Catching my 12,000th baseball at Truist Park in Atlanta!

That's right, TWELVE THOUSAND baseballs, all from Major League Baseball stadiums. I caught my first ball in 1990, so you see? I've been insane for a long time.

I did NOT expect to get 12k at this game between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies. I was nine balls short of my personal milestone, and Truist Park has been crowded all season. Luckily, though, the pre-game crowd was sparse, and I went OFF during batting practice, catching six home runs on the fly. I also got a couple of baseballs in other ways, so by the time BP ended, I was at 11,999 lifetime. I knew it was going to happen at that point, and sure enough, Rockies pitcher José Ureña hooked me up with the BIG ONE in the middle of the 3rd inning.

As promised, here's a list of my previous 1,000th-ball milestones along with my blog entries or YouTube videos . . .

1,000th ball -- June 11, 1996 at Shea Stadium; thrown by Braves pitcher Pedro Borbon Jr.:

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2,000th ball -- May 24, 2003 at Olympic Stadium; thrown by Phillies pitcher Joe Roa:

   • Snagging my 2,000th baseball at Olymp...  

3,000th ball -- May 7, 2007 at the old Yankee Stadium; retrieved the ball from the warning track with my "glove trick" during batting practice:

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4,000th ball -- May 18, 2009 at Dodger Stadium; thrown by Mets pitcher Liván Hernández:

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5,000th ball -- May 28, 2011 at Rogers Centre; batting practice homer by White Sox outfielder Alex Rios, caught on the fly:

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6,000th ball -- June 8, 2012 at Fenway Park; thrown by Nationals pitcher Brad Lidge:

   • Catching my 6,000th baseball at Fenwa...  

7,000th ball -- August 27, 2013 at Nationals Park; batting practice homer by Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon, caught on the fly:

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8,000th ball -- May 15, 2015 at Citi Field; foul ball hit by Brewers outfielder Gerardo Parra off Bartolo Colon in the top of the 1st inning, retrieved in the seats:

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9,000th ball -- June 13, 2016 at Chase Field; batting practice homer by Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, caught on the fly:

   • Catching my 9,000th baseball at Chase...  

10,000th ball -- August 29, 2017 at Camden Yards; thrown by Mariners 2nd baseman Robinson Cano after a Welington Castillo strikeout ended the 2nd inning:

   • Catching my 10,000th baseball at Camd...  

11,000th ball -- August 13, 2019 at Angel Stadium; thrown by Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano:

   • Catching my 11,000th baseball at Ange...  

And now I can add No. 12,000 to the list at yet another stadium, so even though it was a wimpy toss-up from just a few feet away, this was still a big moment for me.

This video in Atlanta was filmed on August 31, 2022 by "Fenway Chris" (@yonnernyc) and it was edited by . . . me! Thanks for watching and please subscribe. You don't want to miss No. 13,000, right??