8 or 9, that found one. When the stadium opened at 5, I raced over to section 140, and quickly while there was nobody around, I saw a ball that was hit to Brad Lincoln, and I yelled his name, he turned around and threw me first and only ball of the day.
Below: Brad Lincoln and Gary Varsho.

The rest of BP was all missed opportunities.
Below: Bleachers at 5:40

As you can see, the bleachers were packed, so I was only over there for a few minutes, before I went back over to center field, the Brewers are good for BP, because they hit well, but they don't throw many balls into the crowd, I only saw 2 balls thrown into the crowd.
After BP was over, I went to the Songwhale stand and I won 2 free tickets to the August 6th game vs Colorado, one of those tickets I put up for sale on Stubhub.
Below: Zach Duke

The other night, when I got my first game HR ball, hit by Rickie Weeks, he is now my favorite Brewer. Here's his picture on the scoreboard.

I left the game in the 8th.
When I got home, I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Close up on my 1 ball.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
21 balls at 12 games this season.
1.75 balls per game (BPG)
40 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

But this post isn't over yet...
The Pirates offense EXPLODED once again in this game.
The Pirates won 15-3, scored 6 runs in the 4th, had 18 hits, Delwyn Young hit his 4th HR of the season (which I had a chance of gettin' that ball, but it was one of my 4 missed chances at this game) and also Young had 5 RBI's. Pedro Alvarez hit 2 more HR's in this game, and had 3 RBI's. I hope the Pirates offense can stay like this for a while.

7/19/10- Pirates vs Brewers (First Game HR!)

2010-07-19T22:37:00.005-04:00

Sorry, to spoil the surprise, but as you see in the title, I got my first game HR at this game.
I went to this game with my buddy Matt, we arrived at the stadium around 3:30, I was the forth person in line. The weather looked shaky, it rained for like 2 minutes before the stadium opened, thankfully the rain would hold off til after BP.
Below: Brewers BP

I only got one ball at BP at this game, it was a ground rule double hit by an unknown Brewer, it bounced up into the row behind where I was, and I turned around and grabbed it. After BP, I did my usual routine. Me and Matt had bleacher general admission tickets (that's the only tickets I buy).
Below: Pitcher for this game, Jeff Karstens.

Below: A little ball that the Pirate Parrot hits into the crowd before the game.

Then, the rain came. Here are 3 pictures of the tarp goin' on the field, then it comin' off, and then the clean-up process.

Okay, well here's the story about my first HR, in the top of the sixth, I was standin' above the lower bleachers, when Rickie Weeks hit a long fly to left, I ran halfway down the steps, when the ball bounced in the 3rd or 4th row, when it bounced some guy without a glove tried to get the ball, but he dropped it, when I reached down and I picked it up. I couldn't believe it at first, I just got my first game HR ball, I ran around and shouted like a little kid on Christmas.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE HOMERUN!

It was Rickie Weeks' 78th career HR.
After I got the ball, me and Matt walked over by section 140, and he took this picture for me, with my first game HR ball.

We left shortly after.
When I got home, I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Close up on the Rickie Weeks HR ball.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
20 balls at 11 games this season.
1.82 balls per game (BPG)
39 LIFETIME BASEBALLS

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys authentic

7/16/10- Weather Is Stupid

2010-07-16T13:55:00.000-04:00

Weather is the reason that I didn't go to the game tonight (Sorry, I couldn't get a screen shot of the hourly weather), but more bad weather is expected for early next week, but I WILL be at those games next week. I'm actually not that upset about the weather because it is a Friday night game, and also a Pirates beach towel giveaway night.

So, stay tuned for 3 games next week.

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys

Quick Little Post

2010-07-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

Not alot of time right now, so here's a short post.

Sidney Crosby wins his 4th straight ESPY award.

Click here for more information.

Go Pens!

Search Amazon.com for nhl jerseys

R.I.P. George Steinbrenner

2010-07-13T14:27:00.001-04:00

First off, click here, for the link.

His death hurts alot of people, even me, and I'm not even a Yankees fan. But this is still sad for baseball fans everywhere.

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys

7/7/10- Warped Tour 2010!

