Jimmy Sez

Last year I told the story of meeting Don Mattingly and from there committed to the quest of getting the rest of the living Yankees All-Time All-Stars to sign a copy of the book. Luckily, the folks at Hall of Fame Signings hosted another Pinstripe Pride event earlier this month in north Jersey. There, I was able to get the autographs of five more legends, which means seven of the 17 living All-Stars have now signed. While it was thrilling to meet each of the five who signed this year, I won't have nearly as much to say about the encounter as I did with Donnie Baseball. Ya know, you only get to meet your childhood hero for the first time once. So here's a brief description of each exchange with a picture of my ugly mug next to some guys that you'd much rather see. Before digging in, I do need to give a shout out to Hall of Fame Signings for a dramatically improved experience at the event for 2024. There was far more space at the venue, organization, and predictability wh...

The first baseball game I ever attended was at Shea Stadium, mostly because I lived only three miles away from it. Shea wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing place in the world, but in the mid-1980's it was a perfect place to get a kid hooked on baseball. There was a palpable buzz in the crowded stadium at all times. As you shuffled through the dimly lit concourse the air was filled with a delightful smell concocted of hot dogs, popcorn, burnt pretzels and stale beer. The distinct aroma of baseball. Once you found your section number within the concourse, you literally saw a light at the end of a tunnel. As you ascended up a ramp towards that light, excitement built with every step until you found the diamond that you came for, under the brightest lights you've ever seen and surrounded by grass that was impossibly green. I remember thinking, "I never wanna leave this place." Millions of baseball fans across the country have likely had similar experiences in place...