Any interesting Batting Practice moments or nice athletes at Yankee Stadium?

[MattManNWO]

I can think of three right off the bat. Farnsworth always gives away baseballs during BP, and signs autographs up the wazoo. He also talks to fans.

Jeremy Accardo, the Blue Jays' closer was so exceptional during BP, I had to do a double take. For example, he gave a baseball to a young four or five-year-old. The kid said, "Thank you." Jeremy said back to him, "You're welcome dude." Accardo also gave away, get this, his Poland Spring water bottle after a fan asked him for it. Funniest sight ever.

Big Papi, whose autograph can go for a pretty penny, signed autographs for about 20 minutes last month.

I heckled Curt Schilling last month with phrases such as, "Everquest sucks," "Gehrig 38 is the worst message board name ever," and "2001, Game 7, Alfonso Soriano." Schilling yapped back at me, "Who won that game?" and I was left silent, hehe.

I have also heckled Julian Tavarez, including knocks on his age and his temperment. All Tavarez did was wink at me.

Anybody have any interesting stories about any Yankees or visiting players during BP at the Stadium?

[CallOfTheCrow]

not at the stadium, but at Camden Yards.

I was at the Marriot with my bro & we spotted Jeter...so we went to get his autograph when hotel security stopped us & asked us to not bother him. Jeter turns to us & goes "ill catch you guys at the game."

At the game, during BP it was pretty crowded along the third base line but Jeter spotted my brother & me...asked others to clear a path for us to get to the wall & he signed our cards. After that, he signed for like 20 mins for everyone else. Great guy.

[Sam18]

Schilling yapped back at me, "Who won that game?" and I was left silent, hehe.

You shoulda just said Randy Johnson.

[The Dynasty]

1. Bleacher seats. Bernie launches one to the outfield and hits the outfield wall right below me. So I shout Tanyon Sturtze, "Tanyon, lemme get that ball, man." He ignored me. So I say again, "Cmon, Tanyon, I almost had that one." He looks up at me, and he says "How? It hit the wall." He picks it up and threw it to me. From that point on, he goes on to be our most effective longman/setup man that year.

2.10 rows behind the Yankee dugout. Orlando Hudson (when he was with the Jays) passes by and I say to him, "Yo O-Dogg" and he acknowledged me in a way everyone around me thought we were cousins or something. He was cool. I think he embraces the O-Dogg name.

3.Same seats as #2. First year ARod is a Yankee, and he's signing autographs for a group of little kids by the tarp. Me being in my early 20's comes up and asks him to sign my hat, and he says, "Sorry man, I'm only sign autographs for the little kids." I thought that was cool of him.

[gandiacm]

1. 2003 ALCS Game 2... batting practice, I am yelling at Doug Maribelli while he is in the out field during BP... They are playing the usual video on the big screen... Doug yells at me saying "Can you be quiet, I am trying to watch Yogi!" as Yogi was on the screen talking, I returned "Yeah, that's what a real catcher looks like."
2. Last season at the Nats game in interleague play, Torre was suspended for the game so he signed autographs befor the game, it was mainly for kids, so this guy asks me if I want his kid to hold out my hat, the kid holds it out and Torre signs my hat... I was stoked!

[RhodyYanksFan]

You shoulda just said Randy Johnson.

[yankswn23]

not at the stadium, but at Camden Yards.

I was at the Marriot with my bro & we spotted Jeter...so we went to get his autograph when hotel security stopped us & asked us to not bother him. Jeter turns to us & goes "ill catch you guys at the game."

At the game, during BP it was pretty crowded along the third base line but Jeter spotted my brother & me...asked others to clear a path for us to get to the wall & he signed our cards. After that, he signed for like 20 mins for everyone else. Great guy.

Do they always stay at the marriot in baltimore, i want to see if I can catch them.

I remember back in the day, I was at a rockies and Yankees game and Jeter was signing my stuff, I was like Derek it's not fair, AROD gets more money and you have to work an extra month every year. He and Giambi laughed. (Arod was still with Texas).

