This will be the new blog, on a much easier site to use, and one hosted by the MLB.
Please continue to follow us in the new Orioles season. I have already been to 3 games, and have caught 3 baseballs. These are the quick highlights:
Adam Jones received his Gold Glove from Rawlings after an amazing 2009 season.
Bailey was a ballgirl for the first time, fielding 0 baseballs and have a few sections cheer for her. She did a great job, and hopefully a baseball will come to her in the next game. We wish her the best of luck.
We got to meet Andrea Bradley, the mother of Adam Jones, who is one of the sweetest and funniest ladies I have ever met. She loved getting to talk to us in person, after our conversations on facebook, and she made time for us even in the middle of the game (Adam wasn't up to bat). We all hope to see her again and hope that she is doing well and is happy.
Got to see Joe the Waiter and Yagoub for the last time at Diamond Tavern, as they will both be leaving.
New Blog:
http://thepenat86.mlblogs.com/
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sarasota 2010
So as the 2010 season kicks off, its time to go back and re-live the Sarasota trip that 5 of us just took. It was a weekend trip, we got down to Florida Friday morning, and left Sunday afternoon. It was the most amazing trip, jokes and memories that will last for years, and we got to see some great baseball. The trip was made fun by a lot of the jokes, but I'll leave those out of this, because if I tried writing about them, it could take me a few days. I'll get down to the bare-bones of the trip, and let some of the other people that went fill in details that they think should be in this post.
On the flight down to FL we met a man sitting across the aisle, someone that works for the Orioles, Doug Reaves. We had a nice chat with him, and he told us about what he was coming down for, how he was bringing sponsors, and on Saturday, they were going to be at a CrabFeast with the Orioles. When we got to FL, we got a car, and after checking into our very nice hotel, drove over to Sarasota to see the city and have some lunch. We ended up eating at a place across the street from Ed Smith Stadium, the place the Orioles now call Spring Home, at a place called Gus's 12th Street Cafe. Great meal, nice people, beautiful location. After lunch, we hung out at the ballpark for a little while, walking around the entire complex. There are a few minor league fields and some practice fields, which are also very nice, and still in the same area as the ballpark. We then explored the city of Sarasota, went down to the water, and got to play on rocks- no one fell in, got injured or got to wet, so all in all, it was a lot of fun being down on the water.
Game Time. The anticipation of opening the gates for the first time was killing us, and once they opened the gates, the atmosphere was really relaxed, no one was rushing, and the players were pretty cool with talking to fans. Avi, Segev and I all caught a baseball (or 3 or 4). Once the game started, and we had a few autographs from players and coaches, and we had talked to both Ronnie Deck and some other guys from the bullpen that still recognized us, it was time for the game. Our seats were right by first base, in the first row of the entire ballpark. If we had tried, and leaned over, we could have taken some of the dirt home with us. The Orioles lost the first game, but overall, it was a great time. The players were really chill about everything, and even during the game, guys would sign autographs as if it were pre-game, and there was no game going on behind them. We didn't get to talk to Ronnie post game, but we did talk to a few other players, so that was still very cool. We went back to the hotel, and after a very long day, and an early wake up call the next day, crashed for the night.
Day 2: Saturday
Saturday was going to be an afternoon game- temps in the 80's. We were also invited to a party with the Orioles after the game, the thing that we had talked to Doug about. We saw Doug a few times before the game, and we were all very excited for the meal post game. Pre-game went the same as the first game, some baseballs, talked to Ronnie, and got some more autographs. There was also a guest at the Orioles game that I got meet-- Dick Vitale, a nationally known basketball commentator for ESPN. The game also went really well. The Orioles beat the Red Sox, there were some great spelling errors on the scoreboard, and we all got a very nice tan (and a little burned). After the game, we went to this CrabFeast, and got to sit down with about 20 players, who were walking around, eat great food, and get autographs. Matt Albers, who we talked to last year, came up to us and talked to us about Ronnie, life, the bullpen, and was overall a really cool guy. We also got to talk to Luke Scott, Kevin Millwood, Kam Mickolio, among others. It was a great afternoon and something that does not happen very often. We were also told that it was ok to go play on the main minor league field, so we went and played catch in the outfield, running around like 4 year olds that had no idea what to do with themselves. We were on the same field as the Orioles and we were playing catch! It was insane and very tiring in the hot day.
After the game, we drove over to some of the islands of Sarasota, and drove around on the coast. We went to a public beach somewhere on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and got to cool down on the hot day. After playing a round of mini-golf, we went back to Tampa for a late dinner and time around the hotel. Avi and I spent some time (until about 2 a.m.) in the Orioles suite on the top floor that they had for everyone that was part of on Orioles organized trip to Sarasota, and of course, our "family". There was enough food to last us a year, so we never went hungry. We were also allowed to go to the buffet breakfast, courtesy of the Orioles, where we were offered more food than any of us could eat. We were never hungry, which was good, and always taken care of.
Day 3: Sunday
On Sunday, we spent the day in the Orioles suite, since we had to be at the airport in the early afternoon, and there was no Orioles game. It rained the entire day, so we spent the day talking and joking with other Orioles fans and spending some time together not in the car or in the ballpark. The plane ride back was through a lot of turbulence, which was not at all fun, and boy, was the plane shaky. We got through it alright, and that was the trip.
