Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you go down to spring training you can meet a whole lot of 'em.
One of my favorites was saying hi to Mike Schmidt in Clearwater, this was a few years ago when he was working in the Phillies minor league organization.
I had just parked my car outside of their new stadium off of US 19. I was looking around to see where they held the morning workout and game sessions with the minor league kids. I noticed the minor league fields weren't co-located next to the new park, so I was trying to figure out where to go to watch these sessions. I saw a fellow in a Phillies uniform grabbing a bunch of equipment and went to ask him if he knew where these workouts were held. Turns out it was Schmidt, although much older than when I had last seen him it was easy to recognize who he was. I was a bit startled to see him, and said hi, introduced myself and shook his hand. He told me where and when the workouts started, and then proceeded to continue gathering equipment.
Never forget that vision of him trudging down the concrete sidewalk in his cleats, carrying a huge bag of bats and balls over his shoulder. Very unpretentious and softspoken fellow.
If you go down to spring training you can meet a whole lot of 'em.
One of my favorites was saying hi to Mike Schmidt in Clearwater, this was a few years ago when he was working in the Phillies minor league organization.
I had just parked my car outside of their new stadium off of US 19. I was looking around to see where they held the morning workout and game sessions with the minor league kids. I noticed the minor league fields weren't co-located next to the new park, so I was trying to figure out where to go to watch these sessions. I saw a fellow in a Phillies uniform grabbing a bunch of equipment and went to ask him if he knew where these workouts were held. Turns out it was Schmidt, although much older than when I had last seen him it was easy to recognize who he was. I was a bit startled to see him, and said hi, introduced myself and shook his hand. He told me where and when the workouts started, and then proceeded to continue gathering equipment.
Never forget that vision of him trudging down the concrete sidewalk in his cleats, carrying a huge bag of bats and balls over his shoulder. Very unpretentious and softspoken fellow.
Not surprising that he seemed that way. This is what I recall hearing about him when he played.
Yeah, he was funny. He seemed kind of crusty, but friendly at the same time. Keep in mind that this was at the Univ. of MA, in Red Sox territory. This happened in September, in a year when the Indians were on their way to making the playoffs, and it appeared that the Sox were too, though the Sox ended up doing their traditional September swoon and missing the playoffs. At the time I met Feller, though, they appeared to be headed toward the playoffs. I didn't recognize Feller at first, but caught enough of the conversation between him and the desk clerk to catch on that he was a former major leaguer. I asked him what team he had played for, and then recognized him when he answered that question. (If you've seen pictures of Feller, you know that his mouth and chin have a distinctive appearance. Once he told me he had played for Cleveland, these features then made him easy to recognize, even though he was well into his seventies.) His way of answering my question about which team he had played for was to give a sly grin, and say, in a tone that seemed kind of cantankerous but in a good-natured way, "The Cleveland Indians. The team that's going to beat the Red Sox!" Quite a thrill to actually carry on that brief conversation with him.
Three of the four other major leaguers I've at least seen up close were also associated with that year-long class at UMass. Once during that year, I happened to be in the student center when Joe Morgan and a guy named Bill Lee, who was a pitcher for the Red Sox in the '70's, were being interviewed, and I got an up-close view. (I'm guessing that those two players might have been interviewed together because of a past connection--their teams faced each other in the World Series one year.) I also went to a public talk by an old Brooklyn Dodger named Joe Black, who had an ordinary career, but was a teammate of Jackie Robinson's, so he talked about the experience of playing on the recently integrated Dodgers in the '50's. I did ask him a question when he fielded questions from the audience after his talk. Black is . . . black, so he had talked about the perspective this gave him on the experience of playing for the Dodgers at that time. I asked him about talk I'd heard that Branch Rickey's motivation for integrating the Dodgers had been more about taking advantage of an untapped pool of talent than about trying to right past wrongs. Black's response was that the only thing that really mattered was what Rickey had done, not his reasons.
