Originally posted by tatsxxx11
Richard...And you call yourself a "casual" fan!!! Hmmm.... Gave me goosebumps!
We have a Seattle Mariners team out in the desert just to the north of here, the Lancaster Jethawks......In the afternoon the wind blows in from left and there are homeruns that go OVER the fence and FALL BACK IN the field of play.....HONEST!!!
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Well,
Let me astound you with another story...

There used to be a batting cage/arcade in Van Nuys called Buddy's Bat-away..

I'd go over and hit some balls for about an hour, softball practice....

It was about 11 in the morning...I stop for a moment and sit down on a bench when a silver Porsche 911 pills up in front of the gate....

The door opens and this man unfolds himself from the driver's side and goes to the front of the car, opens up the trunk and pulls out a bat....

I've seen this guy before.....and it's......it's.........it's



Dusty 'F.N.' Baker!!!! NOT to be confused with Bucky 'F.N.' Dent!!!


Baker had just been released from the Dodgers and was waiting to be picked up.....The Giants would later benefit from this gaffe....

There were three other kids hanging around and they were waiting for him to finish his hitting.....

He gave one of the kids batting tips....The kid jumped into the "super fast" cage and Baker teased him that 'no one threw that fast'. He went on to finish and when he was done he came right over to the bench where I was and sat down..


I do not do well with famous people. Baker was not a minor god to me, but someone to be worshipped....The kids hung around and got autographs from him, they brought up the questions as to why the Dodgers released him (there was talk that he was on drugs, a charge that was never proven)- He answered with a salty retort....Bucky's middle name!!!

I sat there like a dork, smile on my face and just listening.....He turned to me and asked me, not in that pompous "hey, I'm famous-look at me!!" way, "Would you like an autograph?"

He sensed I was stunned and was trying to work up the nerve!

He did give me two autographs before I left....

I do have to say that he was the nicest sports guys I have ever met....It was a real pleasure to met him!!!!

I hadn't thought about that meeting in years....

It was that story or the time I ran into Herve "da plane, da plane"
Villecheve in the supermarket....