An amazing weekend, that we're all really glad we got to have, and we all take away some great memories. Now it's time for the new Orioles season....Go O's!
On the flight down to FL we met a man sitting across the aisle, someone that works for the Orioles, Doug Reaves. We had a nice chat with him, and he told us about what he was coming down for, how he was bringing sponsors, and on Saturday, they were going to be at a CrabFeast with the Orioles. When we got to FL, we got a car, and after checking into our very nice hotel, drove over to Sarasota to see the city and have some lunch. We ended up eating at a place across the street from Ed Smith Stadium, the place the Orioles now call Spring Home, at a place called Gus's 12th Street Cafe. Great meal, nice people, beautiful location. After lunch, we hung out at the ballpark for a little while, walking around the entire complex. There are a few minor league fields and some practice fields, which are also very nice, and still in the same area as the ballpark. We then explored the city of Sarasota, went down to the water, and got to play on rocks- no one fell in, got injured or got to wet, so all in all, it was a lot of fun being down on the water.
Game Time. The anticipation of opening the gates for the first time was killing us, and once they opened the gates, the atmosphere was really relaxed, no one was rushing, and the players were pretty cool with talking to fans. Avi, Segev and I all caught a baseball (or 3 or 4). Once the game started, and we had a few autographs from players and coaches, and we had talked to both Ronnie Deck and some other guys from the bullpen that still recognized us, it was time for the game. Our seats were right by first base, in the first row of the entire ballpark. If we had tried, and leaned over, we could have taken some of the dirt home with us. The Orioles lost the first game, but overall, it was a great time. The players were really chill about everything, and even during the game, guys would sign autographs as if it were pre-game, and there was no game going on behind them. We didn't get to talk to Ronnie post game, but we did talk to a few other players, so that was still very cool. We went back to the hotel, and after a very long day, and an early wake up call the next day, crashed for the night.
Day 2: Saturday
Saturday was going to be an afternoon game- temps in the 80's. We were also invited to a party with the Orioles after the game, the thing that we had talked to Doug about. We saw Doug a few times before the game, and we were all very excited for the meal post game. Pre-game went the same as the first game, some baseballs, talked to Ronnie, and got some more autographs. There was also a guest at the Orioles game that I got meet-- Dick Vitale, a nationally known basketball commentator for ESPN. The game also went really well. The Orioles beat the Red Sox, there were some great spelling errors on the scoreboard, and we all got a very nice tan (and a little burned). After the game, we went to this CrabFeast, and got to sit down with about 20 players, who were walking around, eat great food, and get autographs. Matt Albers, who we talked to last year, came up to us and talked to us about Ronnie, life, the bullpen, and was overall a really cool guy. We also got to talk to Luke Scott, Kevin Millwood, Kam Mickolio, among others. It was a great afternoon and something that does not happen very often. We were also told that it was ok to go play on the main minor league field, so we went and played catch in the outfield, running around like 4 year olds that had no idea what to do with themselves. We were on the same field as the Orioles and we were playing catch! It was insane and very tiring in the hot day.
After the game, we drove over to some of the islands of Sarasota, and drove around on the coast. We went to a public beach somewhere on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and got to cool down on the hot day. After playing a round of mini-golf, we went back to Tampa for a late dinner and time around the hotel. Avi and I spent some time (until about 2 a.m.) in the Orioles suite on the top floor that they had for everyone that was part of on Orioles organized trip to Sarasota, and of course, our "family". There was enough food to last us a year, so we never went hungry. We were also allowed to go to the buffet breakfast, courtesy of the Orioles, where we were offered more food than any of us could eat. We were never hungry, which was good, and always taken care of.
Day 3: Sunday
On Sunday, we spent the day in the Orioles suite, since we had to be at the airport in the early afternoon, and there was no Orioles game. It rained the entire day, so we spent the day talking and joking with other Orioles fans and spending some time together not in the car or in the ballpark. The plane ride back was through a lot of turbulence, which was not at all fun, and boy, was the plane shaky. We got through it alright, and that was the trip.
An amazing weekend, that we're all really glad we got to have, and we all take away some great memories. Now it's time for the new Orioles season....Go O's!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Very Exciting News
It has been a while since the last time I posted anything new about our Orioles adventures, yet so much has happened. I promise to get better about posting things when they happen, rather than waiting. So here goes, in a nut shell, (there may be a longer post with pictures about many of these things and more later on); Avi, Segev, Bailey and I are all going to SARASOTA, FLORIDA for the Orioles Spring Training. We won the trip with MASN and now we're headed down for a weekend to spend some time under the sun with baseball. We're very excited, been planning this for weeks now, and now all we need is for time to pass so we can hop on that plane!!!
In other news, Bailey will be a ballgirl for the Orioles this year, which is extremely cool and something that most fans would love to do, but never get the chance. We all hope she has a great experience, stays healthy (she's a softball player, so hopefully she won't get hit) and has a summer that she won't soon forget.
Thats it for the very exciting news, more later on a weekend with the Baltimore Blast and Baltimore Lacrosse at M&T Bank Stadium.
Until then, less than 3 weeks until Opening Day, Go O's!
In other news, Bailey will be a ballgirl for the Orioles this year, which is extremely cool and something that most fans would love to do, but never get the chance. We all hope she has a great experience, stays healthy (she's a softball player, so hopefully she won't get hit) and has a summer that she won't soon forget.
