Wednesday, April 25, 2012

2012 Angels FanFest


The Anaheim Angels held their FanFest this past Sunday. The event was scheduled to start at 7:00 am, so I headed out to OC with Tom nice and early. We got to the Big A right before the event gates opened and there was already a line of about 100 people or so. First thing we did was hit the autograph lines. There were five to choose from, and we had no idea who was signing. I got in one line and Tom stood in another  just in case mine had a crappy player.


When I got in line I just happened to be standing behind Ryan from RBI Collecting. It was nice to have someone to chat with because the players weren't scheduled to sign until 9:45.  And we were told that those players would not be any of the starters. We were all a little bummed, but there was still a good chance for some decent signers.


Well, 9:45 came and the players started walking to their tables.Each table had two players. Table one had Jordan Walden and Scott Downs, table two had Chris Ianetta and Vernon Wells, table three hadErick Aybar and Maicer Izturis, table four had Bobby Abreu and LaTroy Hawkins and the fifth table had Kendrys Morales and Alberto Callaspo. I was in line for Bobby Abreu and LaTroy Hawkins and Tom had Kendrys Morales and Alberto Callaspo. I had a tough choice to make because I wanted Abreu and Morales. I decided to stay where I was and get Bobby. Abreu signed a ball for me and I got LaTroy on my Snoopy bobblehead.


Bobby signing my ball
Abreu's auto

LaTroy
LaTroy on Snoopy
After I got Abreu and Hawkins, I had time for one more line, so I got into the Erick Aybar/Maicer Izturis line. Aybar, who had just signed a well deserved four-year contract extension a few days earlier, signed a ball for me and Izzy signed my Snoopy bobblehead.


Erick Aybar signing my ball
Aybar on ball
Izturis signing Snoopy
I told Izturis to sign the nose. This is what he gave me.
After the current players were done signing, it was time for some former Angels. While we were waiting, Mark Gubicza was roaming around and chatting with fans and signing autographs.. I already had him on a ball, so this time I got him on a card. Garrett Anderson, Chuck Finley, Jim Abbott, Mike Witt and Clyde Wright just finished a Q&A on the stage then came to the tables to sign. I was able to get Jim Abbott and Chuck Finley on cards.  


Me and Gubby

Hey Abbott!

Finley


Overall I think I did alright. I wish some of the bigger names signed, but this wasn't too bad. I also think the whole thing was a bit unorganized. They really need to come up with a better method of getting people to the different stations. I would have loved to have gotten autos from all the players there. One more thing, I wanna give a big shoutout to Dave from David's Autograph Signings. Thanks for all your help Dave!

9 comments:

  1. I agree Josh. I do believe the event was quite unorganized. I prefer it to be like the Padres Fanfest where you knew coming in who you would be getting autographs from. I hope the Dodgers fanfest this year is going to be more organized. It's always nice to chat it up with you at these events. Thanks for the shout out. See you at the next signing.

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    1. I agree, it should be more like the Padres fanfest. And if you thought the Angels fanfest was unorganized, wait til you see the Dodgers fanfest. It's probably gonna be chaotic.

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  2. Than Angel event was probably disorganized because Arte Moreno is an overrated owner. He looked good compared to Frank McCourt and doesn't have an angry fan base to keep him in check.

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    1. Angry fans would be nice. Angel fans are emotionless.

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    2. Lower the beer prices once and everyone will worship you like a God. LOL

      Agree he's totally overrated. TJ Simers at the LA Times wrote a article a few days ago adressing certain issues the Angels have that feels very McCourtish; like having tattered and broken seats at Angels stadium, and half of LA County not being able to see certain Angels games because of a cable dispute. Was at Angels stadium for Pujols bobble and noticed they have Jack N Box. 2 tacos for almost 4 buck!?! That reeks of McCourt.

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    3. I bought the Nachos combo that night. It came with a souvenir cup. The picture of the nachos had jalepenos, salsa, onions and cheese. Looked so good. It cost $12 for the souvenir cup and nachos. Standard stadium prices. What I was handed looked nothing like what was in the picture. They gave me a bag of chips and two cups of cheese. I had to raise hell just to get jalepenos. When I walked away I swear it felt like something McCourt would have done.

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  3. The gloomy atmosphere and underwhelming feel of the event seems like a perfect metaphor for the Halos season up to this point. I'm already complaining about Dodgers fanfest because I know it's going to be the Gran Fiesta minus the spanish theme. Still, that's a major upgrade over what the Angels did this year. I was thinking about going to see if I can get a Weaver or Pujols auto (good luck), but seeing how it turned out I'm glad I slept in.

    Also I agee about the Padres having the best fanfest.

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    1. It actually wasn't that bad. I just wish it would've been more organized, like the Padres.

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    2. The only thing the Padres lacked is star power but it was cool how they opened up the stadium and let fans walk on the field and do free clubhouse tours. We did end up with Jerry Coleman's signature so it was cool. Angels and Dodgers can learn a thing or two from Padres fanfest.

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