ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - Printable Version +- Beckett Message Boards (https://www.beckett.com/forums) +-- Forum: Hobby Talk (https://www.beckett.com/forums/forum-1.html) +--- Forum: Baseball (https://www.beckett.com/forums/forum-2.html) +--- Thread: ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) (/thread-318882.html) |
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - ericd3043 - 05-21-2008 RU4Scuba Wrote:fsulevine Wrote:As bad a rep as he has for whatever reason, Frank Thomas was one of the nicest ballplayers I ever had the opportunity to meet. Pat Borders and Sparky Lyle also stand out in my memory. +1 for Sean Casey: I met him a few times while playing for the Akron Aeros. Class act all the way. Here is a suprise nomination: Albert Belle! Usually a very gruff guy, but I happened to catch him leaving the stadium one night with about 5-10 other people. Not only did he sign for everyone there (albeit asking to have everyone stay behind a guard rail), but as he was getting into his car a lady came running up to get a picture. He got back out of his car, posed for the picture and then left. Charles Nagy : He was at a Wahoo Winterfest and was headed up on the elevator to do a class on pitching. My wife and I were on the elevator to go look at silent auction items. We had a chance to talk with him for a couple of minutes and he was very polite. Later that day, I got an auto from him at the signing session and we had a chance to talk briefly there as well. No, I did not get an auto in the elevator- it seemed like I would be intruding on his personal time. Mike Hargrove: He used to eat where I was serving. Usually his wife and him would come to our restaurant at least 1x per week that he was at home. I never bothered to get his auto- I avoid intruding on time with family. Besides, I had a chance to serve him 1 - 2 x's while there. Last one: Paul Molitor - I have not IP met him, but did talk to him over the phone. Back in 1995, I was preparing to ask my wife to marry me. Since we both followed Molitor, I wrote a letter to him asking if he could help suprise my wife at a baseball game later that summer when the two teams were playing (I believe he was with the Brewers at the time?) I never heard anything, so I went to plan be and we were engaged in September of that year. The Indians were in the WS and I get a phone call at work (I had left multiple #s on the letter). My boss tells me a "Paul Molitor is one the phone". I assumed she was playing a trick and asked to verify. She said, that is what the person said, so I took the call. It turned out to be Paul calling me in regards to my letter I wrote earlier in the year. He apologized for not calling sooner, but his mail went to the clubhouse where it was separated into 2 groups - fan mail and personal mail. The personal mail was sent to his home. He had not gotten to the letter until just before he called. We talked for about 10 minutes about the Indians, the WS, etc and that was it. Needless to say, he gets my top vote. ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - Dale Murphy Collector - 05-21-2008 bwackerlin Wrote:Mark Grace more than lived up to my expectations when I got to meet him. Signed 5 things for me, chatted about raising boys (we both have two sons), gave me some dirt on Sosa, and was humorous and humble. "Uh, sir? Yeah...Reggie needs to poop. Can you leave?" LOL!!!! ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - c&cfan - 05-21-2008 Lou Brock is one of the nicest. Keith Hernandez was a complete jerk. ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - dethomas07 - 05-21-2008 Nicest = Brad Stone & Brandon Webb Worst = Homer Bailey & Roger Clemens David ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - Joseph Blue Palasky (Musial Collector) - 05-21-2008 Buck O'Neil was top notch. Pat Neshek is alway a class act. As are most of the Twins at Twinsfest. Marian Gaborik does not smile and rarely looks up at you. Rod Carew, still a grumpy old man, but has loosened up a little. ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - Packer Boy - 05-21-2008 bwackerlin Wrote:Mark Grace more than lived up to my expectations when I got to meet him. Signed 5 things for me, chatted about raising boys (we both have two sons), gave me some dirt on Sosa, and was humorous and humble. Brad - was that a show in hotel in Rosemont about 10-12 years ago? I saw him there and he was by far the biggest jerk of any baseball player I've ever met. Although to his credit, he did a SunTimes show a few years later and was much more pleasant then, even walking around to dealers' tables and chatting with them about some of their stuff. By far the two best baseball guys I've met were Tony Gwynn and Ron Santo. Both made me feel like I was doing them a favor by coming out to the show and paying for their signature and both of them seemed like they'd have spent all afternoon talking with you if you wanted to. Total class acts. ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - tyweb1 (Ron Santo collector) - 05-21-2008 Nicest- Tony Pena and Ron Santo of course. I got to talk Cubs with Ron last year in the radio booth for about 20 minutes prior to a Cubs/Cards game. Definitely lived up to his reputation. ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - jlzinck - 05-21-2008 Nicest athlete I have met is Bobby Orr. Talk to him about fishing if you ever meet him. I met Jim Rice in an airport in 99 and he was incredibly nice to everyone that recognized him and came up to him. Biggest piece of human waste, as far as athletes go, that I have ever seen was Carl Yastrzemski. Incredibly nasty bitter man ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - detroittigerfan1976 - 05-21-2008 nicest players Mike Rabelo Nate Robertson Lou Whitaker Brandon Inge Carl Crawford Anthony Reyes Tom Brookens Worst players Carlos Guillen Placidio Polanco Randy Johnson ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - bwackerlin - 05-21-2008 Packer Boy Wrote:Brad - was that a show in hotel in Rosemont about 10-12 years ago? I saw him there and he was by far the biggest jerk of any baseball player I've ever met. Although to his credit, he did a SunTimes show a few years later and was much more pleasant then, even walking around to dealers' tables and chatting with them about some of their stuff. No, it was in Phoenix at Grace Baptist Church Oct. 2003. I forgot to mention Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe in the nicest category. At the time I met him at Comisky Park in 1999, he was the oldest living negro leaguer. He was sitting by himself in his wheelchair at the back of the section behind home plate. I just walked up to where he was sitting, knelt down by his wheelchair, and told him what a pleasure it was to see him at the ballpark. We talked for a few minutes and he told me a little about playing in old Comiskey. Signed a ball I had got during batting practice. I didn't want to bother him too long because at his advanced age talking was a struggle, but I could have stayed for hours listening to him instead of the few pleasant minutes I did enjoy his company. |