1) I used to live in Arizona as a little kid and baseball has always been my first sports love. My old man used to take me to the Angels and Cubs spring training in Mesa. The first year I went Blyleven was pitching for the Angels and things were different back then as far as kids being able to get close to players, etc.
Anyway Blyleven got done with his bullpen and was walking back to the clubhouse area (separate building back then), and of course he got mobbed by a bunch of us kids wanting to get his autograph on our gloves or a ball. In spring training there were baseballs everywhere for kids to catch or scoop up. We all followed him and as he got to the building he goes, "Alright guys, lemme get in there and get changed and I'll be back out." I stood there (with other kids) for about an hour waiting for him to come back out and then I saw a shitty look on my dad's face...The clubhouse building was separated from the outside of the complex by a chain link fence and wouldn't you know it here goes Bert Blyleven out the front door where nobody could follow him. Jogs real fast to his car, gets in, and leaves. F Bert Blyleven. I don't care what's going on, you don't lie to little kids who believe everything an adult says to them and then pull some dirty shit like that. Still remember it like it was yesterday. His car had a vanity plate that said "BLY 11." I hope when that guy dies it's from some kind of long-lasting painful ass cancer. Little kids are blind faithers and that shit leaves a huge impact on them. If you're going to be an asshole and ditch them at least be honest and say you're not gonna sign anything. They'll grow up to discover that adults are jerks who don't really want to sign your stuff soon enough, don't make them find out sooner.
Now to turn that negativity the other direction, here's a positive one for you. Same situation but Dave Winfield. Gets done with BP and his workout (this was after Blyleven) and gets mobbed by all of us on his way back. He says the same thing, lemme get changed quick, and then goes inside. My old man rolled his eyes but I begged him to hang out and wait. About 20 minutes later out comes Dave Winfield in this purple track suit like was popular in the 80s and he set up shop and signs autographs for what had to be an hour. He knelt down the whole time and talked to every single kid..."Hey bud that's a nice glove, I like your hat, what position do you play..."shit like that. I was in frickin' heaven because here's a real deal big leaguer I've watched on TV and he's giving me a high five. I love that dude and I'll always remember it.
2) Tom Chambers. Like I said we lived in Arizona and one of my dad's friends was the sound guy at SkyWest Arena. He got us in to take a little walkthrough and there were a bunch of players hanging around. Well, Tom Chambers was an awesome basketball player but I found out that day he's a huge asshole. Jeff Hornacek, Kurt Rambis, and Kevin Johnson...super nice guys.