2010-07-07T23:28:00.006-04:00

Great day, freakin' awesome!
I decided to make a nifty slideshow, instead of what I usually do to save some time. Not all of the pictures I took are there, sorry about that one. Just hit pause if you don't want to listen to Party Hard.

Video: Sum 41

Search Amazon.com for sum 41

NHL Free-Agent Pickups

2010-07-06T23:52:00.000-04:00

Here's the deal, when its hockey season, I blog about hockey, when its baseball season I blog about baseball. And there has been some big hockey names goin' to new teams for the 2010/2011 season. The players are listed below.

1 - Alex Tanguay now plays for Calgary, last year with Tampa Bay.
2 - Sergei Gonchar signed with Ottawa, and it sucks because I just got his jersey in December, and now he's gone.
3 - Zbynek Michalek/Paul Martin - both signed with the Pens, to take Gonchar's spot.
4 - Colby Armstrong, I really hoped that the Penguins could have signed him, I miss Colby.
5 - Olli Jokinen started last season in Calgary, traded to the Rangers, and now back in Calgary.
6 - Johan Hedberg, just like Armstrong, I wish the Penguins could have brought Hedberg back.
7 - Mark Eaton, sad for the Penguins to lose a Defenseman like Eaton.
8 - Jaroslav Halak, this year, watchout for the Blues.
9 - Sergei Kostitsyn is not a bad pickup for Nashville, he will for sure help them out.
And I'm still bein' patient for Ilya Kovalchuk to sign, as of now, he's still out there.

2010 MLB All-Star Game Rosters

2010-07-04T23:26:00.003-04:00

Click here. for the rosters.
They way the rosters look, I am goin' to say the AL wins again. Mainly, when you look at the pitchers for the AL, I believe it is better than the pitchers that the NL has, even though the NL has Ubaldo Jiminez, Josh Johnson and Tim Linecum, I still give the adventage to the AL, but we shall see.

As a Pirates fan, I was glad to see Evan Meek get selected for the All-Star Game. He has excellent numbers this year, and really deserves this. To see his 2010 stats click here.

Sorry, this really wasn't a preview for the game, but I don't have alot of time right now.

7/1/10- Pirates vs Phillies

2010-07-02T00:11:00.002-04:00

I was very excited for this game, because I just got a new camera.
I got to the stadium around 3pm, and was the first one in line.

At 5, when the gates opened, me and the other ballhawks all raced into the bleachers to look for easter eggs, I found one. I was happy to be on the board early.
Below: LF bleachers.

The bleachers were more filled than usual, cause the Phillies are in town.
My second ball was hit by, Lastings Milledge with a blast. The ball sailed over my head, I turned around and saw it bounce and I raced a Phillies fan for it, and I ended up with it.
Below: Phillies BP

The bleachers were too filled, the whole stadium was. And the Phillies weren't thrownin' many balls into the crowd.
Below: Pittsburgh Is Irate

Click here to go to the website.
Below: Greenman!

I have seen the greenman before, at a Penguins game, click here to read that post.
Below: Jimmy Rollins on "philsbook.com"

Below: Octavio Dotel on scoreboard.

When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Everything I collected.

Below: Upclose on the 2 balls.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
18 balls at 10 games this season.
1.8 balls per game (BPG)
37 LIFETIME/31 CAREER BASEBALLS

*Next game is the first game after the all-star break.

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys

2010 MLB: June Review/All-Star Game Preview

2010-06-30T03:47:00.000-04:00

Well I am doin' this a little early, because this is the best time to do it (Mainly because it is after 3am).
Current Standings
AL East
NY Yankees 47-29
Boston 47-31
Tampa Bay 44-32
Toronto 40-38
Baltimore 23-53
AL Central
Minnesota 42-35
Detroit 41-35
Chicago 40-36
Kansas City 33-45
Cleveland 29-47
AL West
Texas 46-30
LA Angels 44-35
Oakland 38-40
Seattle 32-44
NL East
Atlanta 45-33
NY Mets 43-34
Philadelphia 41-34
Florida 37-40
Washington 34-44
NL Central
St.Louis 43-34
Cincinnati 43-35
Milwaukee 35-42
Chicago 34-43
Houston 30-48
Pittsburgh 26-51
NL West
San Diego 45-32
LA Dodgers 42-35
Colorado 41-36
San Francisco 40-36
Arizona 30-48

Well, its not the end of June, and my Pittsburgh Pirates are 26-51. Before the season started my cousin Josh and I, made a bet, I said the Pirates would have less than 68 wins, and he said over. We put $10 on it, I think he should just pay me now.

