wow!
Reminds me of me and my trek to spring training a long time ago. A friend at work knew I was going to make a trek to spring training (one day) from my business trip to Orlando. The day before I left, he brought in a baseball in it's pristine state, still in the box with wrapping around it. He handed it to me and said "Here, get someone... anyone, to sign this ball". I rattled off names of players for him, thinking I'm impressing the guy with my knowledge of the team and all. He said "I don't care, it's for my son and I just want to give him a baseball". His son was 4 months old, so I wasn't sure what he wanted, but took the ball any way.
So I went to the spring training complex in Kissimmee and had my own ball to get signatures. I was looking specifically for Ryan Bowen, the kid I thought would be the next JR Richards (why? I don't know eggszactly, but I did!). I got my first sig from a very nice guy (rookie) named Luis Gonzales, who talked to me while signing the ball. Dude wanted to actually have a conversation about things, including the shiny black eye he was sporting, compliments of the batting machine gone haywire. Still, I was looking for more sigs, so I excused myself and went and found Bowen and then others, including a guy named Jeff Bagwell. Art Howe was the manager and he signed on the most prominent spot. Then I ran into Denny Walling who told me to "fuck off" when I asked him for an autograph. Walling is no Brooks Robinson.
Any way, I finish getting sigs and was ready to go when I remember that in my backpack I had the ball my office mate gave me and not one single solitary sig on it. I was hosed if I didn't do something quick. So I went out back to the players exit door into the parking lot and waited. No one else was there and by and large most of the players were gone. Steve Finley came out with his golf bag running towards his car to make a tee time, so he wouldn't sign.
I was sure I was a dead man for not getting the ball signed for my friend and would probably have to give him my ball instead. Damn! My Ryan Bowen ball (with others like Jeff Bagwell and Luis Gonzales on it too). Damn, damn, damn! Right as I was ready to walk away in shame, out steps Yogi Freaking Berra from the exit door. He walks right towards me because I'm standing right next to his Cadillac. Who knew? He sees the ball box in my hand and the sharpie in my other hand and says "You want an autograph?" I nodded and he obliged. I said thank you and off he drove.
There was no one else in sight, not a single solitary ball player, nobody, nada, zip, zilch.
I flew home after two days at my conference and that following Monday brought the Yogi ball to my friend. He takes one look at it and says "WOW!!! YOGI BERRA!!! YOU GOT YOGI FUCKING BERRA TO SIGN!?!?". I didn't know he was a longtime Yankee fan.
I ate free lunches for a month.