Fans on the river soak up souvenirs
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ON THE ALLEGHENY RIVER -- Over and over last night, the balls soared up into the darkness, and then smacked the water around us, setting off a piranha-like frenzy among the dozens of kayaks, canoes, air mattresses, inner tubes and a journalist-laden raft clustered in the Allegheny River outside of PNC Park.
Most everyone got wet by the time Phillies slugger Ryan Howard went up against the Mets' David Wright in the final round, but the home run retrievers were busy all night long, with 18 balls going into the river during the first two rounds of the Home Run Derby.
Mike Peters, 28, a recent Boston transplant still nursing a case of Red Sox fever, came with his wife, Jennifer, 30, to shag a ball from Big Papi David Ortiz, but wound up with an Astro-hit homer, the first to get wet during the Home Run Derby (two went into the water during batting practice).
The Peters of the North Hills, in rented kayaks, were among the 40 to 50 kayakers in the water last night. A dozen canoeists, a couple of jet skiiers, two innertubes, and dozens of motor boats also hovered near the shore by the ballpark.
Houston Astro Lance Berkman, the second hitter up, put the ball into the water.
Mike Peters snagged it.
He didn't use the fishing net on front of his kayak.
"The ball was 10 feet in front of me. I just had to jump in."
He said security -- which was tight along the River Walk -- didn't go after him when he got out of the water. "The media got to me before security," he said.
"I never got a ball before. Not a foul ball or a home run. And I used to go to Fenway [Park] all the time."
The assortment of people gathered for the aquatic division of the Home Run Derby was friendly, though determinedly competitive. Boaters jumped, fell or thrashed out of their craft each time a ball went into the water.
Brad Ryan, 39, of the West End, was in his kayak with his long-haired chihuahua Ozzie, 4 years old. He used to work for a whitewater rafting company in Ohiopyle. Ozzie was wearing his own life jacket that says "Outward hound."
"I didn't anticipate this kind of crowd here, but Ozzie's OK. Ozzie's been rafting more than most people."
At 8:45 p.m. the Coast Guard patrolling the water announced over loudspeakers that any kayakers without lights on their boats would have to get out of the river before dark. But the Coast Guard showed its sporting side when a representative emerged on the River Walk and tossed light sticks to the kayakers who had none.
Things got busy when Big Papi went up in the first round.
In an 11-minute span, David Ortiz smacked five into the water.
One of them was retrieved by Mike Hnat, 18, of Peters, who fell into the water from his tiny inflatable one-man raft.
A gold ball, which benefits charity, was scooped up by Ken Schultz, 37, of Verona as it bobbed by his craft. Mr. Schultz was in a kayak he bought just last month.
"I'm going to put it in a case and put it on a shelf," he said of the home run ball. "It's very cool, and I didn't have to swim for it. I just scooped it up."
Brien Hast, 23, of Peters and his friend Jason Makrinos, 22, of Peters, in a two-man kayak grabbed another one of Mr. Ortiz' homers. Mr. Hast jumped into the water with his baseball mitt -- or rather, Mr. Makrinos' baseball mitt.
"This is so great. I didn't think I was going to get one."
Mr. Ortiz continued to dampen balls in the second round.
One of those into a group of kayakers and an inflatable raft containing journalists, triggering a frenzy of arms and nets swinging and clutching for the ball. It was finally grabbed by Nate Biro, 27, of Elizabeth Township.
"People were thrashing for it, and I kind of stayed back," said Mr. Biro, who was floating on an air mattress. "And suddenly it popped up and hit me in the armpit."
In all, Mr. Howard, who bats left-handed, hit 23 home runs on the night. Of those, eight made the Allegheny River on either a bounce or fly. Twenty balls total were hit into the river by the eight Home Run Derby contestants.
Curt Chandler, Post-GazetteMike Peters, right, and his wife Jennifer, holding baseball, are interviewed by a Post-Gazette team in a raft, from left, Dan Majors, Larry Walsh and Annie O'Neill. Peters caught the first baseball hit out of PNC Park during the All-Star Home Run Derby.
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More Coverage:
Martha Rial, Post-GazetteDan McClain, of Turtle Creek, and his brother John McClain, of Clifton, New Jersey, wait for the All-Star Home Run Derby batting practice to begin. The pair said they hope to snag a ball blasted out of PNC Park and into the Allegheny River.
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First Published July 11, 2006 12:00 am
