shaq to phoenix is finalized

[Phaded]

i'm a suns fan and i'm actually pretty happy with the trade..

the way i see it we traded grant hill for shawn marion and if boris diaw starts playing better it'll work out nicely..

and kurt thomas for shaquille oneal..

i also think shaq will get a fire under his ass again to bring another title to a diff city..

los angeles.. miami.. now phoenix.. then he retires..

also nash, amare and shaq are my 3 fav players in the league ..

def just ordered nba ticket for the rest of the season..

 

[Lestat]

I'm a Suns fan too bro. Suns and Kings are my two teams. Its where my family is from (both places). Loved the Charles Barkley era in Phoenix.

 

[Phaded]

i'm new blood suns fan.. met amare downtown orlando actually hung out with him and he was cool as shit to some weird drunk kid he didn't even know(me) so suns became my team..

i think that was his rookie year.. anyhow how can you not be a fan of their team they gotta be the most exciting team to watch in the nba..

i think this trade puts us in the finals this year.. marion wanted out and was playing like horseshit lately anyhow..

 

[Lestat]

i'm new blood suns fan.. met amare downtown orlando actually hung out with him and he was cool as shit to some weird drunk kid he didn't even know(me) so suns became my team..

i think that was his rookie year.. anyhow how can you not be a fan of their team they gotta be the most exciting team to watch in the nba..

i think this trade puts us in the finals this year.. marion wanted out and was playing like horseshit lately anyhow..

yeah he was unhappy.

Suns have always been fun to watch, I started watching when they have Kevin Johnson at point guard and he brought some excitement to the game. Barkley in low post. Dan Marjerle (spelling) as the 3 point guy. Only weakness was center.

 

[puddlemonkey]

I think I still have a pair of signed Dan Majerle shoes he gave me when the Suns were playing the Sonics years back early 90's or so. All the suns were cool, KJ, Miller, Green, etc. Even Barkley was nice, though he called me ugly in the elevator

 

[Lestat]

I think I still have a pair of signed Dan Majerle shoes he gave me when the Suns were playing the Sonics years back early 90's or so. All the suns were cool, KJ, Miller, Green, etc. Even Barkley was nice, though he called me ugly in the elevator

lol. that is an honor bro

 

[puddlemonkey]

lol. that is an honor bro

lol I guess it can be looked at that way... I think I still have the 8x10 photo he signed. I probably have a good 5,000+ autographs sitting in storage.

 

[gotmilk]

how long will he last with a bum hip and the way they run up and down the court?

 

[Lestat]

how long will he last with a bum hip and the way they run up and down the court?

2 weeks

 

[Phaded]

i think they'll figure a way to work his ass in.. suns problem is when they get stopped on their fast break.. feed that shit in to him when they get stopped opens up the 3 pointers for bell/nash/barbosa/diaw/hill.. i think suns will dominate with him.. only time will tell..

barkley is fucking hillarious

 

[Wulfgar]

I think it is a terrible move by the suns

7 seconds or less? The only place shaq gets in 7 seconds is to the Buffet line at sizzler

He is the opposite of what the suns stand for

it will be VERY interesting seeing how this works out.

 

[redsamurai]

He's there for one reason and one reason only.......to nullify Duncan in the playoffs. They're not going to use him every game........Amare or someoneelse will play center for most of the rest of the season. Shaq will just come in to spell people......keep his playing time low. They're not going to work him in there on a daily basis because he negates what they're team is built around. But it's going to be sick when they have him in there with Stoudemire.