[penguin4]

Safeco Field bullpen, pregame, I wish I knew who the pitchers were, but they were on the visting Rockies. The bullpen there is such, for anyone that hasn't been, that you're separated literally by one chain-link fence from the 95mph fastballs, and there are seats directly above and around it. As I'm watching Josh Fogg warm up, a pair of sunglasses falls from above -- a fan in those seats must've leaned too far over, or fogotten s/he put them on top of their hat. One of the Rockies relief pitchers standing around pickes it up and waves it in the air. When he seemed to identify the owner, he briefly put the glasses on, then stuck them in his pocket. "Don't worry!" he called up to the fan, "They're in good hands!" I kinda wish I was that fan.

[yankeefreak04]

I was at US Cellular for the White Sox / Yankees game this year on June 6th... Mattingly was in the Yankees dugout signing autographs and having kids toss him baseballs over the dugout... Some kid tosses him a Mattingly jersey and he asks if anybody has a new, sharp "sharpee" so he can sign it right... Nobody has one so he tells the kid "Hey buddy, I'll be right back. What's your name?"... I wait a couple minutes and Mattingly pops his head back out and tosses the kid the jersey... I asked the kid to see it and Mattingly had written "To Josh, from your buddy, Don Mattingly."...

At that same game, Johnny Damon came over to the wall after warm-ups and signed for about ten minutes... I got my hat signed by him and he pretty much stayed there signing until he needed to go bat...

[gandiacm]

I really like this thread.

[BRNXBMRS]

Opening Day 1995, me & my brother were standing in back of the visitors dugout, watching Mike Pagliarulo warm up when he was with Texas. we were shouting, nice to see you back at the stadium, just like the old days etc, before he went into the dug out he tossed me a ball.

Opening day 1997 Mark McGwire was standing by the batters box during BP and he came over and signed our ticket stubs. We asked him if he was going to break Maris' recored, he said,"if it was only that easy"

[krystl]

Good stories!

The only thing that ever happened to me during BP was a foul ball hit by either Bernie or Jorge (escapes me now) which came whizzing by my head as I was standing down by the field level. I moved just in time. It was quite scary to think what would have happened had I not gotten out of the way!

[ynkefan23]

not really at the stadium...

but...back in 94 when my buddy and i graduated college our "gift" to each other was a Yankee road trip. So we drove to Milwaukee (from NJ) when they were still in the AL. Scalped tickets to 2 games (great seats) and then were going to drive to Minniapolis to see them vs. the Twins.

that morning we are eating breakfast and see Gene Micheal (GM at the time) reading the paper...so we approach him and tell him that we drove out etc...
he said "Are you guys going to Minnesota?"- we say yes.

he writes down the name of the hotel and says "Call me when you get there and i will have tickets waiting for you for the whole series"

- we thanked him and called when we arrived. He had tix waiting at will-call.
saw us the next day in the hotel lobby..approached US and asked if we enjoyed the game...

[Game4Tino]

This was in the news recently, but I thought it was another great example of how the Yankees treat the Bronx community. The national media would have you believe that the Yankees could care less, but this tells me otherwise...

Boy wonder to be Boss' guest at Stadium

Edwin Alamo was thrilled after he saved his family from gunmen. But the Bronx boy got even more excited yesterday when he learned he'll be honored by the Yankees - and may get to meet Derek Jeter.

George Steinbrenner lauded Edwin, a die-hard Yankee fan, for staying calm under pressure when the gunmen burst into his family's home late Thursday.

"I'm glad not only for what he did - I'm glad he loves the Yankees," Steinbrenner said yesterday in a statement. "We love him."

Steinbrenner said he will treat Edwin to a home game at the House that Ruth Built as a reward for his heroism.

[CallOfTheCrow]

Spring Training '99 I was at Jupiter Stadium with my family. Reggie Sanders walks out & Mark McGwire was behind him. The fans go crazy for Mark & Reggie throws his hands up in the air, taking bows, pretending like they're cheering for him when of course they were cheering for McGwire. I just thought that was really funny to see a major leaguer be able to smile & have fun with the fans.

I don't want Reggie on the Yankees but from what I've seen in person & read about, he seems like a hell of a guy.

[RJ44]

I really like this thread.

Me too!

'99 Spring Training game vs. Detroit, I was there a couple of hours early, and the Yankees were practicing at the small field off to the side of Legends Field. I went to the store and bought a program and something for my dad. A few of the players started to sign along the fence; Tino, Darryl Strawberry. I got in line and was looking to be down the line for Straw's auto. Straw jumps out of line and Jeter takes over for him. While he signs my program under his pic of the '98 Team, I tell him that I'm pulling for them to repeat and stay healthy. He stops, looks at me and says "Thanks, man" That, to me, weighs heavier than the auto (although I still plan to frame the program).

