ON BASEBALL (PART 1 OF 2)

MY LIFE AS A BALLHAWK (PART 1 of 2)

ROOTS

Like many other American kids over the last century, I learned baseball by playing in a back yard.  Like other kids, I learned the teams, players, and stats by collecting cards.  Unlike many other kids, it is one of the games-within-the-game that has made me a life-long fan.  When I go to the park I want to come home with a baseball.  Preferably a game-used baseball but I go after batting practice baseballs too.  I enjoy watching baseball, and I love my Giants, but at my core, I am a ballhawk.

I started to take interest in baseball in 1987 when I was nine years old.  My father brought home memorabilia over the years but it was a friend, Jason Del Grande, who taught me the game.  His family took me to a couple of games in Oakland.  Jason's family is full of Giants fans; they all grew up in San Francisco.  At that time, his father worked for the post office in Oakland and McGwire, Canseco, Jackson and the A's were hitting bombs so it was actually fun going to games in Oakland back then.  One night at the Coliseum with the Del Grande's I got my first ball.  It was a moment in time, within a minute of the last out of the night. The bullpen catcher was passing by a group of kids hanging off a rail on to the field hoping one of the players passing by would throw out a ball.  Luckily for me, I brought my glove, and the bullpen catcher threw the ball down in to it.  I think back now and I can only imagine how jealous my friend Jason must have been? There I was, a guest who hardly knew the rules of the game and I walk away with a ball?  I understand why players are encouraged to give stray fouls and between-inning practice balls to kids - it is the ultimate trophy to take away from a game and it is likely to make a lasting impression.

In 1988 I started to push my family to take me to more games.  My father was living in Saratoga at the time so we went to quite a few San Jose Giants games (single A team in the SF Giants farm system).  That is where the hobby of ballhawking really took hold.  It worked out for everybody really.  My father would bring his girlfriend (future wife), and by the second inning I would get bored and try to position myself for a foul ball over the Municipal Stadium grandstand. My best game was in 1989, I went home with five baseballs – one was a foul, three were easter eggs (EE), and the last was a grand slam home run. The easter eggs and the grand slam were collected while I was in the practice area behind the outfield fence. The area was off limits, but I crawled under a section where the cyclone fence had been rolled back. I was nervous as hell but I have never been afraid of getting in to trouble. While I was back there looking for baseballs, heart racing, I heard the crowd roar. I stopped in my tracks. My head was on a swivel, twisting left and right, just hoping I was lucky enough to be in the right place at just the right time – then I heard it hit the ground no more than 10 yards behind me. I could not believe my luck. Nervous yet excited, I grabbed the baseball and ran back to the grandstand to tell my father what had happened. When I got to the seats he told me I missed a grand slam... I don't remember how I responded – but I got the ball. He was impressed and encouraged me to get it signed by the player who hit it, Tom Ealy. After the game I got Tom's attention and let him know I had the four-run knock. I think he was surprised at how excited I was. What did I know!? To me, that was a huge game!? Anyway, Tom signed and I still treasure that baseball.

TRAVEL

I continued to go to San Francisco Giants games through the early-mid 90s. On occasion I would visit other major league parks and minor league parks. I wasn't out to visit every yard, it was just something to do when visiting other towns, which I feel like I have done a lot of. Here is a list of parks I visited in the 90s:

THE RETURN

My interest in baseball waned with the strike. I started to go to games again soon after. My interest peaked in 1998 when I found out the Giants would get a new ball park. I called the front office for a season ticket packet (never had the intention of buying) and hung an artist rendering of the new yard in my kitchen. I said goodbye to The Stick (attended the last game there with my father), and hello to Pacific Bell Park (attended the first night game with friends). In the playoffs of 2000 I went to a batting practice (BP) almost by mistake. I had been to (BP) before, but it was always because we were just too early to the game. The first BP I can remember was Tiger Stadium. I picked up a Dave Winfield home run shot that panged (no better way to describe sound) off a bleacher in right field.

