It was a cold, rainy day, and we arrived at the ballpark as the weather finally started to get better. The field crew had put a tarp over the field the night before to keep the field from getting soaked, so only a couple of players were out stretching when we arrived. We walked to the Diamondbacks dugout, and waited to see if anyone would come out. Out of the dugout came J.J. Putz, the Diamondbacks All-Star closer, looking for his family in the stands. He brought his family on the field and chatted with them. He also took the time to show his nephew how to grip a baseball to throw a change-up. He finally hugged them goodbye and walked to the dugout where I was standing. He signed an autograph for a fan and when he was done, I asked him who his favorite baseball player was and why. He looked up at me and said, "Kirk Gibson, because he's my manager" and then he motioned for me to toss him the ball I was holding. I hadn't planned on asking him for an autograph, but how do you turn down an All-Star closer? I tossed him the ball and a pen and he said, "was that answer good enough for you?" and he laughed. I told him it was and he tossed the ball back and I thanked him for his time.
He cracked me up with his answer and I believe he meant when he said.
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