I mentioned on Monday that, even though the Padres finished a miserable 71-91, there were still 19 reasons the 2011 Padres season provided something great for fans.
I'm not ready to say that the whole was greater than the sum of these 19 parts because that would indicate insanity. Which I am not (hopefully). And that I don't care about winning. Which I do (most certainly). There were moments, though. And for me they were memorable.
One
I shall begin with Spring Training. Is that cheating? On account of people currently counting down the days until Pitchers and Catchers report, I would say that technically Spring Training marks day 1 of the season. And so this is where it all began . . .
This last season marked my first trip to spring training. Ever. I've done a fair number of sport trips but a visit to Arizona in February or March had eluded me. The trip was worth it . . .
Press Box Credentials
Befriending Rick and Beau from RJ's Fro led to this privileged experience. It was difficult to watch the Padres' first game of the year and not cheer while sitting in press row so I did the next best thing; I fired off 76 tweets during the game. I have no idea how to access these ancient aphorisms but I assure you they exist. It made for a fun filled day of comedy as we watched game 1 of 2011.
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Game one was against the Mariners and the massive Japanese press corps was there for Ichiro's first hacks of spring. It was awesome. Ichiro is like the Beatles. If not the entire quartet at least Paul or John*.
*I'm a George Harrison guy.
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I got to meet Dan Hayes of the North County Times and Corey Brock of MLB.com. Cool guys, both of 'em.
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Rick and Beau duped me into thinking the food was free for those in the Press Box. So I started filling up the plate. I had committed to too much food on the plate when we found out there would be a cost. Rick and Beau bolted and I continued heaping food on to the plate. Up next to me walks the bronzed Ted Leitner. He looks at the tray of chicken and says, like only Ted can, "That is one sorry looking chicken!" Ted's crazy. That chicken was pretty good.
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The Mariners, a truly detested rival, won the game 13-12 in extra innings on a walk-off single by former Padre Josh Bard. Brad Brach blew the save in the 9th when he gave up a 2-run bomb. Logan Forsythe, James Darnell, and Nick Hundley each homered.
Seeing the young guys, who I had only previously read short blurbs about in prospect guides, perform well was a neat experience. Seeing Darnell and Forsythe gave the feeling that I had just discovered a great band who few knew about. We'll see if they're still making music in 2012.
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We saw Jake Peavy, John Danks, and Mat Latos in a bar. I'm older than those guys now so that's kind of weird. I got more enjoyment out of seeing Darren Balsley, Randy Ready, and this girl wearing a brown and gold Ramones t-shirt*.
*The best of both worlds colliding.
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Rick was the victim of a Will Venable f-bomb tirade and since I was standing with him it pretty much made me a victim as well. That was weird in a fun kind of way. Who knew that exchange would be the fuel for all my writing in July of 2011?
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Jerry Colman walked in front of me. Right in front of me. Jerry Coleman!
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Bought a few cool items on sale from the previous spring training (yellow hat, brown t-shirt).
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I rapped with Jane Mitchell and bought her book One on One: My Journey With Hall Of Famers, Fan Favorites, And Rising Stars.
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I also witnessed a weird event. I cannot speak to what this event was. But I will only say that without going to Spring Training seeing an event as odd as this one is nearly impossible. This is all I will say on the matter.
Spring Training 2011 was a neat experience and it set the foundation for what would be a fun year despite the losing.
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