The playoff game BP in 2000 was special because it brought me back to the game. I had been to a few games that season but was distracted, most interested in boozing, heckling, and watching for Barry Bonds shots [Right now some readers are asking (1) what's changed? or (2) what's wrong with that? I answer (1) Not a lot... (2) not a damn thing]. I found myself at the park earlier than usual because the tickets were expensive and it was my first postseason since 1989. I was standing in left field 138 when I scored my first BP ball in years. The ball had been hit in to bleacher section 137. 136 and 137 were converted to press seating that short postseason. I ducked the press cordon and dashed to the ball. I was the only guy in the bleachers willing to venture into this area and the only one in the section chasing this ball, yet, I dove on top of that damn thing like a dutiful soldier protecting innocent bystanders from a pinned grenade. The usher yelled at me but I walked away with a sweet red-and-blue-stitching, year-2000 stamped All-Star game ball that had somehow found its way in to the BP pitcher ball hopper.



SPECIAL ISSUE BASEBALLS
All-Star game baseballs are special. I suppose anything other than a standard MLB stamped ball is special but the All-Star game balls have different colored stitching. In 1992, one of the organizers for the All-Star game in San Diego had the brilliant idea of producing a ball specifically for the event by using the home teams colors as the two stitching colors. See link and notice the beautiful black and orange stitching on the 2007 ball.



The All-Star game balls are a rarity in regular season BP hoppers. Whats more common yet still makes for a notable snag is a commemorative ball. Commemorative baseballs are specific to a team and are used for an entire season. For example, the Astros have a ball commemorating 50 years of baseball in Houston. These balls were used for 81 Astros home games so thousands were produced and tend to circulate around the league.



MLB brought back the playoff specific ball this year. I was lucky enough to pick one up at BP on the cove before game 2 of the World Series (Pablo Sandoval, COB). It is simple, it just reads 2012 POSTSEASON. It is used for the wild card playoff, division series and championship series. I hope to see some in the BP hopper in 2012 since we hosted 6 NLDS/NLCS games.
The World Series ball is dope. It is always printed in gold. If your team is lucky enough to be in that series it can be a meaningful piece of your collection. Any World Series balls in my collection were bought over the counter. I have never heard of one being caught at a BP, I think they are too valuable.



ACME CHOPHOUSE
Back to my story. I worked in hospitality for a few years and I managed to work my way in to a couple of the finer establishments in San Francisco. Early 2002 I found myself ready for a change. I was going to get a job as a waiter, but where? I went to the Acme Chophouse in Willie Mays Plaza and did not give the manager a choice as to whether or not he would hire me. I have loads of stories from that season but the take-home is that I went to 60-70 games (inclusive of October) and virtually no BP. This experience was significant in that it brought me even closer to the park and the Bonds-led-San Francisco Giants.



SWEET RAFT
The 2007 All-Star game was held at AT&T park. Hosting the All-Star game is a special occasion; San Francisco has hosted three times - 1961, 1984, 2007 – and I don't expect to see it come back for another 20+ years. I was excited for this game because, despite the fact that the yard had been open for 7 full seasons, I had not yet spent time in McCovey Cove. Along with the All-Star game is the Home Run Derby and Futures games. The Home Run Derby promised to serve a few home runs in to the drink. I am telling you, EVERY time I walked the arcade or the port walk, I day-dreamed of snatching up a home run ball that had been hit in the water. And I don't care how. In March of '07, I remember standing out in front of a restaurant in Mill Valley with my friend Jesse Skybrook discussing the upcoming event. He had an idea we both thought was brilliant...
Jesse: “build a raft!”
Adam: “Don't go inside the park!?”
Jesse: “Tickets are too expensive?”
Adam: “Tickets *are too expensive! Build a raft!”
Jesse: “You can do it cheap! I'll help you!”
Adam: “I can do it cheap! And be there for the Home Run Derby, too! Catch a splash hit! Maybe have it ready for when the Yankees visit the week before... And... And...”



