You won’t be able to add to your baseball collection by standing outside FirstEnergy Park before the gates open and snagging balls during batting practice – a practice that is possible at several other ballparks in the South Atlantic League. Once you enter the gates, however, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding at least one ball.
Make a beeline for the outfield as soon as you get inside the park and look for any extra BP balls hiding in the grass. If you don’t find any immediately behind the outfield fence, expand your search to the area behind the cement pathway that serves as the park’s outfield concourse. If a BP home run hits this path, it will bounce like crazy and roll down the grass hill behind the walkway. Look around the posts of the billboards and beyond and you’ve got a good shot at finding a ball. Other spots to scour are the picnic areas down each baseline and in left-center field.
Players in Class-A typically sign prolifically before games, and FirstEnergy Park is no different. It’s easy to get a handful of autographs from players on either team by hanging out at field level on either side. The BlueClaws are on the first base side and the visitors occupy the third base side. Each team’s bullpen is down its respective baseline, and players also sign in these areas. If you want to be guaranteed an autograph or two, look for the BlueClaws autograph booth outside the ClawsCove team shop behind home plate. Soon after gates open, at least one member of the home side will make his way to the booth to sign for fans.
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