Thats it for the very exciting news, more later on a weekend with the Baltimore Blast and Baltimore Lacrosse at M&T Bank Stadium.
Until then, less than 3 weeks until Opening Day, Go O's!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
FanFest 2010!
It's finally here, and it was one of the best days we've had in a while. It was a jam packed day, and even though I'm not going to put any pictures up until later, we have a lot to write about. The day started out around 8 in the morning with Bailey and Beverly, who would be joining us for the day. We then made a long drive down to the park (only got lost a little bit) and got in line about 20 minutes before gates opened.
The entire thing was going to be at the Convention Center, and by the time we went in, the line wrapped around almost the entire way. By the end of the day, they announced that there were close to 12,000 people there, which is great because that means people are excited about the season. But enough general--lets go into what happened. There were autograph tables set up all day, and we started out with Matt Weiters, Nolan Reimold, and of course, Jim Palmer. Palmer is a great guy and was very nice to all of us. There were forums and activities all day, and we did get to participate in a lot of those. When we weren't standing in line for autographs, we did get to walk around, shopping, talking to other fans and of course players.
At the MASN station, Segev, Bailey, Beverly, and I were chosen (extremely exciting) to play a game of Family Fued (as the Goldberg family). The game was hosted by Amber Theoharis, and after 3 rounds, we were the winners (in dramatic fashion) and now have tickets to one game in the MASN Suite, where we will be joined by broadcasters and MASN personalities. People started to recognize us all around FanFest which was cool, and we're all very excited to go to the game. We are also now entered to win a trip to Orioles Spring Training. We'll have to see if that works out.
Later on, after more walking around and more autographs, I went back with Bailey to play Skee-Ball, with a prize that if I could sink it in the corner hole, I would win the 900 page Orioles Encyclopedia. I've always wanted the book so it would be cool to win. On my second shot, with supporters behind me, I sank the shot, won the book (which I won again later-- they wouldn't give it to me because I'd already won) and then got to meet the editor/compiler/author, where he signed by book.
At this point, we had gotten lots of free stuff from pretty much everywhere-- Matt Albers and Alan Dunn recognized us and said hello, which was cool, and Bailey and I got to meet and take pictures with our new pitcher Mike Gonzalez. Some of us got to meet Scott McGregor who pitched, and won, the last game of the 1983 World Series. Avi and Segev will have more stories, and I will post them, but overall, we have the same idea-- FanFest was amazing, and the upcoming season will be so much fun.
Go O's!!!!
The entire thing was going to be at the Convention Center, and by the time we went in, the line wrapped around almost the entire way. By the end of the day, they announced that there were close to 12,000 people there, which is great because that means people are excited about the season. But enough general--lets go into what happened. There were autograph tables set up all day, and we started out with Matt Weiters, Nolan Reimold, and of course, Jim Palmer. Palmer is a great guy and was very nice to all of us. There were forums and activities all day, and we did get to participate in a lot of those. When we weren't standing in line for autographs, we did get to walk around, shopping, talking to other fans and of course players.
At the MASN station, Segev, Bailey, Beverly, and I were chosen (extremely exciting) to play a game of Family Fued (as the Goldberg family). The game was hosted by Amber Theoharis, and after 3 rounds, we were the winners (in dramatic fashion) and now have tickets to one game in the MASN Suite, where we will be joined by broadcasters and MASN personalities. People started to recognize us all around FanFest which was cool, and we're all very excited to go to the game. We are also now entered to win a trip to Orioles Spring Training. We'll have to see if that works out.
Later on, after more walking around and more autographs, I went back with Bailey to play Skee-Ball, with a prize that if I could sink it in the corner hole, I would win the 900 page Orioles Encyclopedia. I've always wanted the book so it would be cool to win. On my second shot, with supporters behind me, I sank the shot, won the book (which I won again later-- they wouldn't give it to me because I'd already won) and then got to meet the editor/compiler/author, where he signed by book.
At this point, we had gotten lots of free stuff from pretty much everywhere-- Matt Albers and Alan Dunn recognized us and said hello, which was cool, and Bailey and I got to meet and take pictures with our new pitcher Mike Gonzalez. Some of us got to meet Scott McGregor who pitched, and won, the last game of the 1983 World Series. Avi and Segev will have more stories, and I will post them, but overall, we have the same idea-- FanFest was amazing, and the upcoming season will be so much fun.
Go O's!!!!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
HOF 2010
This isn't Orioles related, but Andre Dawson will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year-- he joins an elite club of the greatest MLB players of all time.
Bert Blyleven just missed out, along with a few other players making next years race even more exciting.
But again, congrats to Andre Dawson!
Bert Blyleven just missed out, along with a few other players making next years race even more exciting.
But again, congrats to Andre Dawson!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Updates
So Avi and I are now Season ticket holders, and Segev will be within the week, which is exciting. Avi and I got, as a reward for buying the plan, a signed picture of Matt Wieters hitting his first MLB hit, a triple, at home. It looks great, in a nice card, glossy picture, something to be proud of. I love it, and it'll sit on my shelf with some other signed baseballs. Avi also got really nice Orioles shoes, so now from head to toe we can show our support of the Orioles. FanFest is in 19 days, so that's going to be a thrill, and Ronnie Deck finally got back to us which was great. We love hearing from the players, and hopefully at FanFest we'll be able to catch up with a few of them.