 

[Phaded]

this game tonight is fucken great

 

[calveless wonder]

rationalization...

that trade sucks for them. they could have gotten a much better player than Shaq for Marion. Shaq is really old and beaten down, i've flipped through enough heat games to see that day in and day out. All that mileage on a formerly 360-380 lb body...

they still gotta wait a couple of years for the cap space. might as well have let marion go to save cap space

he won't fit in with that offense at all

 

[calveless wonder]

He's there for one reason and one reason only.......to nullify Duncan in the playoffs. They're not going to use him every game........Amare or someoneelse will play center for most of the rest of the season. Shaq will just come in to spell people......keep his playing time low. They're not going to work him in there on a daily basis because he negates what they're team is built around. But it's going to be sick when they have him in there with Stoudemire.

that makes sense...but i still think they could have gotten greater value for Marion. The Matrix is a stud....

could have gotten a pretty good young player and some draft picks for him

 

[SaladFork]

I like Nash also, he looks like Luke Skywalker, specialy when he had the long hair.

 

[borris]

only thing that comes good out of this trade for Phoenix-


1. Shaq will give them the big, physical presence they sorely lack on both ends of the floor.

2. Shaq will enable Amare Stoudemire to play his true and preferred position of power forward, which will make Amare more effective, possibly increasing his scoring and rebounding numbers.

3. Steve Nash will make Shaq a bigger scorer than he currently is in Miami because of his ability to create easy baskets for the big fella. Plus, the Suns' 3-point shooting ability will open things up for Shaq inside.

 

[nimbus]

rationalization...

Shaq is really old and beaten down, i've flipped through enough heat games to see that day in and day out. All that mileage on a formerly 360-380 lb body...

icey-hot patch niggaaaaaa

 

[heavy_duty]

lol I guess it can be looked at that way... I think I still have the 8x10 photo he signed. I probably have a good 5,000+ autographs sitting in storage.

woahh WTF?

 

[hurricane]

that makes sense...but i still think they could have gotten greater value for Marion. The Matrix is a stud....

could have gotten a pretty good young player and some draft picks for him

YEA MAN REALLY .. givin up a young all-star for an over the hill all-star .. bad move suns

 

[heavy_duty]

fat guys sell tickets

 

[borris]

lol I guess it can be looked at that way... I think I still have the 8x10 photo he signed. I probably have a good 5,000+ autographs sitting in storage.

lol 5,000??? that's like an autograph from everyplayer in baseb, basketb, and football in the last 20 years

 

[puddlemonkey]

lol 5,000??? that's like an autograph from everyplayer in baseb, basketb, and football in the last 20 years

Not even close. My brother and I were "autograph hounds" as they use to call us. We hit up every single Mariners game, Seahawks, and Sonics. Not only that, but we'd head to the airport for certain teams, we knew what hotels all the visiting teams stayed in, we went to all the Sonics practices, etc. Steve Scheffler would give us the times and dates for the Sonics practices even though they were suppose to be hush hush. Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, and Vincent Askew were always asking us how we knew where and when they were practicing. We never ratted Steve out though, he was our Sonic source. Memorabilia dealers would give us their wish list of who they wanted signed and on what. My brother paid off his truck doing this, I bought a bunch of random shit, there was incredible money in autographs back when we did it. We even bought a camcorder and started recording each player signing team balls and stuff, cause there's no better certificate of authenticity than seeing the player sign that particular items for yourself. Of course we charged a premium for this. Many many memories from my childhood meeting sports figures. Hung out with Ellis Burks (not sure if anyone would remember him now) in his hotel room, Charles Barkley calling me ugly in a elevator because I wouldn't leave him alone, Nation Inquirer guy telling me if I get a pic of Madonna and Barkley together in that hotel that there was $5,000 in it for me (Barkley and Madonna was the rumor back then), David Robinson helping a homeless dude out that wasn't even asking for it, Edgar Martinez recognizing me during batting practice walks over and hands me his bat. I have the ball Randy Johnson warmed up with when he threw his no hitter against Detroit June 2, 1990. Bob Didier was the warmup/bullpin coach, he's the one that handed it to me before the game started. I could go on forever. I'll try to score some pics for you guys, I gotta shower now.



lol@Scheffler having a wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Scheffler

lolx2@Bob Didier having one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Didier

 

[borris]