I got buy in from my friends: Jesse Skybrook, Haven Rocha, and Jonah Lane. They would all help with transport (I never got a license, and did not have a car), supplies, building the raft, and would join for the party in the cove!
The problem is that a lot of other people had the same idea. I applied for and received the special day-of permit, designed the raft, bought the supplies (just under $1,000), assembled the raft (with Jonah's tools and guidance). The raft was constructed with plywood and four 55 Haven helped me get it in the water and stash it under Carmen's in the week-of. But on Home Run Derby day- all three pals were busy. I was pissed. I had one (non) friend who was so sick of my All-Star game antics and stories, he asked me to pay the fee to have his dentist appointment rescheduled in order for him to join. I did... Not a good start. We float down Mission Creek on the big beautiful raft painted HI gloss black with stainless steel trimmings. We floated up to the 4^th street bridge at appx 0.25 knots. There was an SFPD Marine Unit who was assigned to cover McCovey Cove on his Jet-Ski. He turned us away. The gatekeeper was not going to let us pass. He explained there had been a couple of other poorly constructed rafts capsize and that they weren't allowing any more DIY rafts. I pleaded, told him of all of the hundreds of dollars I had poured in, the dozens of hours I had worked on it; argued for my superior design and highlighted examples (stainless steel fittings, 700lbs of buoyancy). Nothing. Heads hanging, we were dragged to the nearby houseboat marina.
Angry but determined, I hopped in to the inflatable I had intended to use as a cooler-craft and returned to 4^th street bridge. The Marine Unit waived us in this time.
The All-Star Game was a bit of a dud. Despite being voted in, Barry Bonds decided to sit on the sidelines. Rumor was that he was not even really on the sidelines, but down the street watching it on TV at a party with Jay-Z. The much-hyped Home Run Derby at our park did not serve a single ball in to the cove waters. There were a couple by Ichiro in BP of the All Star Game, but that was it.



OTHER GREAT HITS, GREATER MISSES
In 2008 I moved to an apartment about a mile from the ballpark. Naturally, my attendance increased. That season I caught two live foul balls on the bounce (catch on bounce = COB). These were the first two live foul balls from any MLB game, ever. Unless you have incredible season tickets, foul balls from MLB games are extremely difficult to come by for many reasons 1) the distance the ball travels is generally shorter than a home run so you have less time to prepare to catch the ball 2) foul balls tend to have a nasty spin which can lead to misjudging the trajectory 3) the area around home plate is generally more dense than seating areas over the home run fence so you have less room to maneuver and you have to navigate around rows of chairs as opposed to rows of bleachers.



Another notable play from the 2008 season was the foul ball that I did not come up with on March 27. Rarely do I have the opportunity to attend a Giants game on my birthday. On March 27, 2008 we played the Mariners in an exhibition game and it was my 30^th. The birthday crew (Jason Gould, Charlie Schonwasser, Nick Maffei) snuck down to some decent seats on the first base line. Soon after our arrival there was a pop fly hit toward the next section over. The ball seemed to hang for quite a while so I had plenty of time to get myself in to position. I misjudged the trajectory by two rows and took a (drunken) leap of faith forward in an attempt to snare the ball on the fly (COF). In the process, I misjudged the height of the seats as well. Mid-air, I fell over the row in front of me toward the second row seat backs, attempted to control the decent with my left hand and bent my pinky and ring fingers back snapping the phalanges like twigs, landing on- and breaking two ribs. That was my ugliest attempt ever. Not only did I have a $20,000 surgery ($1,000 copay) to install a metal bar that would heal my phalanges; I DID NOT GET THE BALL!



Other Ball Park Injuries – I am not going to get in to too much detail here, you can ask me about them in person if you like.
Injury: Bruise/cut between eyes;    How: Caught ball with face;    Why: Fan nudged at last minute
Injury: Cut on forehead;    How: Fell in to fence face first;    Why: Tripped after BP ball
Injury: Broken foot;    How: (A.Q.);    Why: Dodgers suck

HIT MY STRIDE

Despite my personal victory of grabbing my first big league foul ball, neither my team nor my employer (Lehman Brothers) made it to October. Even though we had a losing season, The Freak, Tim Lincecum got a Cy Young, signalling the beginning of a new era in Giants baseball. Still, it would be a while before anyone saw the genius of Sabean's realignment and 2009 promised to suck. You know how some teams come up with slogans every new year? My brother dubbed '09 “a pile for a while”. Winning our division seemed to be a loooong way off.

2009 turned out to be a real game-changer for me.  Something clicked.  Just over a month in to the season, I broke my weeknight routine to hit the yard with a friend of my brother's who was visiting from out of town, Chuck, and my girlfriend. It was Japanese Heritage Night, girlfriend left early, and pre-beard Brian Wilson blew the save. After the game we went across the street for fries and a pitcher at Pete's Tavern.  

