If you want to try to snag a ball during a visit to NYSEG Stadium, get there early to give yourself the best chance of success. The stadium’s gates open an hour before first pitch, but make sure you’re there 30 to 60 minutes before that. Very few other fans will be around, which helps you increase your odds of getting a ball. After parking, walk to the west end of the facility’s parking lot, which is beyond the right field fence. You might see other fans in this area. The fence directly ahead of you stands several feet behind the right field fence. This means that every batting practice home run that leaves the field won’t necessarily clear the second fence, but some shots will. Additionally, there’s a gate in the parking lot fence that might be open enough for balls to roll through.
Find a spot outside the fence. If you can stand at the gate, you’ll be able to peer through toward home plate, which will help you track balls as they’re hit. If you can snag a ball in this parking lot before NYSEG Stadium’s gates even open, you’re off to a good start.
When fans are allowed in, quickly move through the concourse to field level. If the players have wrapped up hitting, scour the seats and cross aisle for any foul balls that the ushers might have missed. Finding a ball in this manner is difficult, but not impossible.
If one team is still hitting, you’ve got a serious chance of getting a ball. Position yourself along either fence as close to the corner as possible. In left field, there’s a picnic area right in front of the visitors’ bullpen. In right field, there’s the Lupo’s Dugout picnic area. In either of these spots, you have a shot at leaning over the rail and snaring a rolling foul or catching a ball on the fly or on the bounce.
As at any game, your shot of getting a foul ball depends significantly on the competition from other fans. As always, improve your chances by finding a seat in a section with as few fans as possible. If a foul ball lands in the vicinity, you might be able to get to it first.
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