Player Appearance: Fernando Valenzuela

This past Sunday, Fernando Valenzuela made an appearance at Viva Los Dodgers Day at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Fernandomania this week. In honor of the anniversary, Fernando met with the fans and signed autographs for an hour at the event. 


Fernando was scheduled to appear from 11:30 to 12:30. I got to the stadium at 10:30, but the fans weren't allowed past the gates and into the parking lot until 11:10. Once the those gates opened, people started running to the line. And that line got long very quickly. I think there were a few hundred people there within 10 minutes. I was about the fiftieth person.


After waiting in the heat for twenty minutes, Fernando arrived. The staff at Viva Los Dodgers run things very smoothly, so the line moved quickly. Security is also there, so people don't cut. I saw a few people try to sneak in, and they were held back. If every player appearance were like this, it would make things a hell of a lot better. 


I decided to get my 2001 Fernando Valenzuela bobblehead signed. He's got a long name, and that bobble has a larger head, so I thought it would fit better. When it was my turn in line, I gave Fernando all the Spanish I know, "Hola, como esta"? He signed the bobblehead, and I said "gracias". I was a little proud of myself because I usually     get embarrassed when trying to speak Spanish. After he signed the bobblehead, he handed it back to me and I was so happy. The signature didn't come out as nice as I expected, but I still love it.

This was the line for Fernando when I left. There must have been 300 people.

Thanks Fernando!