Today was by far my favorite day of this whole week.. I am making that call now and unless the IL team gives me the call to pitch the 9th inning of the All Star game.. it isn’t going to top today!
As many of you know, today was supposed to be a workout/practice day for both teams but it rained. Forecasts call for more tomorrow so be prepared. Now comes the good part. Instead of canceling the free event (no parking, no admission fee) the Ironpigs set up an autograph session for every player participating in the All Star game.
I got there about 2:15 and around 2:30 the International League team came out to tables, similiar to the team autograph session held earlier for the Ironpigs. I grabbed an All Star program and got in line. The crowd was small for The Coke’s standards.. I would estimate about 500 people.. and I was able to obtain autographs from all of the IL players there. After about an hour an announcement was made and the Pacific Coast League players came out and did the same. I got all the autographs. It seemed everyone got all the autographs. Now that is cool in itself. I am not a huge autograph hound but it was great interacting with the players who were very friendly and accomodating. The shorter lines probably had something to do with that. Only one player, I won’t name him and to be honest I don’t know how to pronounce his name, was less than friendly. One out of 40 some guys.. not bad.
Got to meet Jesus Montero and ask him his opinion on the possible trade of himself to Seattle for Cliff Lee that fell through and his response was, “I’m happy where I am, but I am happy wherever I go.” Great attitude to have for a young prospect.
Joked around with Pawtucket outfielder Bubba Bell who laughed and asked me to take it easy on him when he found out that the Noise Nation was responsible for the Left Right Left cheer during home games in The Coke.
I had to ask Fresno’s Mike McClendon if he was any relation to former player and manager Lloyd McClendon and he smiled and said he wasn’t. There was not much of a resemblence but I had wondered.
Got to talk to both Andy Tracy and Dan Johnson about last night’s HR derby and both concentrated on complementing their opponents and that they came out to have fun and put on a show for the fans.
All in all this was a great group of guys who really came out and took time to sign for us fans. There was Ironpig’s management mingleing with the crowd. I saw Chuck Domino out there, trainer Jason Kirkman telling stories of getting through airport security with a World Series ring and even Robbie Aaron and Alex Cohen of the Ironpig’s radio team.
You have to take a step back and look at how awesome this idea was. The rain out of Pigapalooza and the soggy, yet exciting HR derby last night put a damper on the event as a whole but the organization really hit one over the wall with this impromptu dealing with the situation of yet another rain affected event. Thanks to all involved and whoever thought of this.. I owe you a beer!
Leaving The Coke via the Union Blvd exit I thought my excitement was over but entering the intersection by the LSI building a man stepped out in front of us causing my friend to slam on the brakes. As we came to a stop, we got a big smile and wave from none other than Ironpig Scott Mathieson. We waved back and told him to be more careful as we needed him to stay healthy. He laughed and flashed another of his trademark smiles and we went on our way.
Like I said, my favorite day of this week.
See you at the All Star Game tomorrow!
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
What about the game tonight, was our company that bad??? Maybe we didn’t feed you enough!
lol it ain’t over yet 🙂 and there definately wasn’t enough food.. HA! Thanks again for having me over!
Oh Dan, you and your friend are lucky. I think if you had hit Mathieson, Laura would have KILLED you.
I really wish I would have been able to make it. Alas, work got in my way. That might have been one reason for the small crowd, Dan. It was 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon, a lot of people have to work during that time, and since it was last minute most probably couldn’t get out. When the practice day was first announced it was said that the players WOULD NOT be available for autographs, so most people weren’t planning to attend.
We did see 2 of the Pacific Coast players during our girls lunch at the A-town Brewworks today, though. Laura and I can spot baseball players from a mile away in street clothes, LOL. Brock Bond and Steve Edlefsen both of the Fresno Grizzlies were seated one table behind us. Heather said during the autograph session Brock was especially nice to Tyler and Alex, guess he recognized them as the 2 crazy balls of energy that we were having to yell at to sit down.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Kudos to everyone who organized the event, but more importantly, the players, who signed autographs. The PCL coaches were very nice and commented on me for being a good mom to instill manners in my children. That put a smile on my face. The players were very nice and a few were even joking around with Alex, who was wearing an Eagles jersey (this is what happens when you let your 4 year old dress himself before going to a BASEBALL event).
I just hope the rain is out of here by 3pm to get this game in tonight!!
As you know, I usually try to stay positive and defend the ‘Pigs against the ‘haters’; however, I’m going to give the dissenting opinion here:
I’m glad the day came off OK, and that everyone had a good time. I’m glad the players were so accommodating. But, I would really have liked the ‘Pigs to have provided better communication throughout this All-Star Week (presented by Lehigh Valley…):
Example 1: I’m not saying that postponing the Pigapalooza wasn’t the correct decision, I’m just saying they shouldn’t have promoted it as a ‘rain or shine’ event. Severe weather is always a possibility. Just wait, and make the decision when you have to.
Example 2: With rains upon us–somewhat of a surprise to me based on the radar when I left my office at 4PM–there was no communication whatsoever from the IronPigs with regards to the plans for the HR Derby. No texts, no Tweets, no email, nothing on the web site, no PA announcements (in the club level). The guy next to me even called someone from the front office who replied, “we don’t know what we’re gonna do yet” at around 8PM. We were trapped in the club level with no food or drin… OK, that part isn’t true. 😉
Example 3: Very explicitly stated that no autographs would be available at the workout day. Then, behold, ALL autographs were available…
(I’m not an autograph collector at all, but my kids would have loved it. And, I had an office full of patients who would have been unhappy if I’d left them all of a sudden in the middle of the day…)
Look, I understand that they made lemonade out of the lemons. Fine to give the kudos for that. All I’m saying is, if you’ve got a lemon tree in the back yard, maybe start thinking about what you’re gonna do with the lemons before they get ripe. And, certainly, don’t invite your friends over and promise that there’s gonna be “No Lemonade At All” if you think there’s maybe a chance of making lemonade.
On a brighter note: looks all clear by 5PM. Keeping my fingers crossed.
To clarify example 1 and 2 above: I wasn’t looking for an answer about the derby, just some kind of message to let us know that they were still going to try to get it in if the thunder/lightning would stop. Not a final answer, just any kind of message.
Nicely worded and valid points. Looking to future, I think the organization has learned valuable lessons and, (in the past the team has often applied fan feedback to their plan), we can look forward to bigger and better as time goes on. Think we could lure the Rangers to the Lehigh Valley?
Also wanted to note.. the line “We don’t know what we’re gonna do yet” made me spray a mouthful of cream soda across my brand new keyboard and monitor 🙂
The Texas Rangers or the New York Rangers? 🙂