who is the least fan friendly palyer on your favorite team

[Fnazxc0114]

for me it would have to be michael young. i have never seen him sign at the stadium and he tends to ignore all request.

[frikativ54]

I've heard some pretty bad things about Lance Berkman. I hear they have started to call him Lance "Jerkman".

-Frik

[geoff]

I love the Orioles and I would have to say Daniel Cabrera.I have only seen him sign 1 time in 2 Years.And that was this past week when he was Signing for all these School Kids.He really is not even Friendly from what I have seen in the past also.

[OaklandAsFan]

I scored Michael Young graphs twice this ST when the Rangers came to Phoenix to play the A's.

On the A's right now I would have to say the least approachable person is Emil brown though it is pretty hard to get Mike Sweeney to sign if you are over 14. I do have to say that in all my years of collecting the Athletics are one of the best signing teams I have ever dealt with.

[skyking26]

On the Tigers, probably Kenny Rogers. Non-player Tiger, without a doubt Al Kaline. Kaline has been a jack*ss for many years whether it was in person at the park or at a paid show appearance. The man has no personality at all, and his meaness should be kept to himself.

On Pistons, Rasheed Wallace. He recently did a paid appearance I attended and he was an a*s to everyone. He does not sign at the Palace either...

[AWA85]

Funny you say that about Mike Sweeney, he was by far the nicest athlete I have ever met in person. I caught him on a rehab assignment in the minors about two years ago and he talked about Alex Gordon, his past years in the minors and a little about his life. He offered to pose for multiple pictures and held an actual autograph signing the next day for all fans for about two hours before the game.

Worst on the Reds would have to go to Ken Griffey Jr or the "GREAT" Homer Bailey :rolleyes:. Ken has been around the game for years and can tell his times in Cincy are wearing on him a little. Homer on the other hand is just a jerk from every encounter I have had with him.

[bigtruck260]

Albert does not sign for just everyone all the time, he does occasionally...I have seen him do it before Saturday games. But rarely.

He is usually pretty good with tossing balls, etc. to kids - b ut if you are an adult looking for an autograph - be prepared for Mr. Nasty.

To an extent, I think it's understandable. Almost everything he signs seems to end up on eBay - I have even been guilty of it.

[OaklandAsFan]

Funny you say that about Mike Sweeney, he was by far the nicest athlete I have ever met in person. I caught him on a rehab assignment in the minors about two years ago and he talked about Alex Gordon, his past years in the minors and a little about his life. He offered to pose for multiple pictures and held an actual autograph signing the next day for all fans for about two hours before the game.

Worst on the Reds would have to go to Ken Griffey Jr or the "GREAT" Homer Bailey :rolleyes:. Ken has been around the game for years and can tell his times in Cincy are wearing on him a little. Homer on the other hand is just a jerk from every encounter I have had with him.

Sweeney sincerely is one of if not the nicest baseball player in the MLB but thus far this season he will talk to anyone and always acknowledges the fans but if you want a graph it has been very difficult unless you were a kid.

[kylehess10]

Mike Hampton. Ever since he joined the Braves, I have seen him sign only 1 single autograph, and that was last year when he signed one autograph right before the game. I still need his signature on a banner that I started to get team-signed THREE YEARS AGO!

[worldchamps]

For what it is worth Pujols did sign a couple years ago when they played the Rangers.

I have NEVER EVER sceen Lebron James sign, Kevin Garnett is also awful about signing.

Clinton Portis is a jerk too, he ruined a football of mine at an appearance he got paid to be at.

[hblakewolf]

Based on my experieince at Shea and Citizens, hands down Mike Piazza.

I have NEVER seen him autograph any game used equipment for a fan during batting practice, before or after the game. Likewise, I even saw him pass on taking a photo during BP with a disabled girl in a wheelchair who was on the field with a press pass!

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[Nathan]

He's not on my favorite team and isn't even playing any more, but never, never, ask Dr. Mike Marshall for an autograph. He's extremely friendly and is an unbelievably intelligent guy, but if there's one thing he doesn't do, it's sign.

Thankfully I don't do the autograph thing, and talking to him for four hours about pitching was a lot better than a scrawl of ink.

[OaklandAsFan]

Based on my experieince at Shea and Citizens, hands down Mike Piazza.

I have NEVER seen him autograph any game used equipment for a fan during batting practice, before or after the game. Likewise, I even saw him pass on taking a photo during BP with a disabled girl in a wheelchair who was on the field with a press pass!

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

Yeah Piazza is a jerk especially when it comes to game used equipment. When with the Padres he was signing for people in Peoria and I handed him a clean ball to sign, i didn't ask for a sweet spot or anything and it wasn't even for me it was for my mother and he looked me flat in the eyes and told me no.
While with the A's I got him to sign one time and that was it on his first day of practice when the team reported to ST. A friend who works in the clubhouse in Oakland told me that at the end of the season he scribbled his name/number off every stitch of clothing and he shaved the names off of his bats so they couldn't be sold or traced back to him. I remember reading a story when he was with the Mets that he used to have his equipment locked away separate from the rest of the teams stuff.