Also, for those who don't follow, Danys Baez was signed by the Phillies for 2 years. I'm so happy for him, and in the long run, that works out pretty well for us. We'll be able to see him when he comes down to DC and since we can go up to Philly and to Pittsburgh, we may be able to see him a few times during the year.
That's all the news I have for right now, but there will be more soon, and absolutely a big post right after FanFest, with contributions from the 3 of us.
And finally,
Go O's!
Also, for those who don't follow, Danys Baez was signed by the Phillies for 2 years. I'm so happy for him, and in the long run, that works out pretty well for us. We'll be able to see him when he comes down to DC and since we can go up to Philly and to Pittsburgh, we may be able to see him a few times during the year.
That's all the news I have for right now, but there will be more soon, and absolutely a big post right after FanFest, with contributions from the 3 of us.
And finally,
Go O's!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sports Legends Museum
Last weekend, we all went downtown to celebrate and enjoy the dollar days that all area museums were providing. The admission to the museum was one dollar for each of us. So we went down around 2, and spent a few hours in the museum. Over the past year, we have each become bigger O's fans, appreciating the rich history and of course all the great players and moments we have been involved in. We also love the rest of the sports in Maryland, so this is the perfect museum. Before we went into the museum we went over to the ballpark to see the place we spent so much time and this is what we saw: 
Yes- some of the seats had been pulled out. They are replacing the concrete, and this is how they were doing it. It looked very odd, but it'll be nice to have new concrete and a good base.
Yes- some of the seats had been pulled out. They are replacing the concrete, and this is how they were doing it. It looked very odd, but it'll be nice to have new concrete and a good base.
The museum part of the day was amazing. There are so many pictures and since I can't share all of them, I'll show all the trophy's they have--(in order of the pictures) 1983 World Series Trophy, 1970 WS Trophy, Mens and Womens National Championship Trophy ( UMD basketball), and the Super Bowl V Trophy (Baltimore Colts). 
This of course was only a small portion of the day, (we got to put on different jerseys, including a UMD and Navy Football jersey, we got to see the 2131 banner, and lots of different Orioles and Ravens/Colts memorabilia. It was a great day, and it was worth going out in the rain to see this. More on the offseason later and also keep checking with Avi's blog. Go O's!!
This of course was only a small portion of the day, (we got to put on different jerseys, including a UMD and Navy Football jersey, we got to see the 2131 banner, and lots of different Orioles and Ravens/Colts memorabilia. It was a great day, and it was worth going out in the rain to see this. More on the offseason later and also keep checking with Avi's blog. Go O's!!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Day 1 of the Trip in Pictures
Day 1-- Day in Pittsburgh/ Falling Water
http://picasaweb.google.com/thezman613/Baseball2009Part1#
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21598730@N06/sets/72157622684833141/
(this one will have all the pictures I put on Flickr, so look at the descriptions, because it will be from a few different days)
http://picasaweb.google.com/thezman613/Baseball2009Part1#
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21598730@N06/sets/72157622684833141/
(this one will have all the pictures I put on Flickr, so look at the descriptions, because it will be from a few different days)
Pictures and Update
Pictures are now being uploaded from the end of the season and also from the trip. I will link albums as they become available, so please look through them, enjoy, and we'll be back at Oriole Park soon.
There is big news about that though. We will now be season plan holders!! We have all bought the 13 game plan, so we get all the benefits and of course, we can now say that we are Season Ticket holders. Very exciting, and now we will be able to get into the entire ballpark at 5, so that means more experiences and more baseballs. FanFest will be on January 23rd, this year at the Convention Center, so there will be an update about that also. There is also a plan to go down to Spring Training and Opening Day in Tampa, which would be great. As we get closer, I will be able to let you all know how that starts to work out.
Go O's
There is big news about that though. We will now be season plan holders!! We have all bought the 13 game plan, so we get all the benefits and of course, we can now say that we are Season Ticket holders. Very exciting, and now we will be able to get into the entire ballpark at 5, so that means more experiences and more baseballs. FanFest will be on January 23rd, this year at the Convention Center, so there will be an update about that also. There is also a plan to go down to Spring Training and Opening Day in Tampa, which would be great. As we get closer, I will be able to let you all know how that starts to work out.
Go O's
Monday, November 9, 2009
Pictures
There will be a lot more pictures, all of the ones we have from the season, and in the posts, you can click on the picture to get a bigger one. Thanks for following, there will be more, and Go O's!
Old post: StL @ DC
Sorry this is so overdue, but I didn't think we should write about it because it was before the blog was started. Segev and I went down to DC one evening to see the Nationals play, and to hopefully see Albert Pujols play. We got down there about half hour after gates opened, so it meant that we would have to stay in the outfield, but since there was a drizzle, no one was there and we knew it would be a good day. About 5 minutes in, I got a Nats pitcher to toss me a ball hit by Adam Dunn, and right after that, a HR from him landed in the flower pot, and I snagged that one. I was on the board quickly, and we'd been there for 10 minutes. It got better, as I got a few more players to toss me baseballs from the Cardinals, and when we were able to move around, a pitcher, who's aim I thought would be better tossed me a ball, and I ran it down for my 3rd ball of the day. Segev also got a baseball and we had 4 on the day already, about an hour and a half in.
