Ron Washinton Former MLB Infielder Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros & Current Manager Of The Texas Rangers-June 19, 2012

Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1970, he spent 7 years in the minors before the Dodgers briefly called him up in 1977.  He batted .368 over the course of 10 games before being sent back to the minors.  In 1981, the Twins brought him up and he spent 9 seasons in the major leagues before retiring as a player in 1990.  He moved on to coaching, spending 5 years in the New York Mets system and in 1996, his former manager with the Astros Art Howe picked him to be on his coaching staff.  He coached 1B, 3B and worked with the infielders.  3B Eric Chavez credited Ron for helping him become a 6 time Gold Glove winner. On November 6, 2006, the Texas Rangers signed Ron Washington to become the manager of the team.  During his tenure, he has shown that he is a great manager who will use every man on the roster during the course of the year.  He wears his emotions on his sleeve in the dugout and is loved by his players. 

When the Rangers came here on their last home stand, I was able to ask Ron who he loved as a player.  “Dusty Baker, because when I first came to the majors, Dusty took care of me”, was the response from Ron.  He signed my well worn (and now retired from getting autographs on) ball.  Ron Washington is a nice man who proves to one and all that persistence pays off.  He never quit, he continued working hard, and now he’s one of the top managers in the game. 

I wasn’t able to get a picture with him, but my best friend Dr. Rebecca Herman did. She was granted a 30 minute interview with Ron to discuss a book she is working on.  Here is a picture of them together.

John D'Acquisto SP/RP San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A's-May 30th, 2012

Growing up as a kid in San Diego, I remember the 1978 season.  It was the first season my Padres finished over .500 at 84-78.  One of the key players for the Padres that season was a man named John D'Acquisto.  He was a first round draft pick of the Giants, and became the became the 1974 NL Rookie Pitcher of the year.  When he arrived with the Padres in 1977, he had already started the transition to the bullpen.  In 1978, he had his best season as a pitcher.  Spending most of the season in the bullpen, he pitched 93 innings, striking out 104 hitter with a 2.13 ERA and he had 10 saves.  Several times during that season, he came out of the bullpen to bail Rollie Fingers out of jams using his 95 MPH fastball (a fastball that you could hear all over the stadium when it hit the catcher's mit).  John continued his career until 1983, when arm injuries finally caused him to retire from the game he loved.  Through the years, I would always look back and remember that '78 season and could hear hear in my mind the call of the Padres PA announcer, "now coming into the game....#16...John D'Acquisto!" Such wonderful memories......

Fast forward to last year.  I was on Facebook one day when a name popped up that jarred all the memories of that season back; John D'Acquisto!  I couldn't believe it when I saw the name and I immediately requested him as a friend and he accepted my request.  I told him how much I liked him and remembered him playing when I was a kid, and he was so kind in his words and happy to hear I remembered him.  I finally worked up the courage to ask John the question who his favorite player was and why, and he graciously took the time to answer my questions.  His favorite players?  "Sandy Koufax, Juan Marichal and Nolan Ryan, but I was influenced by Koufax and Marichal."  He told me that he wore Marichal's #27 when he was in high school.  Knowing that he was with the Giants toward the end of Juan's career, I asked him if he ever worked with him while he was with the Giants.  He told me, "Yes I did..I was in spring training when I was 19 and had the pleasure to work with Juan in 71, 72, and 73 before I took his place and he was traded to Boston."   "He taught me a lot about the slider and how to bring my hand straight down and not wrap it because it could effect my control..Juan Marichal was a magician with control."  "I could remember when we were in the first day of spring training and Marichal was on the mound throwing and he was painting the corners with something on it and he hadn't done anything all winter long."  "Quite an amazing pitcher."

Thank you so much John for sharing your memories of your hero!  

Sargeant Slaughter Former AWA and WWF Heavyweight Champion-May 26th, 2012

Growing up in the 80's, I started watching professional wrestling as it started to become more mainstream.  As the WWF grew in popularity, other wrestling leagues starting getting tv time, and this is when I first heard the name Sargeant Slaughter.  He first appeared in the WWF, but moved to the AWA and became a huge name in the wrestling business, even branching out into a GI Joe character on their cartoon series!  He soon claimed the AWA Heavyweight Champion defeating Larry Zbyszko.  He continued to wrestle with the AWA until 1990, when he then jumped back to the WWF and after years of being a good guy, became a heel and defeated The Ultimate Warrior at The Royal Rumble to claim the Heavyweight title.  During this time, he was forced to wear a bullet proof vest due to death threats made by fans.  He later lost the title to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 7, and then once again became a good guy helping Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a match and he's remained a good guy ever since.  He served for a time as the WWF Raw Commissioner and currently is a goodwill ambassador for the now WWE.


I had the opportunity to meet The Sarge at a Lake Elsinore Storm baseball game.  He made an appearance to celebrate Memorial Day and to throw out the first pitch.  When I met him, I asked him not about wrestling, but baseball.  Who would a former WWF, AWA Champion love as a ballplayer?  "Mickey Mantle" said the former champ.  He talked about "growing up listening to baseball games on his transistor radio and the Yankees were the only team he could get on radio, so he became a Mickey Mantle fan."  He then took pictures with my kids and myself and of course, I asked to be put in his finishing hold for the picture.

