JetBlue is offering an All-You-Can-Jet pass for $599. It inspired me to take a trip, since I certainly have the time right now. All the flights are booked, but I haven’t finalized hotel, car, and baseball ticket details yet. Still working on that, but it’ll all come together soon. My itinerary:
9/7 SBA to LAX AA 3042 1:45PM-2:30PM LAX to LAS AA 741 4:25PM-5:40PM 9/8 LAS to JFK JetBlue 192 11:15AM-7:39PM 9/9 TB @ NYY 7:05PM 9/10 FLA @ NYM 7:10PM 9/11 NYM @ PHI 7:05PM 9/12 9/13 WAS @ NYG 4:15PM 9/14 JFK to BOS JetBlue 1012 1:35PM-2:36PM 9/15 ANA @ BOS 7:10PM 9/16 ANA @ BOS 7:10PM 9/17 BOS to TPA JetBlue 441 8:35AM-11:50AM 9/18 TOR @ TB 7:38PM 9/19 MCO to IAD JetBlue 334 1:15PM-3:19PM 9/20 BOS @ BAL 1:35PM 9/21 9/22 LAD @ WAS 7:05PM 9/23 IAD to FLL JetBlue 301 8:00AM-10:33AM 9/24 9/25 NYM @ FLA 7:10PM 9/26 NYM @ FLA 7:10PM 9/27 FLL to JFK JetBlue 146 8:45AM-11:27AM 9/28 9/29 9/30 JFK to DEN JetBlue 125 7:55AM-10:16AM 10/1 MIL @ COL 1:10PM 10/2 DEN to SEA Frontier 835 12:18PM-2:09PM 10/3 TEX @ SEA TBD 10/4 TEX @ SEA 1:10PM 10/5 SEA to LGB JetBlue 293 11:25AM-2:00PM LGB to LAS JetBlue 286 2:50PM-4:00PM 10/8 LAS to LAX AA 776 6:35PM-7:25PM LAX to SBA AA 3035 9:00PM-9:40PM
As I said, baseball tickets and hotels are not booked yet. If any of you are in those areas and want to go to a game, please let me know! If you can offer me a couch to crash on, that would be appreciated, too. 🙂
This trip has 13 games in 10 stadiums (Citi Field being the only one I’ve been to – 9 new stadiums!), plus the Giants season opener, if I decide to spend the money for a ticket to that. Gonna be fun.
I went to see the Mets play in San Diego on Saturday, a 3-1 loss dropping my season record to 2-8. Traffic on the way down was hell, I had just lost a bunch of money playing poker, and was in a pretty bad mood when I got there. Alex Cora, the second batter of the game, hit a home run to put the Mets up 1-0. That helped. Then, in the third inning, David Wright fouled a ball back that cheered me right up. Those of you who follow me on Twitter were the first to know…
Earlier this year, I caught a batting practice home run in San Francisco, right over the right field wall. That thrill was a highlight, much like discovering non gamstop casinos in the UK for the first time – unexpected and exhilarating. But let’s be honest, it was just batting practice. I couldn’t even tell you who hit it; just someone on the Giants, I suppose. Fast forward to Saturday, there I was, front row in the Toyota Terrace, section 203, at PETCO Park. As the game kicked off, the guy next to me was probing some teenagers he knew in the row behind about whether they’d brought their gloves to snag a foul ball. I waved my own mitt in the air and said I was ready. They just chuckled and ribbed me for my Mets allegiance.
The ball came back off the bat fast. I jumped out of my seat, reached up as high as I could, and it hit right in the pocket of my glove. The next minute or so was a blur. I sent off a tweet, a few text messages, some messages to Facebook. Took a picture of the ball. Missed Wright, whose jersey I was wearing, striking out to end the at bat. But at that moment, I didn’t care. I’ve been going to games for a long time, and always bring my glove. This was the first time I’d ever caught a ball during a game. A few times I’ve gotten balls that outfielders threw into the stands after warming up between innings, and once after catching the third out. That’s just not the same.
My next thought was wondering if I got on TV. When I got back to a computer, I checked both the Mets and Padres archived games on MLB.tv. Sadly, the camera stayed on Wright at the plate. I did notice something I completely missed at the game, though: I got a nice cheer from the crowd for my catch. I spent yesterday trying to figure out how to save that clip. A little hacking around with mlbviewer and mplayer, and I was able to do so.