The bad part of the day was that it was raining and it looked like it was going to get worse. Right before the game, I looked down into the Cardinals bullpen, and of course there was a ball. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina tossed it up to us, and Segev grabbed it. It was an amazing pregame performance: we had 5 baseballs and the game hadn't started. I was convinced that if we could grab a good seat in foul ground, we would easily get a ball. There was no one there. This was our view for the game:
It was amazing-- thats in the 10th row (we moved up) and it was right by the ball girl, where all the balls would roll. That's when the bad luck started. The skies looked great, we thought it would clear up, and it would be fine. However- we got stuck in 3 rain delays (the stupid Nationals ballclub will not cancel games) and each time, the crowd got smaller and smaller. And of course, because we were near the ball girl, she got zero, 0, balls the entire game. So we were stuck at 5, got stuck in the rain 3 times, and were soaking wet.
We did get free food during the last rain delay which was nice, but I seriously think we could have hit 7 or 8 if we had had any luck after BP ended. It was a lot of fun, and we did get to see a ballpark neither one of us had been to for a game (I've taken a tour, which was much cooler than watching a ballgame there).
Oh, and because this was a make-up game, late in the season, we didn't get to see Pujols play, and the scoreboard was a messed up for the first inning:
Yea- they had the Padres up, not the Cardinals. Oh well.
The bad part of the day was that it was raining and it looked like it was going to get worse. Right before the game, I looked down into the Cardinals bullpen, and of course there was a ball. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina tossed it up to us, and Segev grabbed it. It was an amazing pregame performance: we had 5 baseballs and the game hadn't started. I was convinced that if we could grab a good seat in foul ground, we would easily get a ball. There was no one there. This was our view for the game:
It was amazing-- thats in the 10th row (we moved up) and it was right by the ball girl, where all the balls would roll. That's when the bad luck started. The skies looked great, we thought it would clear up, and it would be fine. However- we got stuck in 3 rain delays (the stupid Nationals ballclub will not cancel games) and each time, the crowd got smaller and smaller. And of course, because we were near the ball girl, she got zero, 0, balls the entire game. So we were stuck at 5, got stuck in the rain 3 times, and were soaking wet.
We did get free food during the last rain delay which was nice, but I seriously think we could have hit 7 or 8 if we had had any luck after BP ended. It was a lot of fun, and we did get to see a ballpark neither one of us had been to for a game (I've taken a tour, which was much cooler than watching a ballgame there).
Oh, and because this was a make-up game, late in the season, we didn't get to see Pujols play, and the scoreboard was a messed up for the first inning:
Yea- they had the Padres up, not the Cardinals. Oh well.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Bad news
Next year, Alan Dunn and Ronnie Deck will be back, which is good, but Ruben Felix, who we love so much and is very funny, will not be back. We will miss him, and hope he has good luck in the future!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
October 3
This may come in parts, but its about time I post something about the most exciting weekend of the year. Saturday night the 3 of us all went to the game hoping to see cool things and collect lots of baseballs. We went down around 2 o'clock, for a 7 o'clock game, just to chill and have a good time. We went into California Tortilla for a quick bite for lunch and then walked around the ballpark a few times. We saw some people we knew and just talked for a while. Around 3:30, we were walking by the entrance to the offices in the wearhouse, and we stopped to look into the window. We saw a guy standing there, with a bike, in a Jeremy Guthrie BP jersey. We stopped to look, and after a minute or two, one of the ushers came out to see if we needed anything. Of course we were stunned, so we just told her to wish Jeremy good luck the next day. She said fine and went back inside. A minute later, Jeremy walked over to the door, and came out. He asked what our names were and we struck up a conversation. We talked for about 5-10 minutes, and then he offered to take a picture with us. It was all very cool and we were very stunned. I called my dad, Avi and Seg texted our friends, and we thought our day had peaked.
We all had season tickets for this game, so when the gates opened at 5, we rushed around to left field to try to get some extra baseballs. Seg and Avi both also were in CF to talk to Danys, but did come around after a minute or two. When I had run inside, it was between another kid and me to get any baseballs just sitting there. Unfortunatly, one of the ushers had been catching baseballs and so there weren't any. Right as we got there however, he caught another ball, and I asked him if he could spare one. He tossed it to me, and I had 1. Another few home runs came my way and both Matusz and Guthrie each tossed me a baseball. At this point, I had 4 baseballs. Avi and Segev each had been collecting baseballs themselves-- Segev had 3 and Avi had a few also. Then the day got even more interesting. While the O's were still taking BP, a shallow HR was hit, but i misjudged it, and was row to shallow. I jumped for it, but it glanced off my glove. Danys Baez yelled out that I should have made the play, so I asked him for another chance. He said ok, and I threw him the baseball. On target, but it landed just a bit short. Then after a little joking around, he threw it back. The one problem was that he had horrible aim-- it was about a foot short of the wall, and so I made a lunging catch, over the wall and made a spectacular catch. That got a big applause from the Orioles who were in Left Field, and Danys was also pretty impressed. It was great to be able to play "catch" with an O's player, and get to show my great reaction to the players.
