Meeting the All-Time All-Stars - We're Halfway There!

By

I recently attended the Pinstripe Pride autograph show in north Jersey, making it four straight years of meeting guys that I wrote about in The New York Yankees All-Time All-Stars. This year I secured the signatures of two more All-Time All-Stars, one a Hall of Famer, and one a favorite of my youth that had me a little star struck. Of the 17 living All-Time All-Stars in the book, those two bring me to ten signatures and over the halfway mark on this journey I started in 2023. It'll be tough sledding from here to get the remaining seven.

In addition to those two I also snagged the signature of one more Honorable Mention that was in attendance this year and had the honor of meeting a fan favorite and playoff hero of the 90's. It was a great experience, as usual, and I just hope that more guys in the book continue to show up at this event. Without further ado, here's the rundown.

Goose Gossage


I fully expected Goose to be a bit of a curmudgeon given his public persona about current baseball players in recent years. In reality, he was a delight, maybe because I'm not a current baseball player. After I explained that I chose him as an all-time great Yankee in the book, he immediately retorted incredulously, "Ahead of Mariano Rivera!?" I assured him that Mo was ahead of him in the book, which set him back at ease. He very deliberately put a nice, big signature in the book and thanked me for the copy I gave him. After a quick picture, I was on my way to meet one of my top five favorite Yankees.

Bernie Williams


I began to become a big-time baseball fan in my pre-teen years just as Bernie was developing into a major league star with the Yankees. He was easy to root for and so much fun to watch play because he just continued to get better year after year. As I handed him the book and told him about these things, Bernie didn't have much of a response because he got lost in reading the beginning of the chapter I wrote on him. While this was happening, the assistant next to him verified that I actually wrote the book and that it was published by a company and everything (this happens quite a bit during these encounters). Bernie eventually graced the page with a neat, clean signature and posed for the picture above. It was then that he realized that I was giving him his own copy of the book, which he was very appreciative for and gave me a virtual fist bump from a few feet away. As I begain to walk away I could then hear him confirm with the assistant that I wrote it, to which he said, "That's so cool..."

You guys, Bernie Williams thought that something I did was so cool! Someone please make sure that gets into my obituary.

When I later looked at his signature I noticed a subscript that had me confounded because I thought it said "SD6." After some internet sluething with the help of Mrs. Sez, we realized that it said S.D.G., and abbreviation for a Latin term meaning "Glory to God alone." Amen, Bernie!

Jason Giambi


The next day, with my son Seamus as a sidekick, we started things off by meeting Jason Giambi, an Honorable Mention in the book. While standing in line I couldn't help but notice that the Giambino looked....different. When it was our turn he also sounded different than I remember, but it was great encounter. I greeted him as Mr. Giambi, to which he said, "Please...call me Jason." I introduced Seamus as a lefty slugger, just like him when he played. He repsonded to Seamus, "Good thing I'm retired, you can't take my job..." I briefly told him about how in the book I called out his two home runs that kept the Yankees in the infamous Aaron Boone game against the Red Sox in 2003, a feat he seldom gets credited for. He was appreciative for that, and the copy of the book I gave him. After he squeezed in a signature next to Tino's in the book, we took a picture and he asked Seamus what position he plays. Seamus thought about it and said, "I play all around." Giambi encouraged him to keep at it and wished him luck. I walked away with a deeper respect for Jason.

Jim Leyritz


Jimmy looked like he could pick up a bat tomorrow and rope a pinch-hit double down the left field line if the Yankees needed him to. He's not in the book, but at last year's show his signature was free with an admission ticket so I bought a photo of his home run off Mark Wohlers in the 1996 World Series, hoping to get it signed. Alas, his time slot conflicted with Dave Winfield, so I missed out. I made good on it this year, telling him that when I was a kid in Little League I wanted to be just like Jim Leyritz, playing all over the field, including catcher. I also noted that Seamus is doing the same thing right now. "Seamus!" he exclaimed. He asked him is favortie position and Seamus made it clear that hitting was his favorite. Leyritz reminded Seamus that the most important thing when playing baseball is to have fun. He gave us a big smile for the camera, wished us well, and that put a bow on it for this year.

**********

Of all the signatures left to get, the most difficult one will likely be Derek Jeter. Not only does he rarely show up at autograph shows like this, but I've already had a meet and greet with him which unfortunately happened just before the book was published. Meeting a legend in person once is rare enough, twice could be too much to ask for. I may have to look elsewhere for the remaining signatures, but in the meantime, I'll hold out hope for getting some more at Pinstripe Pride 2027.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meeting More All-Time All-Stars - A Family Affair

By
Image
Over the past couple of years I've had the privilege of meeting some of the former Yankee players that I included in The New Yor Yankees All-Time All-Stars  and secured their signature in a copy of it. Earlier this month I was able to keep that going at the latest Pinstripe Pride show near Giants Stadium. This time around I went squad deep with my son Seamus, my brother Sean, and my nephew Tommy. Not only was it nice to have non-strangers to talk to while waiting on the lines, but they seemed to enjoy themselves as well. There was only one All-Time All-Star signing during the day we attended, but the lineup included three players that are in the book as Honorable Mentions, so we met them as well. As in the past, I gave each player we met a personalized, signed copy of the book before they signed what I'll now call the Master copy. In that book I now have autographs from eight of the 17 living All-Time All-Stars and three of the nine living Honorable Mentions. Sadly, I won...
Read more

Another Brief Stroll Through Baseball History Via Kenner's Starting Lineups

By
Image
Last summer I wrote about re-discovering my Starting Lineup collection during the pandemic. Since that time I've found some more that I acquired as a youth and used the power of the internet to continue to add to my collection. Since we're still more than a month away from Opening Day, it seems like a good time to take another gander at these quaint little pieces from the 1980's and 90's. I know I'm biased, but this crop is chock full of good stuff with some pleasant surprises mixed in. There's no better way to whet your baseball appetite as we head into 2021. Enjoy! 1988 This one was one of my favorites growing up. In the batter's box Dave Winfield was an imposing figure with long arms and legs that could reach anything that came his way. That's captured pretty well here and the face is instantly recognizable as Winny. The uniform deficiencies - especially early on - with Starting Lineups were covered pretty thoroughly in the last installment, but I...
Read more

Ranking the Plaques in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park - Part IV

By
Image
Last year I embarked on a journey to definitively rank the plaques that adorn the walls of Monument Park, lurking behind centerfield in Yankee Stadium. After a long pause, we're ready to bring you the thrilling conclusion and reveal the top eight pieces of bronze that thousands of Yankee fans flock to go see each year. I know the suspense has been killing you... One thing I learned in doing this project is that there is no perfect plaque in Monument Park. Much like the plaques in the Baseball Hall of Fame, even the best ones have their flaws. Regardless, if you have the time to stroll through them during your next trip to Yankee Stadium, these are the can't-miss plaques you should tell your friends about. A view inside Monument Park in New Yankee Stadium. Most of the plaques covered in this series sit behind the wall of retired numbers in the foreground. PVSBond/Wikimedia Commons As was the case previously, I won't share a picture of every plaque because they tend to run...
Read more