So I now have a batting practice home run, and a foul ball from a game. Next step: catching a game home run.
I’ve been seriously slacking on the posting here. No excuses.
Baseball season has started! The Mets are off to a mediocre 4-4 start, including a loss in their home opener in their new park, Citi Field. The offense has been pretty good. They struggle with runners in scoring position, but have still been scoring a lot of runs. Pitching and defense, on the other hand, have not been good.
I went to the home opener with my mom, brother, and nephew. It was a lot of fun, even with the loss. David Wright’s game tying two out 3 run homer was incredible. Ryan Church’s dropped flyball the next inning, not so much. A lot of planning went into getting specific tickets for this game. I’ve posted my pics of Dodger Stadium and PETCO here before, and I wanted to get a similar shot at the first game at the Mets new stadium. Getting tickets in the front row of the upper deck was a must, and it worked out beautifully. I’m not sure how I managed to do it, but this is an even better picture than the one of Dodger Stadium.
I have more pictures from the game, and they’ll all eventually be in the Citi Field Opening Day flickr set, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to those.
The T-Shirt a Day Challenge might be nearing it’s end. I don’t have too many good ones left. I might be able to make it to the end of the month, but it’s gonna be close, I think.
Today’s shirt I bought either at Shea or at the Mets clubhouse store in the mall. I don’t remember which. It was bought in July, 2008.
I went to game 3 of the 2006 NLDS. The Mets beat the Dodgers in the first two games in NY, and then came out to LA to complete the sweep. The pavilion seats past the outfield fences in Dodger Stadium are set up so you walk up stairs to the front of the section, and then back up through the aisle to your seat. I got there a little late due to horrible traffic, mostly in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. Around the middle of the second inning, I walked to the top of the steps at the front of the section wearing my David Wright jersey. The whole pavilion immediately started booing. It was awesome.
I got a few peanuts in my back during the game, but nothing else really from the apathetic Dodgers fans. I missed the Mets scoring 3 runs in the first, but got to watch the Dodgers tie it up, take the lead, and then the Mets come back for a 9-5 victory. Great game.
Purchase location: Dodger Stadium
Purchase date: October 7, 2006.
Finally, after what seemed like a never ending wait, I have my seats from Shea Stadium! I got an email with a tracking number last week, so I knew they were coming. They’re as awesome as I expected. I’m not quite sure where they’ll go yet, and I have to get something to mount them on so I can sit on them, but it was so worth it.
There’s some more pictures of the unboxing in the flickr set: Shea Stadium Seats. Once I’ve got them all set up, I’m sure there will be more. Now, I kinda want one of the picnic area benches, but I don’t think I can justify buying that too. It’d be a perfect replacement for the bench I have out in front of my house, though…
Today’s shirt comes from what was supposed to be the last concert at Shea Stadium, before it was torn down. It sold out in about ten minutes, so another concert was announced two days later, and I couldn’t go to that one. I’m still a little bitter about that.
It was a great show, though. I got to sit on the field, hang from the home run fence, and stand in front of the dugout. It was awesome. Also, I took home some warning track dirt:
The concert was good, too.
Purchase location: Shea Stadium!
Purchase date: July 16, 2008.
I just bought tickets for the Mets home opener next year, and a plane ticket to NY for it. I spent a little more than I needed to so I could be in the front row of the upper deck. Hopefully, I’ll get a picture similar to the ones I have of PETCO and Dodger Stadium. I’ll be down the first base line instead of the third base line, but that should give a better view of the water. The sunset timing should work out so the game will be on at the right time to get the shot.
Also, Citi Field home opener!
(Hopefully, StubHub seller confirms the order, unlike the first time I tried to buy World Series tickets this year. On the other hand, that got me a $54 coupon that I applied to this order.)
Ordered a bunch of other random electronics to get me going on my intervalometer project. I think the first step needs to be cleaning my office so I can actually work in it. This will give me an excuse to actually get that done. I’m looking forward to getting all the parts, so I can get started on it. The more I look at what I need to do, the more fun it seems like it will be.
I went to Game 3 of the NLCS tonight at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers scored 5 in the first, and beat the Phillies 7-2. Great game. When buying my ticket, I searched StubHub for a seat that would let me get a picture similar to the one I got at PETCO. I succeeded.
I think I want to try to get the same shot at other stadiums, too.
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