With my favorite Giant, Matt Cain!
On Friday my dad, another friend and myself drove up to the Marriot Marquis hotel in the city. After some wandering around and a terrifying moment when a security guard told me that only people 18 or over were admitted (he was joking) we found the reception. There were hundreds of Giants fans clamoring for autographs, trying to snap pictures, and checking out cool pictures and other game gear for sale. My favorite sports players had never been this accessible before, I'm not an autograph hawk and the closest I've been to players was leaning over the railing last year at the Giants spring training facility in Scottsdale.
I got autographs from closer Brian Wilson, catcher Buster Posey, (#2 catching prospect in all of baseball) outfielder Fred Lewis, starting pitcher Matt Cain, third baseman Juan Uribe and relief pitcher Dan Runzler. Everyone wanted Sandoval and Lincecum's and there were huge lines so I didn't get their signatures.
After the signing period everyone went to their tables and ate lunch. Some of the tables had a Giants player or coach and a Junior Giants. Dan Runzler sat at our table. There was a brief moment of panic because nobody knew who he was, all we knew was that his name was Dan and he was on the team. Luckily though someone looked him up on their iPhone underneath the table. And, to our credit, he's a rookie this year. Dan was really friendly and talkative and not only answered all of our questions, but made an effort to talk to the kids at the table. It's nice to see a pro baseball player be so down to earth and friendly. He could have been a jerk and ignored us while texting on his cellphone, but he was engaging and cool. Thanks, Dan.
After lunch there was a silent auction, speeches from executives and announcers and a Q & A onstage with some of the players.
Thoughts and tidbits from the lunch:
B-Dubs (Brian Wilson) is every bit as cool in real life as he is on tv. He was rocking a blue v-neck with a mohawk and I asked him what the tattoo on his wrist means. I've always wanted to know what it meant, Wilson is heavily tattooed and every time he gets a save you get a glimpse of it when he does his trademark move. He said that it means "All honor to him" in Gaelic. No idea what it means or if he's Gaelic, but that's sick. Also, during the Q & A a Junior Giant asked Jeremy Affeldt which Giant he would want to be for a day, and he said B-Dubs. "Just getting inside that guy's dome for 5 minutes would be awesome!" said Affeldt.
Buster Posey is young, he's only 23, and definitely looks like the baby on the team. I'm excited to see him in a few years, elite catchers are so rare and valuable in baseball these days and besides Baltimore's Matt Wieters, #28 is the best catching prospect in the game.
I felt bad for the lesser known Giants who didn't have many people looking for their autograph during the "Play Ball Lunch." It's partly because people don't know who they are and don't want to embarrass themselves and the player by not knowing the guy's name. In a way though they're lucky that they don't have stacks of fan mail waiting for them each day; these players still get to be professional baseball players while still maintaining some privacy.
As one friend said, "Zito's out here modeling, he's just a model." Barry Zito was sporting a purple sweater and carried himself very classily.
Lincecum is a funky looking dude when he's not in his uniform. If you think he looks undersized and unusual with his long hair, he looked especially different at the lunch. He's thin, pale and small, but nobody can argue with 2 Cy Young awards in only 2 full seasons in the bigs.
Pablo Sandoval looks like a cool guy to hang out with. Even though he doesn't speak much English, during the autograph signing and the Q & A he seemed outgoing and exuberant. Pabs!
You don't want to mess with Juan Uribe. Sandoval was asked who he would least want to wrestle on the team and he said Uribe. I agree. Uribe's 6 feet tall, but 230 pounds and a mean looking dude.
When asked "If you met [rock star] Bon Jovi, what would you ask him?" new left fielder Mark DeRosa responded "How do you feather your hair so perfectly?" Seems like a funny guy.
Dan Runzler is a 6'4" left-handed relief pitcher out of UC Riverside. He was drafted in 2007 and made his debut in September of last season. Runzler pitched in 11 games last year and had a 1.04 ERA. He said that he was pleased with his pitching in spring training and didn't give up any earned runs and struck out 17 in only 10.1 innings.
Runzler talked about reporting early for spring training and the bullpens and endless amount of fielding practice. We asked him if he got to take any BP at all, but he said he only got to bunt. (bummer!) He said he hung out with Wilson a lot and that Lincecum blasts music in the clubhouse. He played in the Cape Cod league out east and in college played against Steven Strasburg, Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitski. Runzler said that when he flew with the team last year they got bused right up to the plane, no waiting in security, and got sweet food and drink when flying. They have chefs in the clubhouse that whip up omelets in morning and cook the whole day. He said he only lives a few blocks from the park and that most guys live in the city, with a few in Walnut Creek and he walks to the stadium. He's sponsored by Rawlings and receives 5 brand new Rawlings gloves each year. He said that new first baseman Aubrey Huff is a kick in the clubhouse, Huff was wearing plaid purple pants at the lunch. Bobby Evans, VP of baseball operations is guy in the front office he sees the most and Willie Mays is around the clubhouse 3 or 4 times a week. Dan said that when he gets a visit for pitching coach Dave "Rags" Righetti he mostly is just out there to calm him down. Lastly, and this gives me encouragement, Runzler believes the NL West is "legitimately" up for grabs. Don't count the Giants out, they'll contend with the Dodgers and Rockies with their great pitching staff.
It was so cool getting to see these players in person outside of their uniforms, it puts a personality on these players that you don't normally see. I'm pumped for a great year of Giants baseball.
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