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How To Snag A Major League Baseball by Zachary Hample Aladdin, 1999 | Buy the book « 1|2|3|4|5|6 »

THREE REASONS YOU NEED TO BE THE FIRST FAN TO ENTER THE STADIUM

1) Some stadiums have one seat in one section that is better than any other seat. It's the place to be, and there's only room for one person. It might be on a corner where you have a better chance of reaching batted balls. It could be in a place that makes you more noticeable to the players, giving you an advantage over other fans for getting balls thrown to you. If you're not the first to get there, the spot will be taken by the fan who is.
2) When a player throws a ball into the crowd, it might be the only ball he throws there for the remainder of batting practice. Sometimes he'll throw a ball to the first fan who asks him. If you are first into the stadium and dash to an empty section of seats, you have the only chance at catching either a thrown or batted ball.
3) The first few minutes after the gates open are the best time to catch balls, because the stadium is at its emptiest. There were days when I caught three or four balls in the first two minutes after being let in. Being first into the stadium and running toward a section in the outfield means you will briefly be the only fan in the ballpark. You are guaranteed that if a ball is hit into the seats anywhere on your side of the stadium, you'll be the one to get there first. As I run in I quickly glance down the rows and aisles to look for balls that might have landed in the seats before I got there. Several times I've found some, and it was possible only because I was there first. When Yankee Stadium suffered structural damage at the beginning of the 1998 season, the ballpark was temporarily closed to the public, and the Yankees played an exhibition game at the empty stadium against Norwich (CT), their Class AA affiliate. About two dozen baseballs were hit into the empty seats, chased by no one, and left untouched for fans to find at the next game.

Even if you don't get a baseball in the first thirty seconds, you experience something magical, a rush that overwhelms all of your senses. As you head through the dark runway, your eyes meet the glaring sunlight and the greenest, smoothest grass (or AstroTurf) you've ever seen. Because there are no other fans howling and heckling the players, you hear every crack of the bat as it echoes through the cavernous stadium. There are no ushers asking for your ticket. You feel totally free to explore your "personal" stadium. You can smell baseball in the air.

» NEXT: Get in first