The kicker?... The "something" I got for my dad was a baseball. I didn't think to have him sign the ball at all until I think I returned home from that vacation.


I also got Melido Perez' autograph in 1987 or so on calendar day. Woo-hoo!

[MunsonNY15]

not really at the stadium...

but...back in 94 when my buddy and i graduated college our "gift" to each other was a Yankee road trip. So we drove to Milwaukee (from NJ) when they were still in the AL. Scalped tickets to 2 games (great seats) and then were going to drive to Minniapolis to see them vs. the Twins.

that morning we are eating breakfast and see Gene Micheal (GM at the time) reading the paper...so we approach him and tell him that we drove out etc...
he said "Are you guys going to Minnesota?"- we say yes.

he writes down the name of the hotel and says "Call me when you get there and i will have tickets waiting for you for the whole series"

- we thanked him and called when we arrived. He had tix waiting at will-call.
saw us the next day in the hotel lobby..approached US and asked if we enjoyed the game...

That is an awesome story. Way to go, Stick!!

Heidi

[MunsonNY15]

Nothing at the stadium, but last year I drove to Detroit to see them play the Tigers. I got there early to see BP. After A-Rod was done hitting, he walked toward the dugout. Everyone was yelling his name for an autograph, but he just walked down the steps. Of course, people started booing. However, about 30 second later A-Rod popped back up with a helmet full of batting gloves. He stood there and tossed them to the kids. Very, very cool.

Of course, none of the people who booed apologized

I have a picture but I'm not able to insert it here. Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong?

Woo hoo, I figured it out




Heidi

[Nick Papagorgio]

The Yanks were playing in Kansas City in April 1995 and my junior college team had a Friday doubleheader called off early in the week, so my coach let me and one of my Australian teammates (he's a huge Yankee fan, too) get out of practice for a day because it was the last time the Yanks were in the Midwest before the Aussies on our team went home.
So my teammate ordered tickets that were supposed to be about 20 rows behind third base. I'm not sure if they saw the Australian address on his credit card or what the deal was, but the lady at the ticket office said they had upgraded our seats to the front row next to the Royals dugout where Ewing Kauffman used to sit when he owned the team.
We get there for batting practice and we each get a baseball. My teammate gets his from Don Mattingly and gets it signed by Donnie. Jack McDowell pitches a great game, Donnie drives in all four runs and Wetteland comes in and closes out a 4-1 win as rain falls in the bottom of the ninth. We went over to the Yankee dugout hoping to get some autographs. Most of the players went into the clubhouse, but Buck Showalter sees me in a Yankee coat and hat and grabs the lineup card off the dugout wall and hands it to me. He starts to walk away, reaches in his back pocket and takes a smaller lineup card out and hands it to my teammate. I doubt I'll ever go to another baseball game and come away with more memorable things happening than that one.

[krystl]

That's a great story Nick P.

[dewey]

Nothing at the stadium, but last year I drove to Detroit to see them play the Tigers. I got there early to see BP. After A-Rod was done hitting, he walked toward the dugout. Everyone was yelling his name for an autograph, but he just walked down the steps. Of course, people started booing. However, about 30 second later A-Rod popped back up with a helmet full of batting gloves. He stood there and tossed them to the kids. Very, very cool.

Of course, none of the people who booed apologized

I have a picture but I'm not able to insert it here. Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong?

Woo hoo, I figured it out




Heidi

I have a similiar story from this past Thursday in Chicago! I was behind the dugout watching BP, & A-Rod gets in the cage and hit 3 homerun shots in a row. It was BP, but still cool to see nonetheless. Especially so close. He then got out of the cage and let Hideki go for a few rounds, then he goes back and hits 2 or 3 more (I forget)... when he finishes he takes his bat and handed it to a kid in the front row (to the left of the dugout). Incredibly nice of him to do that. He also gave away his 2 batting gloves as he left the field to these kids next to the dugout.

THEN, Robby Cano comes out and throws his glove to someone! Haha. These guys are just too nice.

A-Rod does get yelled at a lot, tho. I feel bad for him. He gets hassled by every fan near him as he walks by.

