Great ballpark experiences

[improbus]

I want to hear some great ballpark stories from all you in baseball land. They don't have to revolve around big time events like game 6 of the 1975 WS, in fact, I'd prefer they don't because we all know what happened then, but maybe someone was at the spring training game when Randy Johnson clocked that pigeon, or when Tom Browning left Wrigley Field and hung out on the roof of one of the houses across the street and Jose Rijo shot fans with a super soaker (in the same game.) I already posted this in a thread on being a team supporter (Reds in my case,) but it seems like a good idea to copy it here.
Last season I went to a Reds-Giants game, and the strangest thing happened. First, the Reds had a rookie on the mound making his big league debut, and he strikes out the first two guys up, the fans start going nuts, and then THE ONE steps into the box and the whole place goes quiet. Josh Hall (the rookie), throws the first pitch WAY outside. You can guess what happened to the second. Barry just twists his torso, and with no effort, drops the ball in the visitors bullpen. I've been to quite a few sporting events (including the Ohio State-Miami national title game in '02), and I've NEVER experienced anything like that. The whole place was silent. Everyone knew it was going to happen, the fielders, pitcher, crowd, Barry, everyone. So we all treated as such, like it was simply a formality. When Barry came up to the plate, we all just thought, take your trot and go back to the dugout so we can get on with the game. It was the weirdest thing I've ever been a part of.

[RuthMayBond]

Re: Great ballpark experiences

Originally posted by improbus

Last season I went to a Reds-Giants game, and the strangest thing happened. First, the Reds had a rookie on the mound making his big league debut, and he strikes out the first two guys up, the fans start going nuts, and then THE ONE steps into the box and the whole place goes quiet. Josh Hall (the rookie), throws the first pitch WAY outside. You can guess what happened to the second. Barry just twists his torso, and with no effort, drops the ball in the visitors bullpen. I've been to quite a few sporting events (including the Ohio State-Miami national title game in '02), and I've NEVER experienced anything like that. The whole place was silent. Everyone knew it was going to happen, the fielders, pitcher, crowd, Barry, everyone. So we all treated as such, like it was simply a formality. When Barry came up to the plate, we all just thought, take your trot and go back to the dugout so we can get on with the game. It was the weirdest thing I've ever been a part of.

That's my man! I went to Nolan Ryan's last game at Cleveland in 1993. Since he was in the AL and said he would retire that year, this is the closest that any fan would get anywhere SE of Cleveland. Just to see the different states on all the license plates on the drive up was just mindblowing. IIRC, I think Ryan gave up a hit real early before he got settled in. I think it was the last hit the Tribe got until the 7th or 8th.
I also remember Manny Ramirez's fourth home run ever. I stuck my mitt up, got piled on and as I was getting up, some guy ripped it from my mitt. Fortunately a security guard saw him do this. It was returned to me, and some guy gave me his number and offered me $70 for it. The security guard took my number because he said the Tribe might be interested in it. I called them back the next day and they said they weren't interested. I called the other guy back and he said HE wasn't interested.
Then I got Rick Waits mad. Someone hit a ball near me during BP and I asked for it. He said he promised it to someone else. Later another ball came over and we asked for it. We said in a mocking tone "You promised!" He had every right to get mad at us and did say that he didn't want to look like he was breaking his promise to us. I would have been lucky to get away with this, but later in BP he did bring a ball over to me.
Another time I got homers by Ted Simmons and Andre Thornton in the same game.

[2Chance]

I love the pregame

In 1970, going to Riverfront Stadium was a big deal. "The jewel of the Ohio River" was just built, brand new and opened partway into the season. My first game there, the bathrooms weren't all even completed. The Reds played the Phillies and won, although I don't remember the score. The scorecard, prominently featuring Albers market, was 10¢ and included a pencil. My dad and I went to several games during the Big Red Machine era, and it is still my practice to show up early to watch the pregame stuff. We were there for a Frank Robinson "day," and saw Pete Rose get his 2,500th hit.

In Anaheim, I remember Jim Fregosi before the game throwing the ball as high into the air as he could, working his arm and his popup reactions. He threw it higher and higher, and the crowd delighted as he would wait till the last second to stick his glove out to catch it at his belt, at his knees, behind his back or between his legs....

A few years ago we went to see the Cards play in Chicago. There's always some controversy when these teams play. Before the game it was fun watching Sammy do his windsprints and joke and laugh with his teammates. Kerry Wood was recovering from injury or surgery (I forget which) and Felix Heredia was to the bullpen what Sosa was in the field. Meanwhile, Red Schoendeinst was ambling through center field. I may never know why, but what a mental picture that was!

At Tiger Stadium (still my favorite place on earth), Cecil Fielder sent one out of the park and into a lumberyard scaring the bejeezis out of one of the workers there. Another time, Ranger Juan Gonzales fouled several balls out of the stadium. When Ken Griffey Jr. was the most feared player in the game, we saw Justin Thompson strike him out three times...that was six times in a row for JT against Junior!

Favorite pregame memory is of Cal Ripken Jr. signing everything in sight during a freezing drizzle when everybody else had gone into the clubhouse.

Apologies to all of you who have heard these stories before.

[RuthMayBond]

I don't have many Tiger Stadium memories. I had to go there before they tore it down so I went to one of the last series. Mike Jackson was really nice and tossed a ball to me by the RF foul pole, which made things nicer because...
... one of the Tigers threw a ball in later & I caught it. He said it was for this woman and he would go get me another one so I gave it to her. Later he gets one and heaves it from probably a hundred fifty feet away. The mob knocked it away from me.

[Eddie Collins]

I got to see Sosa' 500th homerun at GAB.