Not even close. My brother and I were "autograph hounds" as they use to call us. We hit up every single Mariners game, Seahawks, and Sonics. Not only that, but we'd head to the airport for certain teams, we knew what hotels all the visiting teams stayed in, we went to all the Sonics practices, etc. Steve Scheffler would give us the times and dates for the Sonics practices even though they were suppose to be hush hush. Nate McMillan, Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, and Vincent Askew were always asking us how we knew where and when they were practicing. We never ratted Steve out though, he was our Sonic source. Memorabilia dealers would give us their wish list of who they wanted signed and on what. My brother paid off his truck doing this, I bought a bunch of random shit, there was incredible money in autographs back when we did it. We even bought a camcorder and started recording each player signing team balls and stuff, cause there's no better certificate of authenticity than seeing the player sign that particular items for yourself. Of course we charged a premium for this. Many many memories from my childhood meeting sports figures. Hung out with Ellis Burks (not sure if anyone would remember him now) in his hotel room, Charles Barkley calling me ugly in a elevator because I wouldn't leave him alone, Nation Inquirer guy telling me if I get a pic of Madonna and Barkley together in that hotel that there was $5,000 in it for me (Barkley and Madonna was the rumor back then), David Robinson helping a homeless dude out that wasn't even asking for it, Edgar Martinez recognizing me during batting practice walks over and hands me his bat. I have the ball Randy Johnson warmed up with when he threw his no hitter against Detroit June 2, 1990. Bob Didier was the warmup/bullpin coach, he's the one that handed it to me before the game started. I could go on forever. I'll try to score some pics for you guys, I gotta shower now.

lol@Scheffler having a wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Scheffler

lolx2@Bob Didier having one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Didier

u should sell that shit on Ebay... still callin BS on 5k though

MLB = 750
NBA = 500
NFL = 1600
2850 total players...... give or take 100 new players into the league each year is pretty close to 5k in the last 10 years (taking into fact that you did it for 10 years)

 

[puddlemonkey]

u should sell that shit on Ebay... still callin BS on 5k though

MLB = 750
NBA = 500
NFL = 1600
2850 total players......

You're not understanding... you don't just get 1 of each player and call it good. I bet I've got 40+ of some players. I found some pics in a drawer, now I gotta figure out how to take pictures of pictures since I don't have a scanner. I can always take better pics next time I'm in storage.

 

[borris]

you went up to the same players 40 times and asked for their autograph??? lol? *stalker alert*

 

[borris]

We hit up every single Mariners game, Seahawks, and Sonics.

lol @ "I'm not a Seattle fan, my teams are Mavs, Saints, Longhorns"

 

[puddlemonkey]

you went up to the same players 40 times and asked for their autograph??? lol? *stalker alert*

Correct, total stalker material.

 

[puddlemonkey]

lol @ "I'm not a Seattle fan, my teams are Mavs, Saints, Longhorns"

Yeah, cause I'm gonna fly to Texas to get autographs lol


I grew up in Seattle during my "autograph years" (mid 80's to mid 90's)
My brother and I focused more on visiting teams than local. We did local because they were a great seller.

 

[jestro]

Did you get a black eye from Randy Johnson?

 

[puddlemonkey]

Did you get a black eye from Randy Johnson?

lol no. Most would call him an asshole, but he was just quiet and didn't care much for the media attention he got in Seattle. I did get the no hitter ticket stub signed.

 

[redsamurai]

lol no. Most would call him an asshole, but he was just quiet and didn't care much for the media attention he got in Seattle. I did get the no hitter ticket stub signed.

puddle......I gotta ask bro, how much are those autographs really worth? I mean an autographed card of a player is one thing, but just getting a piece of paper, like a ticket stub.....how much could that possibly be worth?

 

[puddlemonkey]

puddle......I gotta ask bro, how much are those autographs really worth? I mean an autographed card of a player is one thing, but just getting a piece of paper, like a ticket stub.....how much could that possibly be worth?

