Opening Day! April 6th, 2015

Megan and I on the field for Opening Day!

First off, BASEBALL IS BACK!  Oh how I've missed baseball season.  Baseball represents so many things for so many people, but baseball means summer is coming and I couldn't wish for anything more!

I was selected to be the third base ballgirl on the field for Opening Day, and I was absolutely thrilled and immediately nervous-excited!  We play the Red Sox. What if I mess up?  There will be SO MANY PEOPLE THERE TO SEE ME MESS UP!  But then I remember that I am not a rookie anymore, and I've totally got this!  This year, I am a leader and it's time to step up to the plate.

Opening Day was probably the most incredible day I have worked as a ballgirl! The game was sold out, and the crowd was electric with excitement at the return of baseball season.  The weather was absolutely PERFECT being sunny and 70 degrees, and it couldn't have possibly been a better day for baseball.  Dan Baker announces the Red Sox, and the crowd erupts in applause when it was Victorino's turn as this is his first return since signing with Boston.  He announces the boys in pinstripes and the stadium is alive! The Phillies are home!

There were three ceremonial first pitches thrown, the first being Julie Kramer, the local cancer survivor whom Chase Utley surprised on the Ellen Show!  Meg and I met her, and we couldn't tell who was a bigger fan of the other, her or us! She was so nice, and she throws like a pro!

Opening Day ceremony.  The ballgirls are right behind home plate!

I then stand along with my fellow vets Meg, Sam and Erin at home plate for the National Anthem, and the whole stadium rises.  Members of our great Armed Forces bring out the flags, and spread out the enormous flag in the outfield.  FUN FACT: I get the chills every time they hit the high note of "laaaand of the freeeee," and today I teared up.  The chills were never stronger.  They zoomed in on our service men and I thought of my friends overseas, and it was very real experience for me, and I am reminded how fortunate I am to be where I am today.

As I run down the line, I hear the crowd roar as the Phillies leave the dugout and take the field! I take my place on the stool and proceed to make friends in the crowd for my favorite 9 innings on baseball so far this season. Although the Phillies fell to the Sox, the game was still busy for me on line.

Every time the crowd threw back a Sox home run ball, I had to run and get it. And there was at least three! The first one a guy threw back, and it almost reached Freddie Galvis at short stop! I noticed it had writing on it, but I ran it to the crowd and handed it to the first kid I saw and returned to my stool.  In the middle of the inning, I asked the family to see the ball, and it said:

"THIS IS A BATTING PRACTICE BALL...I got the real one!"........ This fan came prepared!  He swapped out a different ball and kept the real home run ball!  While it's not the real home run ball, this family definitely has a story to tell about their time at Opening Day!

The last ball I had to get was a grand slam ball that hit the foul pole net and rolled on the ground.  Ben Revere tossed it to me and I gave it to a surprised little boy in the crowd!  The game ended and I signed more cards for fans along the fence, photo-bombed some fan photos, and took a lot of pictures with the great fans of Philadelphia!

When Meg and I met up to walk back down to the locker room, we took a moment to capture what an amazing game we were a part of. We even took a picture with Julie! :) This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and such an incredible way to start my last year as a Phillies Ballgirl.

2015 Photoshoot

A new season comes with a new photo!  The 11 returning ballgirls and 13 new ballgirls came together for the first time on Saturday, January 17th for the annual ballgirl photo shoot! This is the most exciting time during the start of the new year, as it is the first time all 24 of us would meet as a group.  You get all dolled up to take the picture that will represent you for the entire season, and the picture to remain on your baseball card for the rest of your life (because when else in life will you have a major league baseball card?)

I woke up early to curl my hair and make sure my make up was absolutely perfect.  Walking into the stadium was a familiar thing to me, and taking the elevator downstairs felt like home.  But walking into the locker room with new faces was exciting!  The rookies looked eager to kick off their season with the best, and they looked like the perfect group of young women to represent this wonderful organization.

The photo shoot took place in the media room, which is the same room all press conferences and post-game interviews happen.  I watched as the girls before me took their pictures, posing with a bat, softball glove and ball.  The rookies looked nervous like I was last year, and the vets made it look so natural.  Then it was my turn.

I decided to have some fun with it and make people laugh while getting my picture taken.  I took it very seriously of course, but I think the photographer was able to capture my personality easier by being very open and fun to work with.  It's my veteran year, and I needed to make it count! I posed with the bat, and the glove and ball.  I think they turned out really well!  I can't wait to see how they came out.  I'll post my favorites on here when they come in.

After the shoot, we all went to Megan's house for a post-photo shoot "getting to know you" session.  We ate pizza and pretzels and buffalo dip (Alyssa did a fabulous job on the dip!) and sat around ad talked to the rookies as they asked us questions.  After we paired up rookies to vets (think big sister little sister) the vets each gave their rookie a "Ballgirl Survival Kit" containing important items that are useful throughout the year such as hand sanitizer, hair brush, gum, hand lotion, chap stick, etc.  It's a nice way to welcome them into the organization and to have someone the rookies can call for questions or concerns.

The new season is looking promising, and I am excited to work with the new girls and get to know them over the course of the season and beyond! Someone even wrote an article about me and the other ballgirl from Burlington County, NJ.  Check it out here:

http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/philadelphia-phillies-ballgirls/image_d177691a-4b7e-5c97-ad0a-319d989a7da4.html