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+--- 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) - davcoop - 05-21-2008
+1 Sean Casey.
+1 Paul O'Neill.
Tom Browning was also awesome. Met him 2 different times and he signed several things for me. Very cool guy.
Can't say I've had many bad experiences, although Dante Bichette was not excited about being at Reds Fest when signed/got traded to the Reds.
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - cougarbrent - 05-21-2008
Roger Clemens is a jerk. he signed a card for me at a show in Houston, He never even looked at me. I said thanks but he turned to talk to someone behind him. I had saved up for weeks just to pay to meet him and get his autograph. What a huge dissapointment he was. He deserves everything he gets.
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - CampWest - 05-21-2008
To those who said Buck O'Neil was the nicest baseball player... thats a little of an understatement... Buck is the nicest man I have ever met, in any walk of life. I am confident that in the rest of my life I will never meet another person who is so full of life, energy, excitement and joy. Buck loved everyone. Especially people who were mean to him.
Also on the top of the nice list-
#2 to Buck - David Ortiz - that guy talked to me the entire game a few years back when I was sitting right next to the on deck circle. Funny as heck.
Torii Hunter - same thing... offered to take us out for drinks after the game - I think he wanted our women to go out... anyhow...
Bagwell
Biggio
Thome
Casey Blake
Frank White
Not nice-
Ken Caminiti
Beltran
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - Caniacforever - 05-21-2008
I have a bit of a story here. It isn't really all that impressive but to me it was really a great experience and has sparked my interest in collecting a certain player because he was so humble and unassuming. This took place in like... 2005.
I was hitting some softball with my brother on the campus of UNCW during some down time in my fall league. It was the middle of the afternoon and we were the only two guys there and we were just hanging out and hitting some moon shots. Not that it's really all that impressive, but my brother and I were both pretty much bombing softballs out of the baseball field there when we notice somebody come up to the fence and start watching us a little.
One of us hit a foul ball and the guy picked it up and tossed it back over the fence. He had a really strong arm and we kind of dismissed it like it was nothing because people were always wandering out and throwing back foul balls and things like that.
After my brother was done hitting the guy outside of the fence asked if he could take a few swings. We were like... sure why not.
He takes of his flip flops, seriously, and stands in the batter box barefooted while I throw him some grapefruits and he's just tanking them. I knew from his swing that he had a baseball swing but I didn't know anything else about him. He didn't look like much of a ball player. He was probably about 5-7 on a generous day and looked about 150 soaking wet. Compared to me, since i'm 6-10 and 275 lbs., he looked like a kid out there.
Anyways, he was rocking these balls out and after a while he said he was done and instead of just dropping the bat and taking off like most people would have done he decides to shag balls and toss me a few to hit. I launch a few out and he's giving me compliments and i'm not really taking him all that seriously because I had no idea who he was. Not that I didn't appreciate it but had I known what I know now I probably would have put what he was saying to memory.
After we slow down for a bit he sits down and I go and sit beside him and he sticks his hand out and says, "Torre... nice to meet you". I stuck my hand back out and say, "Josh.... you've got some really good swings for being such a little guy", and he gives a courteous laugh and thanks me for it.
I didn't think anything about it and probably wouldn't know to this day that he was a MLB prospect had he not gotten a nextel message from his agent that he answered right in front of me. This was prior to him being drafted by Florida but it was obvious they were courting him because his agent told him that the Marlins had sent a Dontrelle Willis signed baseball to his house and he was like, "Oh... cool... tell him thanks", and I was sitting there like... who is this guy?
So he gets off the phone and I notice that he's wearing some Marlins gear. I was like, "Hey... are you in the Marlins organization?", and he just smiles a little and then says, "Nah, they've just sent me some free stuff because i'm going into the draft".... and I was just sitting there dumb founded.
It turns out that he was in Wilmington, NC to play in a showcase the next day and all the AFLAC guys were staying on the UNCW campus. He talked about being on the AFLAC team and told me he was going to Georgia Tech the next year (which he ended up signing with Florida anyways), and how people were always underestimating him for his size.
He asked me where he could go to meet some ladies around town and how far away the nearest beaches were and I gave him directions. His "handler", which was a rather nice looking female lady, came out shortly after that and picked him up. I wished him luck in the showcase and told him that i'd be pulling for him. He thanked me and started walking off and about halfway back he turned around and thanked me again for letting him play with us and we responded that it was our pleasure.
That was probably the most unique instance of meeting a player that I have ever come across. I'll never complete the rainbow from his 2005 AFLAC set but i've got something more valuable with the memories that were picked up!
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - tselenow - 05-21-2008
David Wright, Mike Pelfrey, Tom Glavine, Timo Perez, Jose Reyes, Cliff Floyd, Mike Cameron, and Joe Smith stick out as the nicest players I've met.
I wasn't too fond of Heilman, Steve Trachsel, Moises Alou, and Pedro Feliciano are some of the bad experiences I've had.
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - RU4Scuba - 05-21-2008
RA Wrote: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.
Nope, that's typical Mays. Personally I think Vida is a jerk. He hates signing autographs and will often make people feel bad for having asked for one.
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - RU4Scuba - 05-21-2008
dylan1227 Wrote:dukeandksufanatic Wrote: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.
I have to agree here, Omar is one of the nicest out there. Especially to the ladies! :lol:
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - JackLondon - 05-21-2008
Mets finish over .500 Wrote:Robin Roberts !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friend of mine did a show 4-5 years ago, he asked me to pickup the athletes from the airport and drive them to their hotel. I picked up Roberts and his agent at the airport. They where hungery and asked if I minded stopping somewhere for a bite (of course not!). We ate then went to the hotel, it was playoff time and Roberts invited me up to thier room to watch the games and hang out. He told stories the whole time and was a great guy. The next day he asked me to pick him up before the show and go get breakfest. I will always remeber that weekend and the great time I had hanging with a hall of famer.
On the flip side, not to talk bad about the deceased, but Tug McGraw did the same show and could not have been a bigger Egomaniac. He just acted like everyone was below him and that we should be honored to be in his presence.
I also got about 10 balls and 3 bats signed by Roberts for free. Tug wanted money even though I was giving him a ride, I said thanks but no thanks.
Very cool experience! Robin Roberts was a class player and is a class gentleman as well!
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - CRAZYLOX - 05-21-2008
NIcest: Delmon Young and Tony Gwynn Jr
Worst: Chad Billingsley, I hope his arm falls off.
ot- nicest baseball players you have met? (and the not so nice) - cardcollector75982 - 05-21-2008
Thats not nice...lool