[southernNYYfan]

Two years ago at Camden Yards I was down the 3rd base line waiting for autographs and Mariano Riviera comes over and starts signing. I handed him the ball and a pen and the pen had grip on it and he felt it and declared it was "no good," and then asked the people around me for a pen to sign the ball, someone gave him a pen and he autographed it. I was also able to get autos from Allan Embree and Tayon Sturtze.

Another story was in Spring Training about 5 or so years ago in Clearwater (Phillies stadium) I was waiting by the bullpen and Joe Torre came out and was talking to somebody and started signing, he got to me and said "What is your name." and I said, "Joe," he said "Kid, that is a great name." He then signed the ball (on the sweetspot) and said he couldn't sign anymore and left.

There are some other ones, but none as good as those. I remember Mattingly, Giambi and Nick Johnson used to be big signers and Mattingly used to always give out the FUNGO bat he was using. Giambi has thrown out sweatbands and given out BP bats and Johnson would always sign (espically for the huge following of young ladies he had)

[TheBamTino24]

The Baltimore Orioles were at Yankee Stadium in the early 1990's at some point. I think it may have been 1991 or 1992.

Anyway, my younger brother is stationed right near the wall and for some reason Michael Kay walks over and starts grabbing baseballs to sign, one of which was his.

Then Cal Ripken, Jr. did...

[gamesix1977]

Awesome!

not really at the stadium...

but...back in 94 when my buddy and i graduated college our "gift" to each other was a Yankee road trip. So we drove to Milwaukee (from NJ) when they were still in the AL. Scalped tickets to 2 games (great seats) and then were going to drive to Minniapolis to see them vs. the Twins.

that morning we are eating breakfast and see Gene Micheal (GM at the time) reading the paper...so we approach him and tell him that we drove out etc...
he said "Are you guys going to Minnesota?"- we say yes.

he writes down the name of the hotel and says "Call me when you get there and i will have tickets waiting for you for the whole series"

- we thanked him and called when we arrived. He had tix waiting at will-call.
saw us the next day in the hotel lobby..approached US and asked if we enjoyed the game...

[JHHALL1]

This isn't me but whoever it is defiantly gave the blue jays a hard time.


hilarious yank fans

[stephsamps]

I posted about my cool Fenway experience in another thread - but I can re-post. It was raining and BP got cancelled. Jeter stayed behind to play catch with Bobby and Jorge and was chatting it up with the fans (mostly sox, although I have to say as three girls we probably were the ones to grab his attention first ). After getting hit by a ball below the belt by one of his teammates, he went along the line and signed for every single person from home plate to the Yankee dugout. It was raining at a pretty good clip, so it would have been understandable if he just went in, but he was chatting to the few who talked to him (there was quite a hush over the crowd) and even earned the respect of the sox fans.

I also had a cool experience with Donnie Baseball at Camden. I was at BP and the guy next to me said that Donnie never signed but he really wanted his autograph. He thought I might have better luck. So I asked him if he would sign and he did. Of course the guy next to me then tried to get me to give him a few more balls, which I didn't... I had been scammed. But I got Donnie to come over!

Juan Rivera threw me a ball at BP at the stadium one day. No one else knew who he was, but I did. I felt sorta bad cause there were kids around but he threw it to me, I didn't want to be rude .

I also got a 100th anniversary ball after a fenway win. We were down by the Yankee dugout and I was looking backwards to find some friends, I turned forward and a ball was whizzing toward my head. I put up my left hand and grabbed it. Antonio Osuna had thrown it. Thank god I looked when I did or I would have sued him (if I made it out of the coma!).

[NJ Fan]

I snipped this from a post I made years ago...

During the Old Timers' Day batting practice in '01, Mickey Rivers who was chasing fly balls in the outfield with a few other players, tried to toss a ball to my son. Some jerk reached over and literally grabbed the ball out of my son's mitt! Fans around us were telling the guy to give it back and he said, "No Way." Mickey heard all this going on with his back to us...he turned around and motioned for the guy to give it back. The guy ignored him. Mickey walked all the way over to us, reached up over the outfield wall and politely handed my son his brand-new Yankees cap. The fans around started clapping & cheering and Mickey gave the guy a real dirty look. I was fortunate enough to get the whole thing on videotape!

