julio franco at my brothers game in the bronx. it was pretty cool he signed a bat and would have signed more but the sharpie had no more ink. he was hidden under shades,heavy coat and a scarf. it was about 40 degrees outside. he and my mom talked for about 1 hour and half. he had to leave for the mets game he would later be starting in.
Troy Tulowitzki, by far. I met him, when he was a sophomore in college, before he got famous though.
Roger Clemens, Barry Zito and Manny Ramirez were the three standouts from my days with the Toronto Blue Jays. All three guys were first class.
The biggest anuses I've ever met was Rocco Baldelli and Mark Prior. Talk about jackholes. Both carried themselves as smug jerks and didn't have time for anyone. I have no sadness that both have fallen way below their predestined "greatness".
not met alot, we have chatt. lookouts and a few years back I would take the kids to the park, get a ball and wait for the players. Austin kearns, Adam Dunn were great and the Best of all was catcher Corky Miller, first one out and the last to leave,talked to kids and even picked them up and let them on the field. Worst was Willie Mo Pena , turned his back when asked to sign a ball for kids !!!!
Best: Will Clark, Jay Canizaro and Vida Blue
Worst: Willie Mays, meet him at a card show once and he wanted nothing to do with anyone. You handed your item to a guy who handed it Mays and Mays handed to another guy who handed it back to you. Mays never looked up, said hello or shook any hands.........but maybe it was just a bad day for him.
Old-Timers: Mostly every Negro League player I met was gracious and happy to be there. As for retired MLB'ers from the 40's and 50's, there have been a ton. I got to spend some time with Mickey Vernon recently and he is a class act, as well as Don Lund (formerly of the Brooklyn Dodgers). I met Bob Feller last year and he talked to me for about 3 minutes while the line was out the door. Bobby Doerr was extremely nice to me when I met him about 15 years back at a card show. He's a great TTM signer. Ernie Harwell called me after writing to him and spoke with me for about 30 minutes on the phone.
Modern-Era: Ripken Jr. was wonderful at Spring Training circa 1997. Signed both days I was there for an hour in the heat after a long practice. Brett Butler used to sign for everyone at Shea, as did Jeff Kent.
Hacks: I didn't find Don Newcombe pleasant the two times that I met him.
Forgot about Shawn Green throwing the baseball around with kids that were in the stands when I went to a Jays game at Jacobs Field
Nice:
Buck O'Neal
Barry Zito
Tony Pena Jr.
Joey Gathright
Jason Bay
Billy Williams
Rich Harden
Worst:
Omar Vizquel he went out of the way to not sign for me.
dukeandksufanatic Wrote:Nice:
Buck O'Neal
Barry Zito
Tony Pena Jr.
Joey Gathright
Jason Bay
Billy Williams
Rich Harden
Worst:
Omar Vizquel he went out of the way to not sign for me.
Why? Omar is a great guy and always signed at the Stadium and when my sis worked at WalMart and he signed there a few times he signed a ton for me no problem.
This has been a excellent thread to read. Its amazing to see how two different people can have two vastly different opinions of players, mostly based on one experience. I would always be willing to give a guy another chance. Who knows, maybe they were having a bad day. Anyway, my very limited experiences...
Phil Hughes - REALLY nice guy. Signed for about 40 minutes at spring training one game. Chuckled when I brought the BMB to him when he was signing my ball.
Jimmy Rollins - Was also very friendly. Signed at a spring training game for about 20-30 minutes.
Don Mattingly - Met him at a signing. Was talkative, friendly, let me take a pic with him. The guy is a class act. Probably looked at as one of the nicest guys in baseball by fans, media and other players, and its no wonder why.
Cecil Fielder - I was only 9, but I remember being pretty shy and he was calling me "buddy" and just being very friendly.
Ryan Howard - Was talking to the few fans that were standing near the dugout while he was playing catch. Very cool guy. Signed for me in the parking lot and took a pic with my girlfriend.
Chase Utley - Also signed for me in the parking lot getting into Howards car. Was pretty quiet, but thats his deal. He was nice enough to sign for me and I was appreciative.