Tag: Nolnaho

by Jacoby Nolnaho

BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: Old Timers’ Day

On June 25, 2017, I arrived at Yankee Stadium at 10:00. It was the 71st annual Old Timers’ Day. After an hour of absolute nothing, the Yankees greats finally took batting practice. Since these legends are getting up there in age, the baseballs were not flying out. My one (and only) chance came when a weak dribbler hit against the wall. Four time World Champion Jeff Nelson came over a tossed me the ball (For those of you who don’t know, I have actually met Jeff Nelson at an AT&T grand opening celebration). And as many of pitchers have noticed, the seams on the 2017 baseball around more thin and tighter wounded compared to the 2016 baseballs. This has been thought to have happened after the incline in home runs. Old Timers’ Day was fun, but it was extremely hot.

For the actual game, I was sitting in home run territory right near the left field foul. Despite an epic comeback from a 7-0 devastate, the Yankees fell to the Texas Rangers 7-6. In this game, Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks left with a rib cage/oblique injury and took an MRI. Team officials say he will be out 3 to 4 weeks.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: Yankee Stadium

The last game of the 2016 regular season took place on October 2. All games started from 3:00 to 3:15. I was at Yankee Stadium for this game. I arrived at the stadium an hour early. I walked around, checking out the different parking garages. A half an hour before game time, I got on line. Thanks to me being a Clear member, I was the first person in the stadium. I picked up a Mark Teixeira retirement shirt and went down to right field to do a little ballhawking.  I was the only person in the stands. Brett Gardner hit a line drive off the wall. The ball was alone on the warning track. I yelled out to Yankees’ outfielder Mason Williams who was shagging balls. I yelled “Mason, you mind getting the ball for me when you have a chance?!” He walked over and tossed the ball to me. The ball was perfect white and had practice stamped on it. I was on the board without being in the stadium for five minutes. This also happened at Citi Field. Click here for more. I had two more chances to get a ball. Gardner hit a bullet off the Modell’s ad. It bounced two rows in front of me. I violently jumped over the two rows bruising my upper leg. I did not end up getting the ball. The second time, Mason Williams tossed a ball to this four year old kid next to me. The kid didn’t have a glove, so he dropped it. It hit me in the upper leg (ouch!) and landed in between my feet. I kicked it to the kid and he ended up with it. Mason Williams didn’t see that. He told Tyler Austin not to throw any balls to me. It was a good run.

It was a perfect day for batting practice. The wind was blowing out and the balls were really carrying. Brett Gardner and Ronald Torreyes were smashing the ball. Gardner hit multiple second deck shots. Then Mark Teixeira stepped in. He practiced bunting followed by real swings. He wasn’t smashing it like usual. They were little ground balls. Tex decided to take a break for a while. Gary Sanchez was next and I ran over to left field. Sanchez only took two pitches and Teixeira was next. It his last batting practice at-bat, Teixeira hit a home run into the first row of the second deck. The entire stadium was cheering for him. He tipped his cap and went back to the dugout. The game ended in a loss for the Yankees. Brian McCann hit a homer and Matt Wieters hit two from each side of the plate.

This has been a Bleacher Creature exclusive.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

Citi Field Update

On August second, I came home from a game on August first. It was great. It went into extra innings, I took tons of pictures, captured a very weird video of a Ford mascot race thing (it will be posted later in the week in a new category), and even snagged a ball. For more on my ball park adventure, click here. The Bleacher Creature, the unofficial site of the official fan!

by Jacoby Nolnaho

BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: Citi Field

August first. Subway Series. Yankees versus Mets. Bottom of the tenth inning. Betances on the bum. Granderson at the pate. It’s past 11 o’clock. Strike three, yer out!

Now you may be wondering about this. What’s so special about this game? I was at it. It was a great day. But you probably heard about the game, right? Well, in case you didn’t, the Yankees won 6-5 in a ten inning thriller against the rival Mets. BP was almost as exciting as the game. Not only was the ball flying out of the park, but I also snagged by own ball. I was standing in left field foul territory when Mark Teixeira grounded one to third base from the left side. 22 year old Luis Severino scooped up the ball and walked back to the wall. (TIP: If you want to snag your own ball, remember the number one rule of ball hawking: NEVER stand in the front. I was standing a couple rows back to have mobility and stand out.) Seeing me in my empty row, he threw a four seam fastball right to me. At first I thought it was going to drop in but later realized it was going over my head. Desperate for the ball, I leaped up on one leg and the ball plopped (more like slammed) into my glove. The whole section was clapping for me. The first thing I did was look at the ball. What the heck? I thought to myself. I caught it on the fly from Severino and it is in trashy condition. (The ball I snagged at Yankee Stadium wasn’t that nicked up). The thing is, after a ball is used in a game (typically four pitches including outs and hits) get thrown into the dugout. After that, they get used for batting practice and later get sent down to the minors. But the snag wasn’t the only thing drawing the crowd’s attention.

     2015 was great for Alex Rodriguez. 2016… not so much. All the reporters who said the Yankees would release Alex have obviously not seen his batting practice. A-Rod hit a total of five home runs including the longest home run I’ve seen at Citi Field since this. I later picked up a penny book with engraved coins and grabbed a bite at Nathan’s. From my personal experiences, I have concluded that Citi Field is better than Yankee Stadium. It is more kid friendly and generous. Thank you for reading this exclusive Bleacher Creature blog. Stay tuned for pictures and videos from my great experience. Come back and check for more blogs about Yankee Stadium and more.

This has been an official Bleacher Creature exclusive.

by Jacoby Nolnaho

The Bleacher Creature

The inside hub available on computers, laptops, tablets, and even mobile phones. Get inside access from a true fan about all your favorite players. Also hear buzz and news around the Major Leagues. With Jacoby Nolnaho breaking down stats, you are sure to know every detail about everyone and every thing related to baseball. The Bleacher Creature, the unofficial site of the official fan!