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!

Player Appearances: Steve Yeager and Ron Cey

Former Dodgers Ron Cey, Steve Yeager and Manny Mota were scheduled to sign autographs for fans attending the Viva Los Dodgers Celebration at Dodger Stadium today. Mota was supposed to sign from 11:30-12:15, and Yeager and Cey from 11:30-12:30. They were there for the ThinkCure! weekend, and were asking fans to donate $5 for the autograph.

I arrived at 10:30, and was one of the first there. I actually saw Yeager walk up to the event, but decided to wait until he got to the signing table before I asked for an autograph. Once he got his Dodgers jersey on, he started signing right away and took pictures with the first few people. I had him sign a baseball card.

No one really knew where Mota and Cey would be signing, but a line started forming next to Yeager, so I got in it. After waiting 20 minutes, we were told that was where Cey would be signing, but he was going to be late. He did finally arrive at 12:15, and started signing right away. Since he was running late, we were told he would only sign one item and he wouldn't take pictures. I decided to get my Cey/Lopes/Russell/Garvey picture signed, but had a bobblehead ready anyway.

When I got to the front of the line, I noticed Cey was signing in blue Sharpie, and the rest of the signatures on my picture were in black. He didn't have a black Sharpie on him, so while I was fumbling through my bag for a black Sharpie, he picked up my bobblehead and signed it! Then I gave him a black Sharpie and he signed my picture too! I left ten dollars in the donation box and left.

There was no official word as to why, but Manny Mota never showed up.While I was there, I thought I'd get some swag. Time Warner was giving away Fernando Valenzuela blankets! WooHoo!

I saw so many people today, so I'm not going to list everyone. It was nice seeing you all. Thanks to Teresa for joining me today and thanks to Mike for the Yeager card. Also, thanks to Vin Scully Is My Homeboy for event information.

Dodgers Players And Coaches Sign Autographs For Tornado Relief

I attended "Viva Los Dodgers" Day at Dodger Stadium today. They had all the usual festivities, mariachi bands, dancing, raffles and giveaways. The Dodgers also raised funds today for tornado relief in the southern states. Many players and coaches signed autographs for the fans in attendance. For a $5 donation, you were able to get one autograph. The whole event was spearheaded by Dodger reliever Lance Cormier, who is originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, one of the hardest cities hit by the tornadoes.

Some of the other Dodgers who appeared were: Manager Don Mattingly, Pitching Coach Rick Honeycutt and players Clayton Kershaw, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Guerrier, Chad Billingsly and Marcus Thames.

Tommy Lasorda was there too, taking pictures with the fans and the 1981 World Series trophy. Jim Campanis was also there, as the original schedueled autograph alley signer.

I got there early, and headed straight for the Don Mattingly line. The line moved quickly. I had Donnie sign his 1987 Donruss Yankees card.

Don Mattingly

Next was Rick Honeycutt. I had him sign a ball. I wasn't paying attention, and he signed the ball with Sharpie. Oh well.

Rick Honeycutt

Next was Clayton Kershaw. Surprisingly, his line only took about 15 minutes to get through. Marcus Thames was signing at the same table and they let us get both signatures for the $5 donation. I had Kersh sign a card and Thames sign my hat.

Kersh

Marcus Thames

I got in the Tommy Lasorda line next, but missed him by just a few people. I wasn't too upset because I've met Tommy before. As I walked away, I ran into Dodgers photographer Jon Soo Hoo.

Jon Soo Hoo

At that point, the game was about to begin and people were heading to the stadium. Jim Campanis was still there signing,so I got in his line. He was very nice. He signed a card and my hat. He also took a picture with me and let me wear his World Series ring.

Jim Campanis

I had a great day today. I hope the Dodgers raised a lot of money! Thanks to Theresa for everything today. It was nice seeing Simon, Jason, Javier, Gustavo and Joseph. If I missed anyone, sorry. And thanks to Vin Scully Is My Homeboy for all the info on today's event.