The one time last year that I tried to play an "auto hound", I really enjoyed myself. The best part, though, was to watch the players to see how they react to and interact with the fans. I was a bit surprised to hear of our Southpaw's observations of Pap.
My friend is a diehard Phillies fan. So, we went to the Nationals' park and hung around the 3rd base dugout. We were within earshot of Ryan Howard who simply ignored the kids' pleas for his autograph and just walked into the dugout, ignoring everyone and not even looking up. Ryan Madson, on the other hand, smiled at the fans, stopped, and began signing autographs right by the dugout. A few minutes later, Jamie Moyer came out and signed autographs for all beginning at the dugout and going all the way down the left field line. He enjoyed interacting with the fans. My friend told me that Jamie does that every time he is not starting a game.
Some times, I guess, some players' egos get the best of them. It is easy to forget the fans who come and support you when you're paid millions of dollars per year.
I heard Cal Ripken interviewed on Bloomberg recently -- what a class act! Baseball needs more Cal's.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Damned rained out game! Now I have a few hours to (gulp) work on academics!! Yay! Oh well...day baseball from the Fens on the Monster Monitor tomorrow. Say bye-bye productivity, Mrs. Brady!!
ReplyDeleteAs far as these players go, some of them are legends in their own minds. Yes, they're good at what they do. And yes, it must get very old very fast to have people shouting at you and asking for things when you're trying to get ready for work. I know it bothers me when my people shout at me and ask me for things when I'm trying to get my game face on for the office. Ok, I don't make the gozillions that these players make, but it's still annoying. On the flip side, a lot of the guys appreciate that the fans invest so much time and money supporting the team. I've seen Buch and Cam sign and Tek gave a kid one of his bats at the Sox/Nats spring training game. Pedey's also a good signer, although he really tries to sign for kids the most. A lot of the rising stars, the young guys like Lowrie, also acknowledge the crowds pre-game. I don't know what my fave's attitude towards signing is. I've never gotten close enough to get an auto. I've heard nothing but good things about him off the field so I can't imagine he'd turn a fan down.
Another beef that I know my dad has with the younger guys is that when they've done something extraordinary and the crowd is really giving them an ovation, they refuse to tip their caps. Young pitchers being relieved never do it. Buch's maybe done it once or twice. My dad says that in the old days guys would never not return the fans' ovation. For him, it's all about the spoiled "Me Generation." For me, I could care less. If you've given us a stellar performance, that's good enough for me. I've gotten what I paid to see. However, you can sign a ball for me just once. I'm not going to put it on eBay.