Drea said:
Which means you met Alex Gonzalez and Carlos Delgado.. you lucky lucky
Yup.
Every year, a friend/friends used to check into the hotel for several days, hit a few games, and go to the Variety Club Jays Benefit...it was always held during the first homestand of the season. That's where I got the pic taken with Juan...all the players would sit behind tables and people would line up for autographs for an hour or so...the entire teams/coaches were always there, all except for that days starter. Then you entered a ballroom for a luncheon, with the players all sitting at a head table. That year, the fans were seated, and I was watching the players walk in and sit...my eyes were glued to Juan. He walked up to his seat, paused for a sec, then kept going out the door back into the lobby. I waited a respectful amount of time (like 30 seconds
) and then subtly got up and went out myself. He had gone to one of the bars that were set up in the lobby and had gotten a drink. I walked over, said how I'd admired his previous start, asked a few questions which he was glad to answer...he grinned like crazy.
I asked if I could get a pic with him, and he said sure, and asked the bartender to take one of us. He put his arm around me.
It was only the three of us out there for a good 3 or 4 minutes, but before long, dozens of others came out, and bombarded him. I moved off to the side, he stood and signed more autographs, took pics, then said he had to leave. I was way over on the other side by then, but before he left, he caught my eye, and smiled and waved.
God, I adored that man...