My one other experience being anywhere near a ballplayer involved a guy named Jerry Remy, who had a solid, but not brilliant, ten-year career in the major leagues, including a number of years with the Red Sox. Many people across the country may not know of him, though, he's become an iconic figure in New England, as a Sox broadcaster for many years. During his years as a player, he used to live in the town where I grew up (I think he still may, but I'm not sure about that). So, one day when I was hanging at my parents' house, I went out somewhere in the car, and happened to pass Remy's house when he was at the end of his driveway in a sweatsuit, about to go out running.
Another story about Remy: My mother used to do work with older folks through my family's church. One elderly lady who lived around the corner from Remy was a fanatical sports fan, who followed the Boston teams, and was thrilled about the fact that a Sox player lived literally around the corner from her. As this lady's birthday was approaching one year, my mom got the idea that the old lady would be thrilled to receive a card signed by Jerry Remy. Through the church, and their connections with the town grapevine, word of this idea got to Remy, who did sign the birthday card, which I was told was received with all the excitement expected. So, another major leaguer who's apparently an okay guy.
My uncle is an umpire in Florida. He umps C-USA and SEC baseball/softball. He was fortunate enough to be hired by the Detroit Tigers to ump spring training games (minor leagues). As I was waiting for him outside the locker room, he tells me "Chris, come in this office with me". There was Larry Herndon smoking a cigar at his desk. Damned nice guy.
Yeah, he was funny. He seemed kind of crusty, but friendly at the same time. Keep in mind that this was at the Univ. of MA, in Red Sox territory. This happened in September, in a year when the Indians were on their way to making the playoffs, and it appeared that the Sox were too, though the Sox ended up doing their traditional September swoon and missing the playoffs. At the time I met Feller, though, they appeared to be headed toward the playoffs. I didn't recognize Feller at first, but caught enough of the conversation between him and the desk clerk to catch on that he was a former major leaguer. I asked him what team he had played for, and then recognized him when he answered that question. (If you've seen pictures of Feller, you know that his mouth and chin have a distinctive appearance. Once he told me he had played for Cleveland, these features then made him easy to recognize, even though he was well into his seventies.) His way of answering my question about which team he had played for was to give a sly grin, and say, in a tone that seemed kind of cantankerous but in a good-natured way, "The Cleveland Indians. The team that's going to beat the Red Sox!" Quite a thrill to actually carry on that brief conversation with him.
Three of the four other major leaguers I've at least seen up close were also associated with that year-long class at UMass. Once during that year, I happened to be in the student center when Joe Morgan and a guy named Bill Lee, who was a pitcher for the Red Sox in the '70's, were being interviewed, and I got an up-close view. (I'm guessing that those two players might have been interviewed together because of a past connection--their teams faced each other in the World Series one year.) I also went to a public talk by an old Brooklyn Dodger named Joe Black, who had an ordinary career, but was a teammate of Jackie Robinson's, so he talked about the experience of playing on the recently integrated Dodgers in the '50's. I did ask him a question when he fielded questions from the audience after his talk. Black is . . . black, so he had talked about the perspective this gave him on the experience of playing for the Dodgers at that time. I asked him about talk I'd heard that Branch Rickey's motivation for integrating the Dodgers had been more about taking advantage of an untapped pool of talent than about trying to right past wrongs. Black's response was that the only thing that really mattered was what Rickey had done, not his reasons.
My one other experience being anywhere near a ballplayer involved a guy named Jerry Remy, who had a solid, but not brilliant, ten-year career in the major leagues, including a number of years with the Red Sox. Many people across the country may not know of him, though, he's become an iconic figure in New England, as a Sox broadcaster for many years. During his years as a player, he used to live in the town where I grew up (I think he still may, but I'm not sure about that). So, one day when I was hanging at my parents' house, I went out somewhere in the car, and happened to pass Remy's house when he was at the end of his driveway in a sweatsuit, about to go out running.