About 6 months later, I surprised my son by sneaking Mickey's hat into the trunk of the car and we went to an autograph signing in CT. I didn't tell my son but Mickey was there. When we went into the room, my son handed him the hat to sign and when I said, Mickey, this is YOUR hat from OT's Day, he JUMPED out of his chair and started RANTING about the "jerk" who took the ball out of my son's glove. He went and told everyone in the room what had happened. It was hilarious! I was videotaping that as well.

Mickey Rivers will always be a favorite of mine!

[WashingtonYankee]

I want to say thanks to the person who posted this. Great thread.

Well, I've met a ton of players.
Cano- twice in one day
A-Rod
Giambi*
had my brother meet Posada
Mo*like twice

Mariners:
Buhner
Wilson
Shane Monahan
Johjima
Ibanez
Bloomquist

All from batting practice... I put a * by Giambi's name because I was pretty upset that Jeter didn't sign my ball- ok, so it was a while ago.. his first year w/the Yanks. I was upset because it was my dream to meet Jeter. Giambi comes up to me and signs the ball and we talk.. I'm like welcome to NY. He's like thanks...

I met Cano twice in one day-outside his hotel and during the same game.

Jeter threw me a ball during batting practice... some kid took it, Jeter got upset and was like woah kid! And points him to give it to me... all because I had a sign last year that read, "JETER FOR MVP."

I've met Dotel, Murcer, Mo, Nick Green, Wang, and I think a few other outside the hotel where the Yanks stay last year. Had a minute to talk to Reggie and Bernie outside the hotel..Great time.

Some Japanese girls and I ran after a car last August and Matsui waved at us. That was cool.

Oh and I also met Zimmer. Our chef told him that Zimmer was signing books at a book store in Seattle, so I begged my Mother who isn't a Yankees fan and my cousin from Tokyo to let me go meet him. I met him! I asked him if I could rub his head for good luck... he said ok. I was interviewed on Kiro and they mocked me saying that someone needs to buy me a Mariners hat. So amazingly cool!

[penguin4]

Then there's this little beauty about David Justice I forgot about, from way back when (damn, I *do* sound like a teenager back then!)....

http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread.php?t=1799

And this one from my sister about Whitey:

http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread.php?t=3721

[FingersCrossed]

I'm really enjoying this thread.

[4bronxbombers]

I snipped this from a post I made years ago...

During the Old Timers' Day batting practice in '01, Mickey Rivers who was chasing fly balls in the outfield with a few other players, tried to toss a ball to my son. Some jerk reached over and literally grabbed the ball out of my son's mitt! Fans around us were telling the guy to give it back and he said, "No Way." Mickey heard all this going on with his back to us...he turned around and motioned for the guy to give it back. The guy ignored him. Mickey walked all the way over to us, reached up over the outfield wall and politely handed my son his brand-new Yankees cap. The fans around started clapping & cheering and Mickey gave the guy a real dirty look. I was fortunate enough to get the whole thing on videotape!

About 6 months later, I surprised my son by sneaking Mickey's hat into the trunk of the car and we went to an autograph signing in CT. I didn't tell my son but Mickey was there. When we went into the room, my son handed him the hat to sign and when I said, Mickey, this is YOUR hat from OT's Day, he JUMPED out of his chair and started RANTING about the "jerk" who took the ball out of my son's glove. He went and told everyone in the room what had happened. It was hilarious! I was videotaping that as well.

Mickey Rivers will always be a favorite of mine!

Great story. What an asshole the guy was that ripped the ball out of your son's hand. Boo him....

I love Mickey Rivers.

[PaulieIsAwesome]

This isn't me but whoever it is defiantly gave the blue jays a hard time.


hilarious yank fans

I wasn't at that particular razzing of the Blue Jays, but a couple of years back (I'm guessing 2002, cause Delgado was still on the team and I was finishing high school) I was sitting in the bleachers during batting practice, and everyone was just razzing the Jays. Kelvim Escobar, Delgado, and a couple of others, from what I can recall. Really, just terrific mocking. It was pretty funny, and they had few comebacks.

Every once in a while, a ball would be hit out to one of them, and some of the same people who had just been razzing them would shout to be tossed the ball. The Jays players would roll their eyes, and say something like "are you ................ing kidding me?" and toss it to some kid who wasn't sitting in Section 39. It was really funny to see the fans (especially the grown men) go from mocking and razzing to pleading just for a batting practice baseball.

[MassNYYfan]

I went to a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Atlana one time and the waiter said that David Justice and Halle Berry were the last ones at our table.