[ElHalo]

I was at a game at Shea Stadium... I believe it was 1987. The Braves were in town, and they were killing the Mets. If I recall correctly, the Braves had started out the first five or six innings scoring one run every single inning, and the Mets had maybe one or two. I believe it was somewhere around the seventh inning, and Dale Murphy was at bat. He hit a high popup to shallow right center, and the outfielder (I believe it was Mookie Wilson) got position and was waiting for it... and then it dropped in about thirty feet shallower than he was anticipating.

Along with a dead pigeon.

Seems the ball had hit the bird, killed it, and both ball and bird had immediately fallen straight down to earth. The Umpires had a conference to determine what to do, before finally calling it a ground rule double (which seemed like the obvious solution to me). But the best part about it was that they sent out a teenaged ball girl, with huge puffy 80's hair, to retrieve the dead bird... they put her up on the Jumbotron, walking back toward the dugout, with the bird held between two fingers and her arm straight out to her side so that the bird was as far from her as possible. As I remember, they dug a little hole and buried it just outside the home dugout.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally posted by ElHalo
I was at a game at Shea Stadium... I believe it was 1987. The Braves were in town, and they were killing the Mets. If I recall correctly, the Braves had started out the first five or six innings scoring one run every single inning, and the Mets had maybe one or two. I believe it was somewhere around the seventh inning, and Dale Murphy was at bat. He hit a high popup to shallow right center, and the outfielder (I believe it was Mookie Wilson) got position and was waiting for it... and then it dropped in about thirty feet shallower than he was anticipating.

Along with a dead pigeon.

Seems the ball had hit the bird, killed it, and both ball and bird had immediately fallen straight down to earth. The Umpires had a conference to determine what to do, before finally calling it a ground rule double (which seemed like the obvious solution to me). But the best part about it was that they sent out a teenaged ball girl, with huge puffy 80's hair, to retrieve the dead bird... they put her up on the Jumbotron, walking back toward the dugout, with the bird held between two fingers and her arm straight out to her side so that the bird was as far from her as possible. As I remember, they dug a little hole and buried it just outside the home dugout.

I thought Dion James did it 4/12/1987?
One of the few fowl balls in fair territory

[improbus]

Two years ago we went to see my cousin pitch in Columbus, the Yanks triple A franchise, at the time he was with Ottawa, the Expos triple A squad. Anyway, with my cousin on the mound, I caught two foul balls in one inning. I was on the third base side, and a lefty (maybe Drew Henson, I don't remember) hit a screaming liner that I had to block with my hands, nearly breaking some bones. The next hitter fouled off a ball which rolled off the roof, and bounced into the seat next to me, which I of course gobbled up. I had never gotten a ball before, in fact, I had never even come close, but twice in one inning and with family on the mound? Weird.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally posted by improbus
Two years ago we went to see my cousin pitch in Columbus, the Yanks triple A franchise, at the time he was with Ottawa, the Expos triple A squad. Anyway, with my cousin on the mound, I caught two foul balls in one inning. I was on the third base side, and a lefty (maybe Drew Henson, I don't remember) hit a screaming liner that I had to block with my hands, nearly breaking some bones. The next hitter fouled off a ball which rolled off the roof, and bounced into the seat next to me, which I of course gobbled up. I had never gotten a ball before, in fact, I had never even come close, but twice in one inning and with family on the mound? Weird.

Yeah, but would he autograph them

[improbus]

I'm sure he would, but I never asked. It always feels awkward when my uncles ask for signed balls. I don't know, but it just doesn't seem quite right. But, I really don't care for memorabilia much, plus, I gave one of balls to a little cousin who was at the game.

[improbus]

Ruth, you might remember him, he was one of the players to be named later in the David Justice to NY deal, Zach Day. He's starting up in Montreal now. I always wanted to be a player to be named later (PTBNL), oh well.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally posted by improbus
Ruth, you might remember him, he was one of the players to be named later in the David Justice to NY deal, Zach Day. He's starting up in Montreal now. I always wanted to be a player to be named later (PTBNL), oh well.

OH yeah but of course they dealt him. They wouldn't want to keep someone who they might have to pay later

[ElHalo]

Originally posted by RuthMayBond
I thought Dion James did it 4/12/1987?
One of the few fowl balls in fair territory

It very well could have been Dion James, it was almost twenty years ago and the details are hazy in my mind. The one particularly clear memory I have was of the ball girl looking disgusted while she carried the bird all the way from the outfield to the home dugout between two fingertips.

[KHenry14]

a few memories...

I have a few distinct memories...

July 1970, sitting out by the right field bullpen at Candlestick, Ron Swoboda was in RF for the Mets. I had just read a book on the Amazin's and found out that Swoboda's nickname was "Rocky". So I kept yelling "Rocky!, Rocky!" and he waved to me! Made my day!

July, 1973 I saw Sudden Sam McDowell toss a 1-0 shut-out at Yankee Stadium. That was the last year before the remodel, so the monuments were still in play etc. A thrill to see the place exactly as Ruth, DiMag, Mantle had known it.

June 1980 I saw Willie McCovey's last game at Candlestick. You never saw so many grown men cry!

April 1987 Opening day Oakland Colosseum, McGwire and Reggie go deep in an otherwise lackluster A's performance. But my wife and I had gotten engaged the day before, so we used to say that Reggie had blessed our wedding with a dinger. But when 1998 came around, we changed it to McGwire blessing our engagement!

KH14

[yellowdog]

Originally posted by ElHalo
It very well could have been Dion James, it was almost twenty years ago and the details are hazy in my mind. The one particularly clear memory I have was of the ball girl looking disgusted while she carried the bird all the way from the outfield to the home dugout between two fingertips.

It definetly was Dion James. That was one of the Braves biggest highlights of the '87 season. And I believe the outfielder was Kevin McReynolds.