I don't usually get ticket stubs signed, I did this one because it was his no hitter game. My brother and I focused in getting game used stuff like bats, balls, shoes, etc. We also got a ton of cards signed too. To give you an idea, we sold our Sonic team balls for $175 to dealers, they'd turn around and sell them for $250-$350. And this was 15 or so years ago. We could usually do 2-3 game balls in a practice. Waiting after the games for autographs is a waste of time for the most part, every damn kid and his mother is out there hoping for even just one player to stop and sign. Most avoided it and went straight to their cars because the crowds were too large. Shawn Kemp use to leave out the back to avoid crowds, he'd park at the QFC instead of the players parking lot. Only a handful of people knew about this, his deal was if you kept your pie hole shut and not tell anyone, he'd sign for you.


I'm working on some pics of the photos I found in my drawer to shut borris up. Just not sure how cell phone pics of pics is gonna turn out...

 

[puddlemonkey]

A net and a bunch of signed basketballs

You can see some game used shoes in this pic, as well as game used bats in the corner

More game used shoes. It took us all season but we got the entire sonics teams shoes including coach Karl. Hardest to get was Ricky Pierce and Sam Perkins. Perkins must have told me he doesn't give things out a million times, then one night after a game he walks out with shoes in his hands scanning the crowd for me. It completed the set so I was pretty stoked! Ended up getting a couple thousand for that set from a diehard fan.

 

[puddlemonkey]

The "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas

My brothers condo. We had so much shit we lined things up above the cabinets and in the bathroom

David Robinson and what appears to be Detlef Schrempf (He was a popular Seattle player among fans and a good seller)

 

[puddlemonkey]

Brother and I were allowed court side during a pre-game shoot around one time, snagged some pics. Here's dominique wilkins

Tickets!

Shaq at a hotel sporting Niner gear. This was during his Orlando Magic days

 

[redsamurai]

wasnt' there a movie about guys that did this? With Deniro and snipes?

 

[puddlemonkey]

Autographed game balls! Lets see who I recognize after all these years... Reggie Jackson is the top one, Rod Carew, Tony Olivia, Darren Daulton, Mike Greenwell (lol), Cecil Fielder, eh... I'd have to break the balls out to figure out the rest

Autographed footballs

 

[puddlemonkey]

wasnt' there a movie about guys that did this? With Deniro and snipes?

Sounds familiar for some reason, but I'm not much of a movie buff.

 

[Phaded]

you the man puddle

 

[puddlemonkey]

Once I get into storage I can take some good pics of some sweet stuff, although it wont stop borris from calling me out on everything lol. These were some photos sitting in my drawer for whatever reason, I didn't post any of the ones that I was in. Last thing I need is me as a 15 year old photoshopped all over EF.

 

[Phaded]

you have to number each item and take a pic..

 

[puddlemonkey]

He'll probably want some cock shots too.

 

[puddlemonkey]

Special one for borris

 

[borris]

so you have several pics of a few balls signed, and the other 4,970 are just stashed away in some garage lol

 

[Phaded]

suns will be a dominating team when shaq is back

 

[borris]

suns will be a dominating team when shaq is back

Suns got the shit end of the stick.. imo.... but they'll still be real good

 

[puddlemonkey]

so you have several pics of a few balls signed, and the other 4,970 are just stashed away in some garage lol

Correct, the "scrub books" as we call them has thousands of cards signed. There are two of those, pages and pages of autos. Its where we keep the non-star autographs on cards, although last time I flipped through it I noticed a Sammy Sosa rookie signed. I'm half tempted to make the drive and go get it, but something tells me even that effort wont shut you up.

 

[borris]

or maybe the fact that it's just hard to believe at age 15 you where able to run into 5 different pro athletes every single day for 5 years straight lol

 

[Phaded]

what i got out of 5k was he had a ton of autographs..

 

[puddlemonkey]

or maybe the fact that it's just hard to believe at age 15 you where able to run into 5 different pro athletes every single day for 5 years straight lol

Fool, I was doing this when you probably still shit your pants. I got my first autograph in 1986, I didn't stop until around 1993.