[skyking26]

Yeah Piazza is a jerk especially when it comes to game used equipment. When with the Padres he was signing for people in Peoria and I handed him a clean ball to sign, i didn't ask for a sweet spot or anything and it wasn't even for me it was for my mother and he looked me flat in the eyes and told me no.
While with the A's I got him to sign one time and that was it on his first day of practice when the team reported to ST. A friend who works in the clubhouse in Oakland told me that at the end of the season he scribbled his name/number off every stitch of clothing and he shaved the names off of his bats so they couldn't be sold or traced back to him. I remember reading a story when he was with the Mets that he used to have his equipment locked away separate from the rest of the teams stuff.
Got him years ago in FL as a member of the Dodgers when he first came up. He was sitting on a bench and he signed the side panel without even looking at me. Was if I was not there. Not sure why he is the way he is - not sure why he thinks he is so much better than anyone else. I had similar experiences with Mark McGwire both at the park and at paid appearances and would put him just above Piazza, but not far...

[jshortt]

Wow, all these stories about Piazza are pretty shocking to me. I had a great experience with him at the ballpark, and my friend had another in downtown Cincy. Same with Homer Bailey. I've met him several different times and he has been nothing short of great each and every time.

I will have to second the stories on Michael Young. Wouldn't even acknowledge us fans when the Rangers were in town last year. Someone told me that Young is on record saying that he doesn't like signing, and he just doesn't understand the concept of an autograph.

As for the Reds, the only person on the team I have NEVER seen sign an autograph at the ballpark is Griffey. Now, I know he does for UD, charities, and when they let the kids run out to each position on Sundays, but other than that, it doesn't happen. In fact, most of the "team signed" stuff that the Reds auction off doesn't have a Jr. sig on it. Oh well. Personally, I've never had any bad experiences. He's always very polite, and will joke around with you...as long as he doesn't think you'll be asking him for an autograph.

-Josh

[harpt]

Got him years ago in FL as a member of the Dodgers when he first came up. He was sitting on a bench and he signed the side panel without even looking at me. Was if I was not there. Not sure why he is the way he is - not sure why he thinks he is so much better than anyone else. I had similar experiences with Mark McGwire both at the park and at paid appearances and would put him just above Piazza, but not far...


I was really suprised about the Kaline and McGwire references because I have had really positive experiences with both of those guys.

I saw Kaline in Cooperstown in 1999 and asked to have my picture taken with him. He had no problem with that at all...shook my hand, etc.

With McGwire, I was taking his picture before a game at Tiger stadium when the A's were in town. He was playing catch. When he was done he tossed me the ball made good eye contact and nodded when I said thank you, etc. It was pretty neat. The next year he hit a thousand homeruns.

One key variable is that I was not looking for an autograph in either case. I think a lot of guys are just really turned off by autograph seekers for some reason.

[yanks12025]

I got Mike Piazza's autograph at the WBC down in Florida a couple of years ago. Let me just tell you that you cant even tell that its Mike Piazza. But he was signing a t-shirt which is hard But we also got a ball signed by him to and it looks the same(Trash).

[harpt]

I am not an A's/Yankees/Angels fan, but I did stand in line once to get Reggie Jackson's autograph. That was my biggest disappointment to date. He never even picked up his head to look at anyone. That was 1999, and the last time I stood in line for an autograph show (other than if a 1982 Brewer was involved).

I am sure others have had good experiences with Reggie.

[AWA85]

Seems everyone has conflicting stories on certain guys, just depends on their day/mood/ or could be how they have played lately. I can see where it gets old people always asking for an autograph everywhere, but it really makes me appreciate the guys like Brandon Phillips and others that take time out and are willing to sign and talk to fans.

[ahuff]

Now this isn't really a "Least Fan Friendly", but rather just ironic.

I remember growing up watching Step by Step the t.v. series. In one episode (Wikipedia has it as #90 - Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?). "Cody takes Brendan to a baseball game, featuring his favorite player, Kenny Barton. After the game, Brendan meets his hero and asks him to autograph his baseball; however, Barton is nothing short of rude to Brendan and demands a $50 fee for an autograph. Cody - after consoling Brendan - then confronts the egotistical Barton during a TV interview and exposes his demeanor. The interviewer - Hall of Fame player and broadcaster Harmon Killebrew (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmon_Killebrew) - is equally outraged and offers to sign Brendan's baseball at no charge. Brendan gladly accepts Killebrew's offer."

Harmon now charges $80 for his on his foundation website. I remember getting his back in the mid-90's, and I think I donated a few bucks. He was always one of my favorites (I use to watch the Home Run Derby reruns). Anyway, I must confess I lost a bit of respect after putting these two things together. I know - the one was just a t.v. show"

[mvandor]

If you're hitting a guy up for a freebie, I can be understanding if he's short, could be a bad day, whatever. Paid signings? Sorry, you're WORKING now, signing at top dollar, rude in that context is completely unacceptable. If you only wanted a sig, you could buy it on ebay, usually for less. People pay absurd show prices for a chance to not just get a sig but to meet the athlete. If they can't even look you in the eye and be polite, they shouldn't do the show or expect to be paid.