But other than that, I got nothin'.

[DontHateOnNumber2]

This thread is pretty cool, now I know who is safe to approach if ever I'm given the opportunity to ask for an autograph.

[35Knucklecurve]

At Camden Yards (I forget the year) when the pitchers were shagging, one fan kept asking El Duque for his autograph in Spanish. "Mi hermano Cubano, por favor!" El Duque just ignored him. The guy got more desperate and then said he wanted it for his son. El Duque turned around and gestured as if to say, "Where is he?" The guy pointed to this blond kid next to him. El Duque waved him off and turned back around. Then the guy tried the Cuban connection one more time. "Mi hermano Cubano!" El Duque slowly turned around, glared at the guy and said with a dead serious look, in perfect English, "I'm from Panama." Mo was standing right next to him and completely cracked up. I got a picture of Rivera looking at the guy. It's hysterical.

During this same BP session, another guy kept hollering at David Wells to toss him a baseball. Boomer kept throwing the ball back toward the infield. When the guy yelled at him, "C'mon, Boomer - those balls only cost about $3.00 a piece!" Wells shot back, "Well go to K-Mart and buy one!"

[WashingtonYankee]

At Camden Yards (I forget the year) when the pitchers were shagging, one fan kept asking El Duque for his autograph in Spanish. "Mi hermano Cubano, por favor!" El Duque just ignored him. The guy got more desperate and then said he wanted it for his son. El Duque turned around and gestured as if to say, "Where is he?" The guy pointed to this blond kid next to him. El Duque waved him off and turned back around. Then the guy tried the Cuban connection one more time. "Mi hermano Cubano!" El Duque slowly turned around, glared at the guy and said with a dead serious look, in perfect English, "I'm from Panama." Mo was standing right next to him and completely cracked up. I got a picture of Rivera looking at the guy. It's hysterical.

During this same BP session, another guy kept hollering at David Wells to toss him a baseball. Boomer kept throwing the ball back toward the infield. When the guy yelled at him, "C'mon, Boomer - those balls only cost about $3.00 a piece!" Wells shot back, "Well go to K-Mart and buy one!"

Wow...

[flymick24]

i went to one of the games right after tanyon sturtze was first called up... attended BP that day, and none of the fans seemed to know who he was, so no one bothered to call out his name while he was shagging some fly balls.

i, of course, knew who he was, so at one point i yelled out, "hey tanyon, how 'bout a ball?" he immediately turned to me and pointed, then threw a baseball in my direction. it was maybe the wind or something else in the air, because the ball ended up bouncing off a small kid who was standing directly to my right and then into the hands of a middle aged woman. i turned back to tanyon with a diasppointed look, but he was already long gone by then.

he never did know how to throw strikes consistently

[b-ball-lunachick]

Great stories everyone!

I have a ton many of which I've posted through the years but one of the funniest ones involving BP was with Jeff Nelson. I first encountered him in Tampa - I was new to Spring Training and we had these amazing seats and we were talking to a number of players even after the game started...he was being super nice and I obviously wasn't interested but I asked him if he could get Tino's attention for me. He got a little offended. oops, I really didn't realize until later that he was flirting...

The next day, it was late in the game and we had been talking to Mariano and Stanton for awhile and I asked Mariano to get the bullpen guys to pose for me as - -"the best bullpen in baseball". He rounded everyone up and as soon as Nelson saw it was for me, he sort of grunted but couldn't say no to Mo. He did mumble something under his breath.

Anyway, flash to later in the year at YS during BP. Nelson is there in the OF with a few other guys and he came over to sign for fans....at the time, some people were calling him "The Vulture" because he was getting a lot of wins that year out of the pen..so I said "hey Mr Vulture" -- looked right at me and said "I remember you from ST! Is there anyone you want me to call over for you?" he was pretty good natured about it that time and I joked with him for a bit...

I should find that pic of them all posing, scan it and post it...I have some really cool shots from that year..I miss that team!