Stephen Strasburg made his debut in June, and here are his June stats.
2-2 with a 2.27 ERA in his 5 starts and 48 K's! Impressive.
I believe he could be 4-0 right now, but the Nationals didn't give him much run support. While I'm talkin' about the Nationals, the draft was in June, and Washington had the 1st pick again, and selected Bryce Harper. Watch out for the Nats in like 2 or 3 years. Also there is a chance I will be at Nationals Park for a game or two at the end of July.

But July has always, and always will be my favorite month of baseball. Because of the Derby and All-Star game. I really hope that the National League can win the All-Star game this year. I voted a few times (like 2 or 3 times). The only Pirate I can see on the NL team is Andrew McCutchen. Even though, relief pitcher, Evan Meek has some excellent numbers this year, but as we all know relief pitches don't usually end up in the All-Star game. Relief pitchers are overlooked by most fans and media.

And for something new...
AL Leaders
AVG- Robinson Cano (NYY) .358
HR- Bautisa/Konerko/Cabrera (TOR/CHW/DET) 20
RBI- Miguel Cabrera (DET) 67
ERA- David Price (TB) 2.44
Wins- David Price (TB) 11
K's- Jered Weaver (LAA) 118
SV- Neftali Feliz (TEX) 20
NL Leaders
AVG- Martin Prado (ATL) .334
HR- Hart/Pujols/Reynolds (MIL/STL/ARZ) 18
RBI- David Wright (NYM) 61
ERA- Jimenez/Johnson (COL/FLA) 1.83
Wins- Ubaldo Jimenez (COL) 14
K's- Yovani Gallardo (MIL) 120
SV- Matt Capps (WASH) 22

* I will be at the Pirates game Thursday night vs. Philadelphia, stay tuned for that.

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys

A Few Hours In Gettysburg

2010-06-26T23:48:00.002-04:00

Well I was in Maryland, and for one day we went up to Gettysburg, PA. I bought some souvenirs, and went on a ghost tour. Here are 2 pictures that I took there.

These little plaques are all over Gettysburg, they show what buildings were there in July 1863.

And this is a picture of the tour guide, also some of the people that were on this tour.

Search Amazon.com for gettysburg

NHL Awards/Draft

2010-06-24T22:20:00.000-04:00

NHL Awards
This isn't really a review, mainly cause I missed the awards show, but anyway here is a link to ESPN.com.
Click here for the link of award winners.
NHL Draft
Same with the awards show above, but Edmonton has the first pick, and they will either pick Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin. I would like to see Hall picked first.
Click here for a NHL.com mock draft.

Also, the other day, the NHL released the 2010/2011 regular season schedules, click here for a link of schedules of all 30 teams.

Search Amazon.com for nhl jerseys

6/18/10- Pirates vs Indians

2010-06-18T23:00:00.003-04:00

I was the first one in line for this game, and I knew there was goin' to be alot of people at this game, not just ballhawks, I mean a above average attendance for the Pirates, because we were playin' the Indians, and many Cleveland fans made the trip. More importantly, at this game I didn't run around the stadium like I usually do after the game began, I sat in my ticketed seat for most of the game (for once).
Before the game started, I bought a new Pedro Alvarez t-shirt.

I got my only ball of the game, from this guy (pictured below).

At 5:30, I ran over to section 140, to try a find a ball or get a toss up. No luck.
Below: Indians BP

After BP, I took the following picture. Ok, Pirates, its warm, sunny, no clouds in the sky, just a beautiful day, but you have to lights on! What a waste, instead of havin' good players on the team, we have the lights on while the sun is bright in the sky.

