Have you met your favorite player?

[devin]

met morneau i want to say about 5 times

 

[padremurph]

I've met both Latos and Maybin a couple of times each. Latos is nice but comes across and insincere and you could tell he didn't necessarily want to be doing the signings. Maybin made fun of me the first time at spring training for the way I asked him for the auto and gave me a scribble under the Rawlings. But this last time I met Maybin at fanfest he was super nice and sincere. He even asked where I wanted the autograph and gave a nice clean signature which was WAY different than the non SS scribble he gave me at ST. Glad to have met both.

I've also got an IP auto of Kobe at game and I got invited to watch a sit down interview with Spike Lee and Kobe with about fifty other people although I didn't get to talk to Kobe in either instance.

 

[muskiesfan]

Actually meeting, talking, and so on, I have met my all-time favorite; Pete Rose. I got to spend a few minutes talking to him when I was younger. He didn't seem very interested in our conversation, but it was still a cool experience.

I got to spend some time with Chris Sabo last December at RedsFest. He is my second all-time favorite player. If you're a Reds HOF member, you can go behind the curtain in the HOF section at RedsFest and hang out with former players. After he finished signing, he came back and was watching tv. My wife and I walked over and started talking to him. He took a picture with me and signed a baseball. It was a fun 15 minutes or so.

Not a favorite, but I also hung out with Todd Benzinger at RedsFest last year. While we were talking, he offered to take a picture with me and then handed me his 1990 World Series ring to wear for the picture! It was a really cool experience and an amazing memory.

As for current players, I got to meet Brandon Phillips. I won a Twitter contest for a Mother's Day pink bat: http://www.freedomcardboard.com/for...on-Phillips-Mother-s-Day-pink-bat!-Pics-added

We talked on the phone 3 times; the first was to congratulate me and we BSed for almost 20 minutes, the second was to arrange a meet up and we shot the bull for another few minutes, then the last call was the day of our meeting and it was just a couple of minutes. You can see a couple of pics in my sig.

I have not met Adam Dunn. Would love to, but I doubt the opportunity will ever present itself. Maybe after he retires I'll be able to meet him at RedsFest.

I've "met" tons of players at signings and got to speak to them for a couple of seconds, but the above list are players I actually got to hang out with.

 

[RZimm11]

Met Neil Walker at a signing over the winter.

Never got to meet Zimmerman yet.

 

[mchenrycards]

I have never been a big fan of any specific player but growing up I always thought it was cool to meet anyone I saw playing baseball on television. I lived in a very small town that rarely saw any sports people come to the area but it did happen on occasion. After high school I landed a job with a major league baseball team and found myself face to face with the people I grew up watching. I got to sit in the dugout and listen to Don Zimmer and Jim Frey tell stories to anyone who would listen about their playing days. I got to hang with a now current hall of famer as he filmed a television commercial after a game. I even was in the winning clubhouse as the champagne flew and the team celebrated their division win. I look back now and marvel at the experiences a small town kid like me had and I only now wish I had taken pictures.

The one thing I learned is that these people we put on pedastals because they can hit a fastball or throw a football are really just that, people. Guys I looked up to let me down while others helped solidify the reason people looked upon them as role models. I had a great 7 years working in the MLB and have come to realize that these players are just people...nothing more...nothing less. But dang they tell great stories!!

 

[mchenrycards]

I have yet to meet Shawn Green. I missed his book signing when he came to NY, hopefully I can meet him sooner or later.

I have met all of these people at games or charity events over the years:

Mike Pizza, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Roger Staubach, Doug Flutie, Kerry Collins, Victor Cruz, Terrell Davis, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Robin Ventura, Gary Carter, Pedro Martinez, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Ray Allen, Rob Gronkowski, Junior Seau, Mark Sanchez, Chad Pennington, Curtis Martin, Wayne Gretzky, Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur, Mario Lemieux, Mohammad Ali, Bruce Jenner, Marvin Harrison, Donovan McNabb, Tom Brady, Eli Manning...

and then the non athletes list is long also...includes Eminem, Jay Z, Maryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bobby Lee, Tom Arnold, John Goodman, Brian DeGraw (actually from where I grew up), Luke and Owen Wilson (seperately), Adam Sandler,

Hank Azaria( Big Mets fan!) - my last game at Shea, we had seats on the on-deck circle, chatting with Griffey and some other Reds players. I went to get a beer, when I turned around to see the field and Hank was standing behind me. I said hello and admitted to some star struck dumbness...We compared our seats, and mine were better. I jokingly told him that he could take our unused ticket and sit with us. He refused saying he was with a small group. The fifth inning, the usher asked if he was a member of our group, we said yes. Rest of the game Hank sat with me and my buddy. Griffey gave him the lineup card because he was a fan of Moe from The Simpsons. Best game I have ever been to!


Best meeting for a Celeb = Tom Hanks. Nicest celebrity I have ever met. He took the time to stand with us at a charity event in NY, told us a couple of jokes and became part of the conversation. Overall time he spent with my group of four was probably ten or fifteen minutes. It doesnt sound like much, but at charity events celebs are moving around so quickly that usually its a handshake and a fast picutre.

People on my wish list to meet - Bill Murray, Michael J. Fox, Mike Tyson, Denzel Washington, Clint Eastwood, and a few others...Lots of others.

I have met bot Murray and Michael J Fox in non "please sign my autograph setting" (as Gilmo put it). These are genuine men and what you see on the television is what you get. Michael J Fox could not have been more gracious and this was during his prime.

 

[TBTwinsFan]

I met Al Franken randomly at TwinsFest.

He was nice.

 

[Titans74]

I have two favorite ballplayers. Musial and Charlie Hustle. I met Musial a few years back. Shook his hand and he signed a ball for me. He was really nice. Great day. Still want to meet Rose. Will have to take a trip to LV for that.

Other than athletes I really only want to meet Jon Favreau (actor, director). Would love to hang out with him for a day. Guy is hysterical.