A few minutes after fries arrived at our table, I met a girl who would change my life as a ballhawk forever.   

ON SAN FRANCISCO

DUNGENESS CRAB SEASON STARTS SAT NOV 4

A couple of weeks ago my wife Joanna and I went to Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco to meet her parents.  Her parents, from Tracy, CA visit Joe's Crab Shack at the Wharf whenever they get a chance.  We joined them for a meal at Joe's and I realized the draw.  The meal is rich in protein, you can load up on butter, drink beers, and get messy.  Mid-meal I stopped for a moment to observe the rest of the table - we were all working diligently to crack shells and extract crab meat, occasionally raising our gaze to chat, grasping for beer mugs with greasy mitts...  AWESOME.  I want to eat crab more often but Joe's is spendy.  $30 a head for appx 1.5 decent sized crabs.  ???  I live in San Francisco.  Why don't I try catching my own crabs?!?

And so it begins.  Over the next couple of weeks I investigate crabbing in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

First, I look online.  My favorite resource is Jeff's Captivating Guide. He discusses the basics: net, license requirements, bait, method, etc.  Licensing is straight forward - you don't need one if you are fishing from a pier, which is what I intend to do.  There are however some important regulations to keep in mind 1) you can only keep Dungeness crabs during Dungeness season (Saturday Nov 3 2012 - Sunday June 30 2013) 2) during season you can keep a max of 10 per person 3) they have to be at least 5.75 inches measured by the shortest distance.  Be sure to have a measuring device with you just in case the game warden stops by.  There are pre-measured plastic sticks but measuring tape will do. In off season you can keep up to 35 rock crabs per person as long as it is over 4 inches.  Here is the official CA Sport Fishing Guide for reference.


Before I can do anything I need a net.  I considered buying my net online through Amazon.  I have a prime membership so I tend to think everything is cheaper through them.  In this instance, I could not learn enough about the quality of nets online so I found a proper tackle shop, 88 Fishing & Tackle.  The gentleman behind the counter was eager to help.  I asked him about the bait box referenced in Jeff's Captivating Guide and he said "no need".  My first use of the net at Fort Point introduced me to the one reason I would want to use the bait box: seals.  Those menacing little bastards played tug-of-war with my net and made-off with my bait more than once.  Word to the wise, they will steal your bait if it is not properly secured therefore I encourage the reader to spend $5-$8 on a bait box.

Next, I speak with local fisherman about baiting and the best spots for crabbing.  Living in the Central Waterfront of San Francisco has exposed me to the characters at the Public Pier.  Many people use chicken - chicken legs, chicken wings, chicken necks, what ever is cheapest - but the crustiest of crusty old sea dogs (~5 interviews) have told me to use FISH HEADS.  One gentlemen reasoned that crabs don't eat chicken.  So bait the little bastards with what they want.  FISH HEADS.  I recently made my way to Sun Fat on mission for some fish heads.  The seafood technician offered salmon heads at $1 a pound.  I left with two fish heads weighing a total of 4.5 pounds.  Now those are some big-ass fish heads, yo!

On location: I met a dude at Walmart in Oakland who said the further north you go, the better.  I also heard from the guy at the tackle shop that it is best not to eat too much crab from the bay, but that once or twice a week is OK.  This freaked me out a little so I investigated why - turns out mercury levels in fish in the bay can be dangerously high.  I was reminded of this upon my first visit to the Central Waterfront Public Pier - there are signs that say which fish are OK to eat and which are not.  The CA Sport Fishing Guide supports the claim.  On safety, all sources say crab from the bay is OK except the dude in the tackle shop.  Regardless, I plan on doing my crabbing from a pier on the coast or at the Golden Gate (Fort Point).  The dude in Walmart told me his two favorite spots on the coast are Pacifica and Bodega Bay.  Both seem far away for this provincial San Franciscan.  But luckily, I married in to a car and I live in the Dogpatch district which has quick access to highway 280, a 15 minute drive to Pacifica Pier.

Opening day for Dungeness is this coming Saturday and I am hoping to bring home my limit! Wish me luck!