 

[puddlemonkey]

My brother came over to pick up some movies I burned for him. He swung by storage and grabbed me a couple things. Not what I asked for, he laughed when I requested bats and shoes and shit. He did however bring me a few cool items, including one of the scrub books. I'll post pics in a few, even though it clearly wont make borris happy.

 

[Faizakafez]

Fool, I was doing this when you probably still shit your pants. I got my first autograph in 1986, I didn't stop until around 1993.

fuck your old...

 

[puddlemonkey]

Tickets! Couple Seattle vs Cavs for borris, and Patriots from '93

Sandy Koufax ball signed for my father, the Randy Johnson no hitter ticket stub I mentioned earlier

Lets see... bunch of Reggie White and Bruth Smith rookies... Emmitt and Aikman rookies... Randy Moss and Manning rookies... botton left one that didn't come out is a Kellen Winslow Sr rookie for borris

 

[puddlemonkey]

Racing fans? Dale Earnhardt signed, as well as a bunch of Jeff Gordon, Ernie Ervin, and others I can't read and I already put them away

McGwire and Canseco autos back when they played together on the A's. Back then Canseco was a very difficult autograph to get. I'm sure nowdays he's happy if anyone even recognizes him

Bunch of Bo Jackson rookies, Bonds rookies, McGwire rookie, Gwynn rookie, etc

 

[puddlemonkey]

Ton of Randy Johnson rookies

Dr J, Moses Malone, David Robinson, Karl Malone x2, Dominique Wilkins, Akeem The Dream, Rodman rookies. And a Brad Daugherty rookie for borris

Scrub book

Random middle page... I see Sandy Alomar Jr, Jim Edmonds, Mike Campbell, Bill Buckner LOLOLLllOlOL

 

[puddlemonkey]

I should pull that Buckner card out and personalize it to MM69, maybe a little "best wishes... your hero, Bill Buckner"

 

[puddlemonkey]

fuck your old...

I know

 

[Phaded]

fuck let me buy some shit off you. i could donate it to my dads church.

 

[puddlemonkey]

You want that high demand Bill Buckner card don't you? Don't lie! I can't sell anything as I may have to ship it all to borris for validation.

 

[Phaded]

ill take the kurt rambis rookie signed goggles

 

[puddlemonkey]

LOL I do have some strange/obscure stuff signed like that. I have a signed sock of an old Seahawk player, forgot who. Some wrist bands signed by one of the starting CBs. Had Eric Hansen (pitcher) tax info, but I gave that back to him. He left it on top of his car when he stopped to sign for us, then drove off and forgot about it. Brought it back the following night and he hooked me up with some game balls and a Omar Vizquel bat. My childhood rocked, good times, good times.

 

[Faizakafez]

Hey puddle,

How did you get all the autographs? like were you those hardcore guys waiting in line for meet and greets or did u camp outside the players entrance

 

[puddlemonkey]

Hey puddle,

How did you get all the autographs? like were you those hardcore guys waiting in line for meet and greets or did u camp outside the players entrance

Mostly the way other people didn't know how to. Most just stand around after the game with a crowd of 100-200 people and hope for the best. Complete waste of time, if you're lucky 3-4 players might stop and sign. My brother and I would hit up hotels, practices, pretty much stalk the players everywhere they went. Of course there are unwritten rules of autograph seeking that we always followed. One, never approach a player when he's with family. And two, never approach a player when he's eating. Otherwise, he's fair game. Many players knew us by name and either embraced our dedication or despised it. I'll give you an example of a typical night for us.

Baseball season... depending on if we can find out when the visiting team is arriving we may head to the airport first. We'd usually be the only ones at the airport and its hit or miss on autos there. But when it is hit you generally hit big. I remember my record being 12 autographs from one player in one day. Once they get loaded up on their bus, my bro and I raced to the hotel. At the hotel there was usually the same 10 or so guys week in and week out, all the serious autograph hounds knew each other. There were a couple kids from Canada that came down often and sometimes stayed with my brother and I when they wanted to do overnighters or part of a 4 game series. At the hotel when the bus rolls in you need to know exactly who you're hitting up for signatures because they all get off at the same time. My brother and I would always have a gameplan for everything. Once all the players were off the bus we'd head home (many teams fly in the night before a series starts).