[b-ball-lunachick]

At Camden Yards (I forget the year) when the pitchers were shagging, one fan kept asking El Duque for his autograph in Spanish. "Mi hermano Cubano, por favor!" El Duque just ignored him. The guy got more desperate and then said he wanted it for his son. El Duque turned around and gestured as if to say, "Where is he?" The guy pointed to this blond kid next to him. El Duque waved him off and turned back around. Then the guy tried the Cuban connection one more time. "Mi hermano Cubano!" El Duque slowly turned around, glared at the guy and said with a dead serious look, in perfect English, "I'm from Panama." Mo was standing right next to him and completely cracked up. I got a picture of Rivera looking at the guy. It's hysterical.

During this same BP session, another guy kept hollering at David Wells to toss him a baseball. Boomer kept throwing the ball back toward the infield. When the guy yelled at him, "C'mon, Boomer - those balls only cost about $3.00 a piece!" Wells shot back, "Well go to K-Mart and buy one!"

ahh, cool el Duque story!! That same ST game where I offended Nelson, I saw El Duque standing on the top step and asked him for his autograph (I am still a HUGE el Duque fan! ) ..anyway, he was so cute about it -- he gave the slashing sign across his neck to say, then faked signing and pointed to the field...to tell me he "can't sign during the game". He made it up to us the next day.

[FingersCrossed]

he never did know how to throw strikes consistently

When I saw the at first glance, I thought this story was gonna be a heartbreaker.

[MattManNWO]

I totally feel you. I was the only person screaming Kei Igawa's name back in April. I asked him for the baseball that was in front of him as he was walking. He threw the ball to me, but there was such a cute little kid with a small Yankees hat on standing next to me. I had to give him the ball. I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.

Juan Rivera threw me a ball at BP at the stadium one day. No one else knew who he was, but I did. I felt sorta bad cause there were kids around but he threw it to me, I didn't want to be rude .

[MattManNWO]

Why thank you, hehe

I'm really enjoying this thread.

[DkNNy79]

The only experience I had was from 2002. I was watching batting practice from the right field bleachers. I asked Castillo (the backup catcher) for a ball and he threw one to me. I'm sure he just did it because I was the only one who said anything to him.

[DrNick]

Not mine but my cousins. She took her son to a game last year or the year before. They were there for batting practice. Her son was holding up a sign that read "Derek, your my Dave Winfield" (they had seen an interview with DJ and he had said how much he loved Winfield when he was growing up) SO DJ sees the sign and comes over and takes photos signs a bunch of balls hands the kid a bat. All in all pretty darn cool.

[Mattingly3-6-3]

I've caught quite a few balls in BP over the years...

Scott Downs from the Blue Jays was one of the nicest guys I've met. GOt there early on a weekday day game and there was no BP. He ended up signing my ticket and the kid next to me was pretty scared to ask him for a ball. I told him just to ask. So he did and he came right over and gave him one and signed it for him. YS was pretty empty as it was September and then the kid asks for his hat and he laughed and said he'll be right back. Finished his running then tossed it to him before he went back in the clubhouse.

Went to Toronto to see the Yanks play 2 years ago. Jeter hits a grounder to John Flaherty who is shagging in the OF. I yell to him hey Flaherty, came up from Rockland County to see you. Pearl River, NY. He tossed the ball right to me. I tried to get him to sign it but he didn't. The thing must have been used for BP all year as it is the most not round baseball I have ever seen. Still priceless to me.

Frank Catalanotto now of the Rangers is a cousin of mine.

[JHHALL1]

not a BP story or about dealing with players but i just heard about the dodgers openning an all you can eat buffet for $35 and a baseball game. sounds like my kind of way to watch a baseball game

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2728273

[goyankees]

i love the stories on here. hopefully, sometime in the future, i can experience a memorable bp just like all of you.

[35Knucklecurve]

This is a great idea for a thread. I love reading this kind of stuff!

When we were staying at the same hotel as the Yankees in Cleveland, two of us were eating in the lobby restaurant. Matsui, his interpreter and the Japanese media who follow him were all seated to our left. Moose was also there, in the back. He knew we were there because he was peeking around this big potted plant. That started us on a giggling fit. Matsui looked over at us with that classical expression on his face, which made things worse. Anyway, Mike got up to leave and just before he got to our table, my friend, who already had tears rolling down her face from laughing, cut a slice of melon and it shot clear across the table. That did it. Even Matsui cracked up. At that point Mike was straining every muscle not to loose it. As he passed us, I said to him, "All we can afford to eat here is the fruit. Give us a break." All he could do was say, "Uh-huh" and shake his head. Matsui pointed to us and nodded in approval. It was just too much.