Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Boston Vs. Tampa Bay 4/29/14

There are cold New England nights, and then there was last night. I got to Fenway an hour before gates opened, and it was already about 45 degrees. During the game weather.com pegged the temerature with wind chill around 34 degrees, but it felt even colder.

There was a chance of rain before the game, so I knew there was a very low chance of batting practice, which meant a very high chance of me getting shut out. 

When I walked in, I saw Tom Caron walking through the concourse towards Yawkey Way. I said hi, but we were both in a rush, so I didn't ask for anything.

The grounds crew workers were already taking down the batting cage, so indeed there would be no batting practice. Luckily for me, there were a number of players on the field  either throwing(pitchers) or practicing fielding baseballs off of the green monster.

I quickly recognized Grant Balfour walking in, and he stopped to take a photo with some Rays fans, so I went over, and had him sign a team baseball.

I ran back over to my spot, because fellow pitcher Josh Leuke was about to finish throwing, and he came over and signed when I asked. I think I was the only one who got him, and 1/2 to get Balfour to sign. There were probably only 6 players total on the field, and I had gotten one of the most notable out of that group in Balfour, so my next target was Sean Rodriguez, the best player left on the field. I called to him when he was coming in(at this point I was down the left field line) but I didn't think he could hear me. I decided to run down to the home plate side of the dugout which takes about 45 seconds, mind you, and I somehow got through everyone, and ended up at the spot I got Darvish and Washington a few weeks back. Sean ended up signing 2 autographs right there. 1 for a person as I was making my way down, and I made it to the front just in time for him to motion to me to throw my baseball down.

I was expecting a shutout, and I ended up getting 3 guys in 10 minutes, so I'll take that any day of the week.

Sean Rodriguez:
 photo 20140430_194051_zpsrnkknsvt.jpg
Grant Balfour:
 photo 20140430_194131_zps6afyszpk.jpg
Josh Leuke:
 photo 20140430_194159_zpslxzvnelk.jpg

Total Autographs For 2014: 88

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