The next day we'd have to decide if we want to start at the hotel or hit the ballpark a few hours early. Sometimes we'd start at the visiting teams hotel and when the best player comes out to his cab we'd get his autograph and then race the cab to the ballpark to try and score it again. If we go straight to the ballpark my brother would usually take the M's parking lot and I'd wait on the other side for the visiting teams taxis to pull in. At this time you're not just getting autographs, but you're also feeling them out for memorabilia. I'll start planting seeds by saying stuff like, "hey, if you break a bat today do you think I can get it?", or ,"if I see you during batting practice will you throw me a ball?". They always seem willing to agree to this. Players will arrive to the park 2-3 hours before game time. Once they are all in we'd hang out until they start letting fans in.

So now we're in the park during batting practice and fans are slowly rolling in. My brother would usually hang out by the dugout and I'd take the bullpen/warmup area. We got in with our $3.50 300 level cheap seats, but by game time we are in the $40 box seats. Mariners back then rarely sold the place out. I can usually score a ball per game hanging out by the bullpen simply reminding players they'd throw me a ball. Half of the time some random fan would see this and offer me $25-$35 for it and just like that I have a weeks worth of tickets paid for. If a player breaks a bat by the time you can get close enough to remind him he doesn't know where its at or its long gone, but 9 times out of 10 they'll just give you a new one because they'll remember your conversation outside.

Once the game starts we'd hang out for 4-5 innings but around that time we start getting hungry. Unless its a really good game we'll bail and head to the am/pm down the street and pig out on cheap 2 for $1 burgers and corndogs. After another hour or so passes we'll do a drive by to make sure the team bus hasn't left and laugh at the hundred retards waiting outside the stadium behind a tall chain linked fence hoping for someone to stop and sign an autograph on whatever they can shove through that small fence hole.

Back at the hotel for the second time that day we make our gameplan and stick to it. Once the bus arrives and all the players are inside what few select autograph seekers are there leave. My brother and I still hang out knowing the players aren't done for the night. He'd position himself where he can see the elevators and I'd be about forty feet away with the goods. Anywhere from 20-45 minutes pass and they start trickling out to hit some shopping or head to a restaurant. Once my brother sees them in the elevator he'll signal to me who it is by either a hand sign or I'll read his lips. You can't be loud or obnoxious at the hotel or they'll kick you off the property. I'll then get whatever it is we want signed (x2) ready as the player approaches. While he's signing for me like a magician I'll slip my brother something behind my back for him to get signed. Once those players who are going to leave the hotel are out and about we'll usually leave and not bother them again for the night unless its a megastar, in which we'll then wait for his return.

My school grades suffered dearly for this hobby, countless nights I'd only get 4-5 hours sleep because I was out so late. I missed so many days of school countless letters were sent to my mother. Even though I almost didn't graduate on time because of it all, there is no way I'd give up all those memories from my childhood. Those times mean more to me than any other moments from my youth.

 

[Raptorex]

I went to almost every HOF induction for baseball from the 80s-mid 90s, I got more stuff in closet. Got to meet just about everyone from the 60s-70s era. Different game now.

 

[Raptorex]

I started a thread for you Pud (same forum)

 

[Faizakafez]

Mostly the way other people didn't know how to. Most just stand around after the game with a crowd of 100-200 people and hope for the best. Complete waste of time, if you're lucky 3-4 players might stop and sign. My brother and I would hit up hotels, practices, pretty much stalk the players everywhere they went. Of course there are unwritten rules of autograph seeking that we always followed. One, never approach a player when he's with family. And two, never approach a player when he's eating. Otherwise, he's fair game. Many players knew us by name and either embraced our dedication or despised it. I'll give you an example of a typical night for us.