Below: View from my seat

Section 134 Row B Seat 17.
Like I mentioned before, I actually sat in my seat for a while.
Below: Pedro Alvarez on the scoreboard

This was his 3 game and my first time to see him play in person.

In the picture above, see the first row with all the people from Cleveland? Well these people were all ignorant. They flipped out on an usher because he asked one of them to show their ticket. I know there probably are good people from Cleveland, but those people showed me a bad example.
When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: Stuff I collected at this game.

1 ball, 5 tickets, Andy LaRoche jersey that I won, and 2 Bill Mazeroski photo wraps.
I had 3 but I gave one to my grandparents.
Below: Upclose on my 1 ball.

SEASON STATS
1 ball at this game.
16 balls at 9 games this season.
1.78 balls per game (BPG)
35 LIFETIME/29 CAREER BASEBALLS

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys authentic

6/15/10- Pirates vs White Sox

2010-06-15T23:12:00.004-04:00

I went to this game with my buddy Matt.
We left my house around 2:30.
I couldn't get into the bleachers at 5, so me and Matt stood over by the gate at Section 140, and we both watched where BP homeruns landed in the section. We saw Garrett Jones hit some into the sections.
Below: Pirates BP

When the gates opened for the rest of the stadium at 5:30, I looked around for the balls hit by Jones. I found one in Section 139, and the other in 140.
Below: White Sox BP

After that, I changed into my White Sox shirt, as they came out for their BP time. I must say that the White Sox are not very friendly at givin' balls to the fans. I did not get any balls from Chicago. After BP, I changed up my usual routine, instead of pizza, I got Rita's first and then pizza.

Brad Lincoln was pitchin', it was his 2nd start.
Below: Brad Lincoln.

Below: View from where me and Matt sat in the bleachers, for like 10 minutes.

This was also the first game where I got to see Jose Tabata in person.
Below: Jose Tabata.

Durin' the game, I took this random picture of the thin moon.

Pirates lost the game 6-4. When I got home I took the 2 usual pictures.
Below: What I collected.

*Ignore the dirty wall.
Below: Upclose on the 2 balls.

SEASON STATS
2 balls at this game.
15 balls in 8 games this season.
1.87 balls per game (BPG)
34 LIFETIME/28 CAREER BASEBALLS

Search Amazon.com for mlb jerseys authentic

I Am A Couple Days Late On This...

2010-06-12T12:24:00.001-04:00

But the Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup. Before the season began, I picked the Blackhawks to represent the Western Conference in the finals. Chicago won on an OT goal by Patrick Kane, that barely got past Flyers goalie Michael Leighton.

Search Amazon.com for nhl jerseys authentic

6/4/10- Pirates vs Giants

2010-06-05T10:27:00.002-04:00

Well first off Im gonna ruin the surprise and tell everybody that I got NO BALLS at this game. I got to PNC around 3:50, just like the other night, I was 3rd in line. BP started early today, because of the heavy storms in the forecast. 2 other ballhawks, and I spent some time on the Riverwalk, to try and snag a BP blast. Nick Pelescak got 2 balls down there, I ended up with none. When the gates opened at 5, there was no players on the field, cause BP ended just before 5. I looked for balls, and found none.
Below: Field view from 140.

At 5:30 when all the other sections were opened, me and a few other ballhawks, raced up the steps to try and find some balls, I ALMOST found one, but I walked right past it and another ballhawk picked it up. Around 6, I got my usual PNC Park dinner, pictured below.

Then it began to rain, and the tarp came out.

Below: Weather announcement on the scoreboard

As the rain kept comin' down,

these started to show on the field.
Around 9:30, the Pirates decided to start the game at 10. And the tarp was taken off the field.

Below: Neil Walker

At 10, the game began.

Before the 2nd, I tried to snag a toss-up ball from Garrett Jones in Section 144(?) right before he threw it, an usher asked me to leave the section.
After that, I decided to accept the shut-out and go home.
When I got home I took the usual picture.

SEASON STATS
0 balls at this game.
13 balls in 7 games this season.
1.86 balls per game (BPG)
32 LIFETIME/26 CAREER BASEBALLS