Fun Times at Rogers Centre

     On Saturday, June 5, 2017, a friend and I went to the Rogers Centre to watch the hometown Blue Jays face off against the New York Yankees, my fifth game of the young season.  Game time was set at 1:07 pm, though we left early at around 9:00 am because of two things: to avoid the long lines before the game and to give us the best shot at getting a baseball.  Batting practice takes place hours before the first pitch of every MLB game, and all fans with tickets are welcome to watch and maybe snag a baseball to bring home.
               We walked in at 11:00 am and ran to foul territory to see the Blue Jays hitting in the cage and different Blue Jays players in the outfield shagging anything that comes their way.  On our way down the stairs, I spotted Danny Barnes, Blue Jays relief pitcher, move towards us to scoop up a ball hit off the bat by Josh Donaldson.  I raced down to the aisle to about the 20th row, waved my glove and screamed: "Hit me with your best fastball!" He went into his pitching motion and fired me a bullet, a perfect chest-high throw that I'd say clocked at around 60 mph.  A few moments after, I took a photo of the baseball, my 8th lifetime:

     I knew I could get another baseball If I carefully chose where to position myself whether it be a batted ball or a ball tossed up by a player, but my friend and I decided to wander around the stadium and simply appreciate the ballpark before 1:07 pm.  Before the game, we bought a churro poutine, a new special from Toronto Street Eats, a concession stand in Rogers Centre which consisted of churros topped with ice cream.
     The game itself wasn't too great.  The game was close until the 8th inning when Jays reliever Jason Grilli imploded and allowed four solo home runs. We ended up leaving early to avoid traffic and the long lines in the exit, though I did take a panoramic photo of the stadium as I do in every game I attend before we left:

Extremely fun day. The only thing that would've made my day better was a Blue Jays win. Oh well.