I’ve never attended a baseball game on Easter, but I’ve picked up my share of Easter eggs at many of the ballparks I’ve visited over the years.
In this case, of course, I’m talking about Easter eggs that are wrapped in cowhide and have 108 stitches on them — not those that are made of chocolate.
I don’t know who first started using the term “Easter egg” to describe baseballs, but it’s a term I’ve heard and used for years. For those who are unfamiliar, the approximate definition of an Easter egg is as follows:
Easter egg (/ˈēstər eɡ/) (noun): A baseball that you find in the ballpark upon entering, likely hit into the seating bowl during batting practice and overlooked by the ushers.
Easter eggs are pleasant surprises to stumble across, and they’re also one of the easiest ways that you can get a baseball during your ballpark visit. There was a point early in my travels (roughly 2010 through 2014) that I was fairly obsessed with Easter eggs and would spend a ton of time looking for them once the gates opened. I don’t put a ton of effort into finding them now, but I’ve acquired some tips and tricks that you can keep in mind if you’re eager to find some baseballs in this way. For fans who visit with children, hunting for Easter eggs can especially be a fun activity.
Here are some tips for snagging Easter eggs at the ballpark.
Peruse the Perimeter
I’ve written extensively about the joys of snagging baseballs before you enter the ballpark, so I won’t spend long on that topic in this blog post. While I think the term “Easter egg” specifically refers to baseballs found inside ballparks, there’s no reason that we can’t expand the definition to include baseballs outside the park. Simply put, there’s a good chance that you can snag one or more baseballs by standing behind the outfield fence at smaller parks that don’t have outfield seating. If you want to learn all about this idea, take a look at this blog post. If you arrive behind the outfield fence after BP has begun, there’s a pretty decent chance that you’ll find a few Easter eggs.
Look Inside From the Outside
Regardless of whether you’re able to snag Easter eggs outside of the ballpark, you can do some valuable recon before the gates open. Take a walk around the perimeter of the park to look for points from which you can see the concourse and seating bowl. (This is easier at MiLB parks than at MLB parks.) Often, you’ll be able to spot some BP baseballs. Upon doing so, take note of their locations. While there’s a good chance that ushers will pick up most of them before the gates open, ushers always overlook certain balls. If you notice one that gets missed, you can make a beeline for it as soon as you enter the park — and have an Easter egg for your collection just a minute or two after the gates open.
Check Out the Four Common Areas
It’s possible to find Easter eggs in an endless number of spots throughout any given park, but I’ve identified four spots in which they’re most common. If you’re serious about snagging an Easter egg, here are some places that you should absolutely look:
- Under seats
- In/under any vegetation
- In group picnic areas
- Against concrete walls
The above locations are pretty self-explanatory, but here are a few points to remember. Ushers have a limited amount of time to pick up baseballs before the gates open. They’ll generally spot baseballs that sit in the rows and aisles, but they’ll often miss those that are partially out of sight under seats. As a result, it’s fairly common to find baseballs in the shadows under seats. Second, a lot of parks have various types of vegetation. For example, elevated flower gardens are common in several MLB facilities, while shrubs and trees are a fixture around grass berms in the minor leagues. It’s a poor use of an usher’s time to look for baseballs in these areas, which means that they can frequently provide a hiding spot for Easter eggs. Third, I’ve noticed that group picnic areas sometimes get overlooked when ushers make their rounds to pick up baseballs. If a group picnic area isn’t hosting a group of fans and you’re briefly allowed to enter, you’ll sometimes be rewarded with an Easter egg. Finally, for whatever reason, I’ve often found baseballs that sit directly against concrete walls. Perhaps the balls are similar enough in color to the concrete that they’re overlooked from afar, but I’m constantly surprised at seeing baseballs in these spots.
Remember That Easter Eggs Can Hide in Plain Sight
Dozens of times over the years, I’ve noticed Easter eggs hiding in plain sight. It’s almost a too-good-to-be-true scenario that makes me wonder if someone has attached a string to the ball and is planning to yank on it as soon as I bend down to grab the ball. It defies logic how some baseballs can sit out in the open by the time fans arrive in the ballpark, but it definitely happens. Even if you’ve focused on looking in every nook and cranny in and around the seating bowl, don’t be afraid to take a step back and scan the open areas, too. Sometimes, you’ll find baseballs sitting out in plain sight, especially immediately after the gates open.
Don’t Do Anything That Risks Ejection
When you see an Easter egg that is out of reach, it can seem as though the baseball is taunting you. Although it can be tempting to break a ballpark rule to grab the ball, this is an idea that you should avoid. The last thing that you want is to be reprimanded or even ejected for going somewhere off limits to retrieve a baseball. A better strategy is to catch the attention of a player, coach or grounds crew member and ask if they can grab the ball and toss it to you. And if that fails, it’s time to forget about the ball. (I should note that I haven’t always practiced what I preach. At a game in 2010, I saw a baseball in the small wheelchair elevator that provided access to the dugout from the seating bowl. I couldn’t reach it by leaning over the edge, so when the stadium lights went off for a post-game fireworks show, I used the cover of darkness to climb into the elevator and grab the baseball while the theme from “Mission Impossible” played in my head.)
Accept a Gift When You Can
When ushers collect baseballs at the end of BP, they return most of them to the team to use again. There are some ushers, however, who will hang onto a few baseballs and place them in strategic areas throughout the park for fans to find. The most common spot is the cup holders that are attached to each seat. While you shouldn’t expect to find a baseball in this location during every visit, you should always keep an eye on the cup holders as you walk through the seating bowl. I’ve placed baseballs in this location several times over the years for fans to find — most commonly, when I’ve snagged baseballs that I didn’t want to take home with me because I couldn’t let my carry-on suitcase get too crowded or heavy.
Are Easter eggs something that you look for upon entering a ballpark? If so, what’s the craziest place that you’ve found one?