The Washington Nationals are a young team managed by veteran manager Jim Riggleman (who recently stepped down as their manager). Each night, we entered early, and were treated to some very classy players. Danny Espinosa signed each night, taking time to talk to fans. The biggest surprise was veteran catcher (and future Hall of Fame) catcher Ivan Rodriguez sitting down for 20 minutes Saturday night signing anything anyone brought to him. He used an usher to organize a line and took time with each person who came to him. Jayson Werth signed a couple of baseballs as did Drew Storen. The only guy who ignored the fans was Tyler Clippard. Overall, the team was wonderful and to be able walk up to a future Hall of Famer was great.
The night was capped by running into a legendary manager/scout named Dave Garcia. Formerly a manager for the Indians and Angels, he is now a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He sits down during batting practice talking to friends and fans and answering questions. As he walked off, I walked over and asked him to sign my ball. I asked for him to sign the sweet spot and he did. He said he was sorry his signature wasn't clear, but I told him I loved it and it was just fine.
It was a wonderful 4 game weekend, even though the Padres lost 3 of 4. We got to see Anthony Rizzo's debut and got his autograph and saw how organized he is (read Rizzo's Rules below). Best part of baseball is spending time with your friends and I'm blessed to have been there with my kids as well as my best friend Rebecca.
Gotta love baseball :-)
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