Ah yes. Good ole Binghamton.

That picture is proudly sponsored by PotatoVision. You’re welcome.

Rumble Ponies VS. Fightin Phils.

Arrived 20 minutes AFTER the gates opened, and this was STILL the sight on the field.

Great! Yay! Time wasting! Although I guess Double-A is different than the levels above. That emptiness wouldn’t last for long anyways.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen that drill done on the warning track. Though I guess it is Double-A.

Not long after, the Phils position players started to play catch. I’ve noticed in years past that players in the lower levels of the minors don’t play catch for very long, so I knew I’d be rushed trying to identify players. Sure enough…

Trevor Schwecke tossed that one up. MUCH appreciated.

There were a few reasons I chose to be in Binghamton. The first was to see if the new MiLB standard balls were put in play. If you’re not a ball hawk/collector like myself, here’s what those look like.

With tickets right behind the Ponies dugout, a 3rd out ball was almost guaranteed. Struck out the first two innings, then in the top of the 3rd…

Welp, so much for that experiment. But I was still happy to have it. For you fellow nerds, that was a Carson Taylor strikeout tossed up by 1st baseman Ryan Clifford. My guess is that those new balls won’t see game action until next season, which means it’s just one more thing to look forward to.

Anyways, I figured I had used up the 1st base side, and with the game quickly progressing, I felt it was time to visit my favorite foul ball spot on the East Coast. And I’m glad I did.

That’s Wyatt Young of the Ponies launching a foul to the patio on the 3rd base side, and as circled in white, I was right in line with it. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch it on the fly. However…

Hell. Yes.

And then almost immediately after, Otto Kemp threw me the 3rd out ball to end that inning. No clue who hit it.

That was it for a little bit. Move ahead to the bottom of the 7th, when I was talking with the people next to me about what I do. Next thing I know…

Otto Kemp sent one my way. Again, read this one perfectly. The outcome wasn’t as peaceful as the first though. Right as I was about to get in line with it, a guy walked directly in front of me. The ball drilled him right in the head. He was okay, thank God. I tried offering him the ball, but he was probably in so much agony that he didn’t notice me at all. I still feel awkward having that ball even as I write this.

That ended up being it for both me and the game. Let’s put it this way, Ponies got destroyed. My total sure didn’t though.

STATS FOR THIS GAME

5 baseballs snagged:

• Toss up from Trevor Schwecke pregame
• 3rd out from Ryan Clifford, T3
• Foul from Wyatt Young, B5
• 3rd out from Otto Kemp, B6
• Foul from Otto Kemp, T7

LIFETIME TOTAL: 337