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Manram
02-12-2011, 04:23 PM
So i had a question. I am going to the 2011 futures game and was wondering if you are allowed to bring items into the stadium to get signed by players? I have a lot of prospect bats and am sure a few will be there. So just wondering if this is even allowed or not

sox83cubs84
02-12-2011, 10:29 PM
It's best to check the home stadium's policies via email or phone for matters like this.

The 2 stadiums here in Chicago are basically the same. Neither igley Field, not only are you not allowed to bring bats in, but, if you're somehow lucky enough to score one during BP, it'll be 30 seconds, tops, before one of the old geezer ushers is on top of you telling you that the bat has to be claim checked in the team's offices.

At the Cell, technically, the same rules are in effect, but enforcement is much more lax, as most White Sox ushers are

20=somethings and/or college kids more given to socializing with each other than checking for conntraband or seating fans. Your BP bat might make it with you through the game.


Dave Miedema

OaklandAsFan
02-13-2011, 01:50 PM
well since the futures game is in Az this year (is it not??) I can give you the answer for Chase. I have brought in 5 bats at one time and nobody has said boo to me and I carry them throughout the game.

Then again they also have a policy against pro cameras and lenses but I bring my camera and lens to every game and the only time anyone has ever said anything to me was during the world baseball classic several years ago.

I'm sure given the magnitude of the futures,all star etc games policies may be tightened up so you really should call and check with the stadium just prior to going.

Manram
02-13-2011, 03:07 PM
Thanks for the help guys. I'll give them a call

DeacDoug
02-17-2011, 04:21 PM
I was told in Jupiter, FL last year that the new mlb policy is that bats are OK. In Washington, DC. bats were allowed in 2009; they did want the bats out of any bat bag. Now this doesn't mean that clubs can't set their own policy contrary to what the woman in Jupiter told me.

godwulf
02-18-2011, 02:26 PM
As OAF said, there has never been the slightest restriction on bringing in bats at Chase, but with MLB running the show (to a greater, more anal-retentive degree than usual) it certainly wouldn't hurt to check with the event manager before lugging them down there. The only problem with that is, I very much doubt that anyone in authority would be willing to state now what the policy will be six months from now...and I'm not sure that I'd trust any assurance that was made this far in advance, anyway.

The weirdest thing that has ever happened to me - pertaining to the subject of this thread, that is - was shortly after 9-11, when security had tightened up to the point where they were practically going through your pockets, and I walked into the park with a bat in a closed mailing tube, and nobody said a word about it. The security dude rummaged through the small bag I had in one hand, and didn't even glance at the big mailing tube in my other. I could have had a sword, a shotgun, or a hand-held missle in there, for all they knew. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, I drove down to Tempe for an ASU game a couple of years ago, and thought I'd take a couple of (ASU assistant coach and former Diamondback) Andy Stankiewicz's bats, to try to get him to sign them, and was turned back by the smirking, self-important young security dudes they'd dredged up to man the gates. I was so pissed at their attitude that I went back to the ticket window for a refund and have not been to an ASU game since.

sox83cubs84
02-18-2011, 06:04 PM
As OAF said, there has never been the slightest restriction on bringing in bats at Chase, but with MLB running the show (to a greater, more anal-retentive degree than usual) it certainly wouldn't hurt to check with the event manager before lugging them down there. The only problem with that is, I very much doubt that anyone in authority would be willing to state now what the policy will be six months from now...and I'm not sure that I'd trust any assurance that was made this far in advance, anyway.

The weirdest thing that has ever happened to me - pertaining to the subject of this thread, that is - was shortly after 9-11, when security had tightened up to the point where they were practically going through your pockets, and I walked into the park with a bat in a closed mailing tube, and nobody said a word about it. The security dude rummaged through the small bag I had in one hand, and didn't even glance at the big mailing tube in my other. I could have had a sword, a shotgun, or a hand-held missle in there, for all they knew. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, I drove down to Tempe for an ASU game a couple of years ago, and thought I'd take a couple of (ASU assistant coach and former Diamondback) Andy Stankiewicz's bats, to try to get him to sign them, and was turned back by the smirking, self-important young security dudes they'd dredged up to man the gates. I was so pissed at their attitude that I went back to the ticket window for a refund and have not been to an ASU game since.

9/11 was trhe turning point in terms of stadium security, in MLB and elsewhere.

I recall when baseball resumed after the terror attacks some of the most idiotic comments I've heard in my life coming from some of the ballpark autograph hounds at the Chicago parks. We were just weeks after a terror attack on our own soil, and some of these legends-in-their-own-minds where whining about having to bring smaller bags to carry their autograph items and pens in due to the new measures.:eek: :eek: :eek: Can you believe that?!? Three thousand innocent citizens dead in New York, DC and Pennsylvania, and all it meant to some of these fools was being inconvenienced by having to bring fewer items to get signed inside the stadium.

No wonder autograph hounds (and sometimes, ballhawks as well) often are held in low esteem by sports fans and athletes in general.

godwulf
02-18-2011, 06:47 PM
9/11 was trhe turning point in terms of stadium security, in MLB and elsewhere.

I recall when baseball resumed after the terror attacks some of the most idiotic comments I've heard in my life coming from some of the ballpark autograph hounds at the Chicago parks. We were just weeks after a terror attack on our own soil, and some of these legends-in-their-own-minds where whining about having to bring smaller bags to carry their autograph items and pens in due to the new measures.:eek: :eek: :eek: Can you believe that?!? Three thousand innocent citizens dead in New York, DC and Pennsylvania, and all it meant to some of these fools was being inconvenienced by having to bring fewer items to get signed inside the stadium.

No wonder autograph hounds (and sometimes, ballhawks as well) often are held in low esteem by sports fans and athletes in general.

On the other hand, what do smaller bags have to do with greater security? Some of the rules instituted by stadium personnel, as well as those at other venues, after 9-11 made just about exactly zero sense, from a security standpoint.

People used to be able to bring in small coolers, for bottled water and other permitted items; when there was a very long line, say for a bobblehead giveaway, or for Fan Photo Day, people used to be able to bring those canvas folding chairs so they wouldn't have to either stand or sit on the ground for several hours; after 9-11, both coolers and folding chairs were forbidden. Why?

I was in line at Chase one day, and for some reason I had one of those little soft vinyl coolers, about the size of a six-pack, folded up in my bag. There was a woman working Security going down the line, sort of pre-screening people's bags before they got to the gate, and she told me I couldn't take it in. I showed her that it was empty - she said it didn't matter; the rule said "No coolers". So when she'd passed by, I folded it up and put it in my jacket pocket. Idiocy.

It's mostly all for show anyway - just like at the airports, only more so. Yeah, the security guy at the ballpark wants to look through my bag to make sure I'm not bringing in any sodas from home; meanwhile, I could be carrying a .357 tucked into the back of my pants under my jacket. It's really far less about security than it is ensuring more business for the concession stands.

Oh, and also shortly after 9-11, a local street fair announced that, in order to ensure greater security for participants, a new rule prohibiting dogs from the event was being enforced. Somebody in a position of authority quite obviously had a problem with dogs, and used 9-11 as an excuse to slip in the ban.