Batting Practice at Miller Park August 4th 2016

 

 

View from the press box with the panels closed. These guys don't have to pay to get in, get nice seats, a pregame meal AND they get paid to watch baseball? Where do I sign up for this gig?

I work at The Mark Travel Corporation. Bill La Macchia (the founder/owner) is a Milwaukee Brewers season ticket holder and was awarded the perk of taking batting practice at Miller Park. Back in April he asked me if I wanted to go in his place. Of course I said yes. On Thursday August 4th I went to Miller Park and brought my friend and co-worker Mike Wilhelm to join me in this once in a lifetime opportunity. Words can't even begin to describe how amazing this experience was as we got to hang out on the field to shag fly balls, take batting practice on the field and spend a day at the ballpark. It was unbelievable and Mike and I even managed to catch a couple of balls and hit a few into the outfield on the fly. This was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get this one over and over and over again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill La Macchia could have picked anyone at Mark Travel to take BP. But he chose me. I will never be able to thank him enough for this opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sportswriters and other press that sit up here have a pretty good view of the action. And I thought I had it good up on the Club Level. Working there involves talking to customers. Working here involves talking to other media personalities.

 

Before heading out onto the field, we took a tour of the press box and did some Brewers trivia. We got 9 out of 20 right and just missed out on winning a Josh Hader autographed ball (the winner had 10 of 20).

 

Sitting up in the press box in the seats designated for the radio personalities of WSSP Sportsradio 1250 AM / 105.7 FM the Fan, our favorite station.

Sitting in the seats all giddy with anticipation.

Any time a foul ball strikes the wall in the press box, then note the date, the batter who hit it and the pitcher they hit it off of. Some foul balls were struck so hard that they left a hole in the wall.

 

 

 

Sitting in the dugout prior to taking the field. After walking from the seats onto the field and into the dugout, I had to sit for a spell and soak it all in. This kind of blew my mind and I hadn't even started the experience yet. How would I react after I actually stepped in the batting cage at Miller Park?

 

Hydrate and rally. This is very important on a day that reached the upper 80s. I sweat enough when I am just standing around doing nothing. There is no need to get out of control here.

We were allowed to bring guests along to watch, so Mike brought his wife Katie and I brought my Mom. Many of these pictures were courtesy of them, who got to sit back and watch while we had all of the fun.

Just a couple of grown up kids having a day at the ballpark.

 

What is this guy doing taking selfies out in the field? C'mon pal! Concentrate! Pay attention to the guy taking BP! He could hit one your way! What are you going to do if a ball raps off your noggin?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike in the outfield. Look at that man!  Like a kid in a candy store with his parent's credit card, he was smiling from ear to ear. What grown baseball fan wouldn't be this excited?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He actually caught a ball. Not bad. Not bad at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view from Center field. You get a whole new perspective of Miller Park from out here. It's something few people get to see.

 

ENOUGH WITH THE SELFIES!! PLAY BASEBALL!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The had the grow lights set up, so you really had to pay attention to your surroundings if you were to go back on the ball. Fortunately most people taking BP had skill sets similar to us and we could stand at a safe distance away from danger. There's no need to end up on the DL.

 

 

The Iceman is always ready to spring into action. Kind of like Spiderman.

Selfies in Centerfield. These kind of things would be outlawed if we were actual Major League baseball players. It's a good thing that we are amateurs then. We couldn't pay those fines.

 

A lot of the other people taking BP seemed like they had previous baseball experience, so we actually saw a good amount of action out there.

 

 

 

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