Baseball season... depending on if we can find out when the visiting team is arriving we may head to the airport first. We'd usually be the only ones at the airport and its hit or miss on autos there. But when it is hit you generally hit big. I remember my record being 12 autographs from one player in one day. Once they get loaded up on their bus, my bro and I raced to the hotel. At the hotel there was usually the same 10 or so guys week in and week out, all the serious autograph hounds knew each other. There were a couple kids from Canada that came down often and sometimes stayed with my brother and I when they wanted to do overnighters or part of a 4 game series. At the hotel when the bus rolls in you need to know exactly who you're hitting up for signatures because they all get off at the same time. My brother and I would always have a gameplan for everything. Once all the players were off the bus we'd head home (many teams fly in the night before a series starts).

The next day we'd have to decide if we want to start at the hotel or hit the ballpark a few hours early. Sometimes we'd start at the visiting teams hotel and when the best player comes out to his cab we'd get his autograph and then race the cab to the ballpark to try and score it again. If we go straight to the ballpark my brother would usually take the M's parking lot and I'd wait on the other side for the visiting teams taxis to pull in. At this time you're not just getting autographs, but you're also feeling them out for memorabilia. I'll start planting seeds by saying stuff like, "hey, if you break a bat today do you think I can get it?", or ,"if I see you during batting practice will you throw me a ball?". They always seem willing to agree to this. Players will arrive to the park 2-3 hours before game time. Once they are all in we'd hang out until they start letting fans in.

So now we're in the park during batting practice and fans are slowly rolling in. My brother would usually hang out by the dugout and I'd take the bullpen/warmup area. We got in with our $3.50 300 level cheap seats, but by game time we are in the $40 box seats. Mariners back then rarely sold the place out. I can usually score a ball per game hanging out by the bullpen simply reminding players they'd throw me a ball. Half of the time some random fan would see this and offer me $25-$35 for it and just like that I have a weeks worth of tickets paid for. If a player breaks a bat by the time you can get close enough to remind him he doesn't know where its at or its long gone, but 9 times out of 10 they'll just give you a new one because they'll remember your conversation outside.

Once the game starts we'd hang out for 4-5 innings but around that time we start getting hungry. Unless its a really good game we'll bail and head to the am/pm down the street and pig out on cheap 2 for $1 burgers and corndogs. After another hour or so passes we'll do a drive by to make sure the team bus hasn't left and laugh at the hundred retards waiting outside the stadium behind a tall chain linked fence hoping for someone to stop and sign an autograph on whatever they can shove through that small fence hole.

Back at the hotel for the second time that day we make our gameplan and stick to it. Once the bus arrives and all the players are inside what few select autograph seekers are there leave. My brother and I still hang out knowing the players aren't done for the night. He'd position himself where he can see the elevators and I'd be about forty feet away with the goods. Anywhere from 20-45 minutes pass and they start trickling out to hit some shopping or head to a restaurant. Once my brother sees them in the elevator he'll signal to me who it is by either a hand sign or I'll read his lips. You can't be loud or obnoxious at the hotel or they'll kick you off the property. I'll then get whatever it is we want signed (x2) ready as the player approaches. While he's signing for me like a magician I'll slip my brother something behind my back for him to get signed. Once those players who are going to leave the hotel are out and about we'll usually leave and not bother them again for the night unless its a megastar, in which we'll then wait for his return.

My school grades suffered dearly for this hobby, countless nights I'd only get 4-5 hours sleep because I was out so late. I missed so many days of school countless letters were sent to my mother. Even though I almost didn't graduate on time because of it all, there is no way I'd give up all those memories from my childhood. Those times mean more to me than any other moments from my youth.

damn bro awesome story..

 

[puddlemonkey]

I went to almost every HOF induction for baseball from the 80s-mid 90s, I got more stuff in closet. Got to meet just about everyone from the 60s-70s era. Different game now.

Sweet bro!

Different game now indeed. I couldn't hang anymore, you need to be pretty young to do this stuff.