If you are at all familiar with this blog, you know that I am more than your average Braves fan. So, with that in mind, I should let you know that I battled freezing wind chills to obtain the autographs of some of my modern heroes. First and foremost, I withstood the biting winds to get the signature of one of the most dominating pitchers of our era: John Smoltz. This was the first opportunity to get his Hancock, and I waited for over two hours. But, as a bonus, rookie phenom Joey Devine was with him, so it ended up being a sort of happy hour session: Two for the price of one.
I then moved to Brian Jordan's table. He is the author of a couple children's books, and since I am expecting a child, I thought it would be great to get an autographed copy. Brian was gracious enough to not only sign the book I had purchased, he also took the time to sign my baseball and pose for a photograph. (He didn't have a blue ball point pen, so I let him keep mine.) I wish him luck in Spring Training. After all, he is invited as a non-roster player. He's going to have to earn a spot. Regardless, he is a true professional. And how many people can say that they have played in the MLB and the NFL? Jordan has played with the Falcons and the Braves!
Everything else was gravy. I went upstairs and obtained Ryan Langerhans'
signature. As he was signing, I made sure I congratulated him on his recent marraige. Then I jetted over to the other side of the stadium in hopes of getting the autograph of our newest addition, Edgar Renteria. No one was in the line when I arrived, and I knew he had beeen signing for about two hours. But, as luck would have it, I knew the guy who was organizing the line. Justin used to work with Paige at Gordon Biersch, and as I was speaking to him, Renteria waved me over and took the time to sign my baseball. What a class act! He's a great addition to the team, and I now, officially, have baseball fever. It's going to be a great season!