Love the Sarge!

Kevin Quackenbush RP Lake Elsinore Storm-May 26th, 2012

Drafted  in the 8th round in the 2011 draft out of the University of South Florida, Kevin is quickly moving up.  He spent last year playing between Eugene and Fort Wayne compiling a 2-1 record with 18 saves with a 0.64 ERA, with 12 walks and 71 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched!  Currently, he is pitching with the Lake Elsinore Storm in the Cal League (A-Ball) and is tied for the league lead in saves with 10.


Kevin was doing an autograph signing at the ballpark right near our seats.  I walked over and told Kevin I was a blogger and gave him my card and asked him who his favorite player was.  Kevin's reply to me was "Roger Clemens" because "he was a great pitcher into his 40's and I grew up a Yankees fan watching Roger pitch."


I thanked him for his time and took a picture with him.  Good luck Kevin and I hope to see you at Petco soon.

Jeff Suppan SP San Diego Padres-May 20th, 2012

Drafted out of high school in 1993 by the Boston Red Sox, Jeff Suppan wasted little time climbing the major league ladder.  He made it  the majors with the Red Sox in 1995.  He has since played with Arizona, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Milwaukee and currently the San Diego Padres.  His best season came in 2005 with St. Louis where he compiled a 16-10 record with a 3.57 ERA.  In 2006, he won the National League Championship series MVP when he pitched 15 innings with a ERA of 0.60 and helped the Cardinals win the World Series.  In the off-season, you can catch Jeff at his restaurant Soup's Sports Grill located in Woodland Hills, CA.  

Before Sunday's game, I was able to chat with Jeff about who his favorite player was.  Jeff talked about how your favorite player "change as you get older."  As a kid, he really loved Mike Schmidt and tried to emulate him as a player, "hitting home runs" like Mike did with Philly.  He said he would think about it some more, so I hope to catch him again and see who else he mentions.

Micah Owings SP/RP San Diego Padres-May 18th 2012

Micah Owings is a complete major league player.  He's been a starting pitcher, a reliever, and has occasionally come off the bench as a pinch hitter.  Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft by the Arizona Diamondback, he moved through their minor league system quickly and by 2007 he was the Diamondbacks 5th starter.  His greatest claim to fame came on August 18th, 2007.  Pitching against the Atlanta Braves, he went 7 innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 7 batters.  What he did at the plate that night though was record breaking.  He went 4 for 5 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's and scored 3 runs.  His 11 total bases were the most by a pitcher in 50 years.  He has moved back and forth between the bullpen and the starting rotation during his career and last year had a record of 8-0 pitching for Arizona.  San Diego signed him in the off-season with the hope that he can become a starter here.


Arriving at the ballpark, we sat down to watch batting practice down in the right field area.  Our friend Luigi Novella had pointed out to us that Micah was working out in the outfield as he rehabs from an injury.  When Micah was done, Luigi called him over and started to talk to him.  I stood up and ask Micah if he would sign my ball and told him about my blog and asked him my question.  He said he had 2 favorite players, one hitter and one pitcher.  "Frank Thomas and Greg Maddux" was the answer he game me and the reason why? "Because both players cover both sides of the baseball spectrum".   I thanked him for his time and for the first time game him a card with my blog info so he could look it up.


I look forward to seeing you play again soon.  

Clayton Kershaw SP Los Angeles Dodgers 2012 National League Cy Young Award Winner-May 15th, 2012

Clayton Kershaw is a left handed starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers  His four seam fastball (which has been clocked at 95 MPH,) combined with a nasty curveball and change-up, makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball.  He was drafted right out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers with their first round draft pick (7th pick overall.)  He quickly moved up the through the Dodger minor league system and was called up May 24th 2008, and has been with the big club ever since. In 2011, Clayton compiled a 21-5 record with a 2.27 ERA, 5 complete games and 248 strikeouts and  won the National League Cy Young Award  When Clayton isn't blowing away hitter at the plate, he is spending time reaching out to those in need.  He is part of a non-profit group called Arise Africa, which helps spread the gospel and helps the poor.  Feel free to check them out-www.ariseafrica.org 


We arrived a few minutes after the gate opened and walked in and saw that Clayton was doing his in between starts work in the bullpen.  He threw for about 10 minutes, and when he got done, he tossed his ball to a young girl who was watching him throw.  He walked over to where I was standing and I handed him my ball and asked him who his favorite player was.  "Will Clark," he said without a hesitation.  When I asked him why, he said, "because he's from Dallas," which is where Clayton was born and grew up.  As he walked off, he took the time to sign one last autograph for the young girl who he tossed the ball to.  I was very impressed with how polite and friendly he was, and surprised that a man wearing a Dodger jersey would have for his favorite player a former Giant!  


All in all, baseball needs more players like Clayton Kershaw on...and more importantly, off the field.