The Orioles finished up Batting Practice, I had 7 baseballs and overall, the 3 of us had caught just about 17-18 baseballs. Our goal for the weekend was 23 overall. As the Jays came out, we started walking around. I got one of the Jays to toss me one of their warm up baseballs, which gave me 8 on the day and brought us very close to our goal. Then Avi came running to me, happ as could be, because he had been chosen to go on the field with a player for the Anthem. He was so happy, and I was excited for him also. I decided to walk around Eutaw St to see if maybe I could be chosen also. I was walking around, and I saw someone I knew was choosing people, so I walked up to him and asked him who was choosing people and how I could be chosen. He said that I shouldn't ask and should just hang out around Eutaw St. That was cool, and I knew that he was right. About 20 minutes went by, and I still hadn't been chosen. The same guy found me again, and asked if I had been chosen. I said no, and he said, "Well, I'm here to choose you!" I was so excited, and I had been chosen to go on the field to get a jersey. I went back to Avi who was very excited for me, and when it was time, we went down under the stadium and waited to walk onto the field. I was going to get Chris Lambert's jersey, which was very cool. When I walked out onto the field, the stadium seemed much bigger. With everyone looking at me, including every player in the dugout, it got pretty nerve wracking.
Chris came out and we talked about everything for a little bit, and I also said hi to Guthrie again, who of course recognized me, and also Nick Markakis who was right next to me. (pics later). Then he put the jersey on me, which was really really cool, and when the PA announcer said my name, and I heard the cheers from people I knew sitting very close to where I was, it was so crazy and my smile was huge. After all of this, we walked back into the dugout where I had to give the jersey back, and I told him that I was sitting out by the bullpen, and he should look out for me there. Leaving the dugout, I wished good luck to Dave Trembley, who was standing right next to me, and in the tunnel leaving the field I wished good luck to each of the umpires. It was all very cool. I got out in time to see Avi go out onto the field with Lou Montanez, who is an outfielder, so Avi got to run across the dirt, which he said was so very cool. After the Anthem, Avi got a baseball signed (a ball right out of the box) and he got to spit on the field.
We went back to our seats, talked with Ronnie and Ruben, and of course watched the Orioles pull out another great victory. It was a great game, and we still had one game to go.
Go O's!
We all had season tickets for this game, so when the gates opened at 5, we rushed around to left field to try to get some extra baseballs. Seg and Avi both also were in CF to talk to Danys, but did come around after a minute or two. When I had run inside, it was between another kid and me to get any baseballs just sitting there. Unfortunatly, one of the ushers had been catching baseballs and so there weren't any. Right as we got there however, he caught another ball, and I asked him if he could spare one. He tossed it to me, and I had 1. Another few home runs came my way and both Matusz and Guthrie each tossed me a baseball. At this point, I had 4 baseballs. Avi and Segev each had been collecting baseballs themselves-- Segev had 3 and Avi had a few also. Then the day got even more interesting. While the O's were still taking BP, a shallow HR was hit, but i misjudged it, and was row to shallow. I jumped for it, but it glanced off my glove. Danys Baez yelled out that I should have made the play, so I asked him for another chance. He said ok, and I threw him the baseball. On target, but it landed just a bit short. Then after a little joking around, he threw it back. The one problem was that he had horrible aim-- it was about a foot short of the wall, and so I made a lunging catch, over the wall and made a spectacular catch. That got a big applause from the Orioles who were in Left Field, and Danys was also pretty impressed. It was great to be able to play "catch" with an O's player, and get to show my great reaction to the players.
The Orioles finished up Batting Practice, I had 7 baseballs and overall, the 3 of us had caught just about 17-18 baseballs. Our goal for the weekend was 23 overall. As the Jays came out, we started walking around. I got one of the Jays to toss me one of their warm up baseballs, which gave me 8 on the day and brought us very close to our goal. Then Avi came running to me, happ as could be, because he had been chosen to go on the field with a player for the Anthem. He was so happy, and I was excited for him also. I decided to walk around Eutaw St to see if maybe I could be chosen also. I was walking around, and I saw someone I knew was choosing people, so I walked up to him and asked him who was choosing people and how I could be chosen. He said that I shouldn't ask and should just hang out around Eutaw St. That was cool, and I knew that he was right. About 20 minutes went by, and I still hadn't been chosen. The same guy found me again, and asked if I had been chosen. I said no, and he said, "Well, I'm here to choose you!" I was so excited, and I had been chosen to go on the field to get a jersey. I went back to Avi who was very excited for me, and when it was time, we went down under the stadium and waited to walk onto the field. I was going to get Chris Lambert's jersey, which was very cool. When I walked out onto the field, the stadium seemed much bigger. With everyone looking at me, including every player in the dugout, it got pretty nerve wracking.
Chris came out and we talked about everything for a little bit, and I also said hi to Guthrie again, who of course recognized me, and also Nick Markakis who was right next to me. (pics later). Then he put the jersey on me, which was really really cool, and when the PA announcer said my name, and I heard the cheers from people I knew sitting very close to where I was, it was so crazy and my smile was huge. After all of this, we walked back into the dugout where I had to give the jersey back, and I told him that I was sitting out by the bullpen, and he should look out for me there. Leaving the dugout, I wished good luck to Dave Trembley, who was standing right next to me, and in the tunnel leaving the field I wished good luck to each of the umpires. It was all very cool. I got out in time to see Avi go out onto the field with Lou Montanez, who is an outfielder, so Avi got to run across the dirt, which he said was so very cool. After the Anthem, Avi got a baseball signed (a ball right out of the box) and he got to spit on the field.