Another story about Remy: My mother used to do work with older folks through my family's church. One elderly lady who lived around the corner from Remy was a fanatical sports fan, who followed the Boston teams, and was thrilled about the fact that a Sox player lived literally around the corner from her. As this lady's birthday was approaching one year, my mom got the idea that the old lady would be thrilled to receive a card signed by Jerry Remy. Through the church, and their connections with the town grapevine, word of this idea got to Remy, who did sign the birthday card, which I was told was received with all the excitement expected. So, another major leaguer who's apparently an okay guy.
lol, those are awesome stories yea Joe Black had an awesome rookie season and never really met his potential. Yea, I know who Jerry Remy is, he's the announcer for the Red Sox who has the huge "Bawston" accent, I think he's a good color commentator
In 2000 I watched the Super Bowl (Rams vs Titans) in a private room at Disney's Wide World of Sports Restaurant in Orlando with Ken Griffey Jr.'s family. Myself and a few coworkers at the time all used to play a game online with his brother Craig. Craig lives in Orlando year round, and Jr. also has a house there. Craig invited us to watch the Super Bowl with them, so we couldn't pass it up. He was a very nice guy. He gave us all nicknames because he said that he meets so many people that he can't remember names very well, so he gives people he meets nicknames that corresponds to something about the person so he can remember them better.
Sadly I don't remember much more about the evening other than the fact that he was VERY upset that the Titans lost the game (the game that ended with the Titans player reaching from the 1 yard line but not making the goal as time ran out).
If you go down to spring training you can meet a whole lot of 'em.
One of my favorites was saying hi to Mike Schmidt in Clearwater, this was a few years ago when he was working in the Phillies minor league organization.
I had just parked my car outside of their new stadium off of US 19. I was looking around to see where they held the morning workout and game sessions with the minor league kids. I noticed the minor league fields weren't co-located next to the new park, so I was trying to figure out where to go to watch these sessions. I saw a fellow in a Phillies uniform grabbing a bunch of equipment and went to ask him if he knew where these workouts were held. Turns out it was Schmidt, although much older than when I had last seen him it was easy to recognize who he was. I was a bit startled to see him, and said hi, introduced myself and shook his hand. He told me where and when the workouts started, and then proceeded to continue gathering equipment.
Never forget that vision of him trudging down the concrete sidewalk in his cleats, carrying a huge bag of bats and balls over his shoulder. Very unpretentious and softspoken fellow.
Dixie, I'm impressed. You obviously know your baseball history. Unlike some people. After meeting Bob Feller, I told two friends of mine who it turned out had never heard of Feller. So, okay, they both seemed to know about current sports figures, but if they had never heard of Feller, it was obvious they didn't know sports history too well. One guy was trying to get a picture of how big a deal it was to meet Feller, by asking how good a player he had been. He asked whether Feller was in the Hall of Fame. My answer was something like, "Um, yeah . . . if the Hall of Fame had its own Hall of Fame, he'd be in that."
Growing up in NJ I was always a Red Sox Fan from an early age. When I was old enough to drive I used to take that long drive maybe once a month all the way to Fenway Park. Many times all by myself. Just to see my Red Sox. Been a Sox fan since 1967.
One day in about 1980 or so I got there early and the place was empty so I walked up to the fence behind 1st base and leaned over it while watching them practice. Dwight Evans walked right up to me and started talking to me. He shook my hand and then continued on. That was real nice of him. I think it was the Twins in town that day.
In the spring of 1970 the whole family went to St Petersburg where we have family. Just so happens the Mets spring training camp is in St Petersburg. Dad and Brother loved the Mets. We had a Mets year book and my Dad took me and my brother to each and every Met player and got them to sign their picture. We have signatures from every single 1969 Miracle Met except one. When Dad asked Gil Hodges he threw a barrage of curse words at us like you never heard in your life. It didnt mean too much to us kids but my Dad refused to watch another Met game for years after that. He was real hurt. And living in NJ the Mets were on TV every single game of the year.
I sure would like to shake hands with some of my favorite Celtics players right about now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Bob Feller sounds like a nice guy
