Due to this personal credo I have chosen to take close to a fortnight to respond to the Padres Town Hall Meeting of January 27th, 2011. The Town Hall Meeting is the lifeblood of any democracy as citizens of the past and present will surely attest; as such it bears special comment.
But I'm not here to talk about the Town Hall Meeting itself; it is something others have already evaluated. I don't care to discuss the tolling of the bells* as Trevor Hoffman graced the stage with the rest of the Padres brass. Nor do I intend to touch upon the fervor** with which Vice Chairman Garfinkel is pursuing an All-Star game for San Diego. Jed Hoyer's greatness***? A topic for another day...
Instead, I'd prefer to tell you about the Official Major League Baseball I came away with on the evening of the 27th. Now I didn't steal this baseball, you see. I found it fair and square like any fan would have if sitting in the bleachers of Petco Park.
So the logical question becomes, "How did you get it, Chief?"
I'm glad you asked: "It's all about positioning, anticipation and a proper jump. Like Tony Gwynn Jr. playing a Petco Park centerfield."
I meandered through the obstacles**** and made my way to the front row of seats in Section 113 where there existed an open gate offering entry to the plush San Diego diamond. The lucky season ticket holders of this row have ample leg room and the convenience of cup holders bolted to the concrete retaining wall which separates athlete from fan. It was in that cup holder, with the eyes of a hawk, I spied the Official Major League baseball.
Clearly it was gathered by an usher at some point during the day and placed inside of the cup holder... left for discovery like an egg on Easter morning. In mid stride and with the most fluid of motions I scooped it and deftly transferred it to my back pocket. I walked out on to the grounds followed by the remainder of Town Hall attendees.
Why was the ball there and why did it look as though it had been struck squarely on the label before its use ended? This is an excellent question but one that can be difficult to answer... especially when I've decided to write this column nearly two weeks after the fact. But those with baseball fever will tell you that only a few short hours before the Padres' Town Hall Meeting began, the future of the organization spent the afternoon working out and gaining much needed perspective in preparation for their futures as Padres.
In fact the entire week had included the most heralded prospects in the organization gathering to listen to the likes of Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Mark Loretta, and Brad Ausmus discuss the subtleties of being a professional ball player as part of the Padres' winter development program. By afternoon these organizational saviors plied their trade as youthful apprentices with varied tools. They hit, ran, fielded, and threw their way into the consciousness of someone who's opinion mattered. Someone who would eventually decide their fate as a Padre.
Names like Casey Kelly and Simon Castro hurled the ball through the park while hitters like Anthony Rizzo, Donavan Tate, James Darnell and Jaff Decker smacked the ball around a place they might one day call home.
Imagine that...
A ball used and abused by the future of the San Diego Padres is currently in my possession. How long was its life? Was it brief... maybe a towering HR to right or a lazy foul ball bouncing through vacant aisles early in the day? Or did it make the rounds all afternoon connecting with every bright spot of San Diego's baseball future?
I'm certain that scuffed-up ball could capture one's imagination with a tale or two of its own...
*Awesome!
**Really?
*** He is great isn't he!
****Seats, railings, and the ubiquitous albeit ill advised yellow caution tape containing the throngs of Padre fans from mucking up every section in the park.
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