We went back to our seats, talked with Ronnie and Ruben, and of course watched the Orioles pull out another great victory. It was a great game, and we still had one game to go.
Go O's!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Update
I would just like to thank everybody for following us throughout this Orioles season. We will be updating throughout the off season, so keep checking. I'm so sorry that I haven't put up any pictures (there are a lot and they will all be put up once I figure it out- I don't want to have to put them up one at a time) and since we went to the last 3 games, and a lot happened, I will be writing about that very soon. There could be a lot going on during the break- including, Ronnie/Ruben coming to visit us at school, Batting Practice with Ronnie as our coach, visits to Sprig Training, and much more we hope! Thanks for a great season, now lets count down the days until the first game in April (as of now, 168 days or so). Go O's!!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Quick Update
I will post a few entries about this past weekend soon, because this was one of the most hectic, fun, exciting weekends we will have in the near future. This season has been great, the O's finished with a big sweep, and of course, we got to chill with Ronnie and Ruben. Roberts finished with 56 doubles, a team record, and a new record for switch hitters. He was also named the Most Valuable Oriole.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Long Overdue post
So 2 Wednesday's ago, I went with Avi right after school, getting a ride from a girl in our school (her dad was nice enough to bring us to the lightrail). After catching the light rail as we got there, we arrived at the ballpark at about 5:10. We rushed inside and saw Errol standing alone at the entrance to the rest of the ballpark, where only Season Ticket holders are allowed. We went down to say hi to Danys, knowing that there would be a good chance Errol would let us by later on. Danys was happy to see us, and we talked to him about school and why we hadn't been there in a while. After he caught a few baseballs and tossed us one each, we thanked him and told him we would talk to him once we got to the bullpen. We had 2 baseballs overall, and we had set a goal of 10 baseballs. There was no one in the ballpark, so I knew we had a shot. We went over to Errol, and when he saw us, after joking around with us, he let us get to the rest of the park, because there was no one else there. Ronnie and Ruben had left, so we went to the dugout to see if we could get a baseball. As everyone was leaving the field, there was one ball on the field, which I got Mark Hendrickson to toss to me.
As Avi and I changed into our blue shirts for the Rays, we noticed that there were almost no people behind the pitchers warming up, so I knew I had a good chance to get a baseball. After they were done, most would not throw it to us, because they didn't want to give baseballs away and some decided not to hear us. There was no one else there, so you think they would award us with a baseball. They didn't. When David Price was done, he flipped me the ball, and when I realized it was falling short, I leaned over the railing to try to get it, but it bounced right before and nailed me in the cheek. Avi grabbed it, so it was ok, and when I asked David for another baseball, he pointed at a foul ball coming my way, which I did get a few rows up. Before he had come over, I may add, another player had thrown me a baseball, but he rolled it over, and when I realized, I couldn't get my glove down to field level and it rolled away. The usher said he couldn't get it, but he did come over and then throw it back towards the players-- what?! He says he can't get it, but yet he just throws it back in. I know they are told to do that, but it annoyed me that I could have 4 baseballs at this point. Oh well-- Avi and I each played different parts of the outfield, and he did alert me of a baseball in the Orioles bullpen, which, when I went over was still there. When the police officer came over to throw his water bottle away, I asked him if he could toss me the baseball, and he did. Very nice guy and I wished him a good evening. After that, Grant Balfour came out to the bullpen to throw with Jim Hickey and another coach, and before they started I asked if there was any way I could have the ball when they were done. He nodded, so I stuck around. No other baseballs came my way, while Avi did manage to get baseball number 3 for him. After a while, when they were done talking, I asked Grant if I could have the ball, and the coach I had talked to got the ball and threw me a strike, down the middle, right into my glove. Until Avi and I left, we managed to get a few more baseballs, and our final one was number 10! We thought it was 9, but it did end up being number 10!!!
We decided to see if we would have any luck around the Rays dugout, and when they came in, I asked David Price if I could have another baseball. He told me that I got one, and when I told him my friend had gotten it, he told me I had one also. Jokingly, I said- No- Avi has it! and he, with a big smile, yelled, "You have one, Don't Lie to Me!" He left and we were cracking up. Another pitcher came over, and when we asked him, he told me that I had 100 in that bag, and I don't need another one. I jokingly asked him, Why can't I have 101? They all left, and right as they were going in, one of the coaches reluctantly threw us a baseball because there was no one else around. That was baseball number 11 (7 for me, and 3 for Avi). I decided to stick around to talk to Alan Dunn when he came out, and Avi went back. Avi called me and told me that while we were gone, someone had stolen 3 of his baseballs, and he was left with none. I told Alan about that, and he said that he'd see what he could do. He had told us that he would try to get us some Yankee Stadium commemorative baseballs, and so we were excited to see if we would get them. I went back to Avi, who had gotten 2 from Alan because he couldn't find any NYY baseballs. (Cla later explained that they didn't use them for BP, and so he couldn't get them for us.) Avi would end up getting another baseball from the Rays, which gave us 13 baseballs overall- an amazing performance!! Ruben did talk to us, and we worked it out that they would try to come in the week after the season ended, before they all went back home. The game was great, and we had to leave at 10, because we had school the next day, and for the most part, it seemed like they would get the game in by 9:30. Danys told us that he would give us his jacket at the end of the game, and we joked with him the entire time, until he was called on to pitch. Miss Kelly was great, and we had friends come to the game, and so we had fun with them. All of a sudden, there was rain, and there was a rain delay. We ended up leaving, talked to Joe when he could get out of some party that the Tavern was hosting, and so that didn't work out. We ended up going back home, and of course, in the 10th inning (after losing the lead in the 9th), Matt Wieters gets up and hits a walk-off Home Run to the first row of our section. We would have caught that ball, because there were 3 people in the section, and we would have moved down to talk to Ronnie. The O's won, so it was ok, and our next game would not be until October 2-4th. We'll write more then, and Let's Go O's!
As Avi and I changed into our blue shirts for the Rays, we noticed that there were almost no people behind the pitchers warming up, so I knew I had a good chance to get a baseball. After they were done, most would not throw it to us, because they didn't want to give baseballs away and some decided not to hear us. There was no one else there, so you think they would award us with a baseball. They didn't. When David Price was done, he flipped me the ball, and when I realized it was falling short, I leaned over the railing to try to get it, but it bounced right before and nailed me in the cheek. Avi grabbed it, so it was ok, and when I asked David for another baseball, he pointed at a foul ball coming my way, which I did get a few rows up. Before he had come over, I may add, another player had thrown me a baseball, but he rolled it over, and when I realized, I couldn't get my glove down to field level and it rolled away. The usher said he couldn't get it, but he did come over and then throw it back towards the players-- what?! He says he can't get it, but yet he just throws it back in. I know they are told to do that, but it annoyed me that I could have 4 baseballs at this point. Oh well-- Avi and I each played different parts of the outfield, and he did alert me of a baseball in the Orioles bullpen, which, when I went over was still there. When the police officer came over to throw his water bottle away, I asked him if he could toss me the baseball, and he did. Very nice guy and I wished him a good evening. After that, Grant Balfour came out to the bullpen to throw with Jim Hickey and another coach, and before they started I asked if there was any way I could have the ball when they were done. He nodded, so I stuck around. No other baseballs came my way, while Avi did manage to get baseball number 3 for him. After a while, when they were done talking, I asked Grant if I could have the ball, and the coach I had talked to got the ball and threw me a strike, down the middle, right into my glove. Until Avi and I left, we managed to get a few more baseballs, and our final one was number 10! We thought it was 9, but it did end up being number 10!!!
We decided to see if we would have any luck around the Rays dugout, and when they came in, I asked David Price if I could have another baseball. He told me that I got one, and when I told him my friend had gotten it, he told me I had one also. Jokingly, I said- No- Avi has it! and he, with a big smile, yelled, "You have one, Don't Lie to Me!" He left and we were cracking up. Another pitcher came over, and when we asked him, he told me that I had 100 in that bag, and I don't need another one. I jokingly asked him, Why can't I have 101? They all left, and right as they were going in, one of the coaches reluctantly threw us a baseball because there was no one else around. That was baseball number 11 (7 for me, and 3 for Avi). I decided to stick around to talk to Alan Dunn when he came out, and Avi went back. Avi called me and told me that while we were gone, someone had stolen 3 of his baseballs, and he was left with none. I told Alan about that, and he said that he'd see what he could do. He had told us that he would try to get us some Yankee Stadium commemorative baseballs, and so we were excited to see if we would get them. I went back to Avi, who had gotten 2 from Alan because he couldn't find any NYY baseballs. (Cla later explained that they didn't use them for BP, and so he couldn't get them for us.) Avi would end up getting another baseball from the Rays, which gave us 13 baseballs overall- an amazing performance!! Ruben did talk to us, and we worked it out that they would try to come in the week after the season ended, before they all went back home. The game was great, and we had to leave at 10, because we had school the next day, and for the most part, it seemed like they would get the game in by 9:30. Danys told us that he would give us his jacket at the end of the game, and we joked with him the entire time, until he was called on to pitch. Miss Kelly was great, and we had friends come to the game, and so we had fun with them. All of a sudden, there was rain, and there was a rain delay. We ended up leaving, talked to Joe when he could get out of some party that the Tavern was hosting, and so that didn't work out. We ended up going back home, and of course, in the 10th inning (after losing the lead in the 9th), Matt Wieters gets up and hits a walk-off Home Run to the first row of our section. We would have caught that ball, because there were 3 people in the section, and we would have moved down to talk to Ronnie. The O's won, so it was ok, and our next game would not be until October 2-4th. We'll write more then, and Let's Go O's!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Brian's Doubles
With a big double on Tuesday night, Brian Roberts inches closer to the mark of 60 doubles.
56 doubles!!
Go O's (please snap this 11 game losing streak)
56 doubles!!
Go O's (please snap this 11 game losing streak)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Updates
I'm very sorry that I have not added a new post in a long while, but there has not been to much exciting going on. I went to one game, last Wednesday, with Avi- and it was an empty game. We collected 13--yea, 13 baseballs that game (personal and group records) and a full recap will be added very soon. I will also now be adding a countdown to 60 doubles for Brian Roberts, a mark that has not been reached since 1931 (Earl Webb- Boston Red Sox, with 67). It would be an amazing mark to cap a great season for Brian Roberts, so we will watch him and hope he gets 60+ doubles.
Roberts doubles- 55
Go O's
Roberts doubles- 55
Go O's
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)