[Fnazxc0114]

i like to get my bats signed. unfortunately the guys i collect seem to no longer do shows. i wonder if the rangers owner rubs off on the players which in turn means not being very fan friendly. so far the most likeable rangers on the team are josh hamilton and kevin millwood.

[frikativ54]

If you're hitting a guy up for a freebie, I can be understanding if he's short, could be a bad day, whatever. Paid signings? Sorry, you're WORKING now, signing at top dollar, rude in that context is completely unacceptable. If you only wanted a sig, you could buy it on ebay, usually for less. People pay absurd show prices for a chance to not just get a sig but to meet the athlete. If they can't even look you in the eye and be polite, they shouldn't do the show or expect to be paid.

I couldn't agree more. The worst experience is coming in town from over halfway across the country, battling chronic health issues, and then having an athlete treat you like dirt at a PAID signing. I still can't believe how incredibly rude Hunter Pence was to me last August. I had just paid $500 for a game-used bat, and I came to the front of the line and said, "I came in from Portland, Oregon and you are my favorite current Astros player. Can you please take a picture with me?" Of course, since Portland has no MLB team, I wouldn't be seeing him in person any time soon. My Mom had my camera in hand.

Instead of being civil, Hunter Pence refused to acknowledge me, threw his hands up in the air, and looked at security, which then barked at me to stop impeding the flow of the line. This was after I was told over the phone that Pence would be more than happy to pose with me. Of course I was making the lines move slowly :rolleyes: , but his people had enough time to argue with me about what color pen Pence should use to sign my autograph, but not to pose 10 seconds for a photo. What a jerk!

I should have returned the bat to the promoters. Wish that I still could. The worst part of it is that I was practically in tears. And it was obvious that Hunter Pence saw that, and of course, he couldn't care less. He's going to make his millions, so what difference does one teary-eyed fan make? Contrast that with someone like Jeff Bagwell, who I held up a sign that I had flown so far to see him, when it was brought to his attention, came over and signed my game-used bat and un-used hat, and was nice enough to pose for several pictures.

What has stuck in my mind? Of course, it's how much you can do for a kid if you are just nice and take 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to sign something. I've only been to Houston twice in my twenty-three years of existence, but I tell you that I left with far different impressions, due in most part to the way I was treated by professional athletes.

[stovie]

By my dealings for the last 20 plus years in dealing with athletes I have been around all major sports figures and have to say the biggest a$$holes were Terrell Owens who will go out of his way to treat people like crap and I know the guy and will not throw water on him if he were burning. I have watched him constantly be rude and nasty to people and people say he's just shy and misunderstood yeah right he misunderstood what being a human being is all about. Jerry Porter is another over rated jackass.. I watched him in the family parking lot after the game turn down a five year old kid for an autograph cause he was too busy chasing girls. Baseball a few are Rickey Henderson, Will Clark, Jose Canseco and Bonds of course. For the most part most of the other 49ers over the years are great guys Steve Young and Rice are great Joe can be touch and go. But I forgot Ronnie Lott can be a jerk too very bad temper. But that is from my personal experiences with athletes. Not from stories first hand.

[cjclong]

Does anyone know where the quote about Michael Young not wanting to sign autographs came from? A few years back he appeared at store in Dallas and signed a bunch of autographs. I also went to a team function last year and he signed an All Star ball from the game where he was MVP and was very nice. I have noticed over the years that most of the bigger name Ranger players don't seem to sign at the Ballpark in Arlington before games. From my experience ARod, Palmeiro, Pudge etc. rarely signed at the Ballpark although Palmeiro and Pudge were very good about signing at team functions, like the fan fest, etc. Funny, after Pudge left he is great about signing at the Ballpark when the team he is with visits here.

[Master Shake]

I couldn't agree more. The worst experience is coming in town from over halfway across the country, battling chronic health issues, and then having an athlete treat you like dirt at a PAID signing. I still can't believe how incredibly rude Hunter Pence was to me last August. I had just paid $500 for a game-used bat, and I came to the front of the line and said, "I came in from Portland, Oregon and you are my favorite current Astros player. Can you please take a picture with me?" Of course, since Portland has no MLB team, I wouldn't be seeing him in person any time soon. My Mom had my camera in hand.

Instead of being civil, Hunter Pence refused to acknowledge me, threw his hands up in the air, and looked at security, which then barked at me to stop impeding the flow of the line. This was after I was told over the phone that Pence would be more than happy to pose with me. Of course I was making the lines move slowly :rolleyes: , but his people had enough time to argue with me about what color pen Pence should use to sign my autograph, but not to pose 10 seconds for a photo. What a jerk!

I should have returned the bat to the promoters. Wish that I still could. The worst part of it is that I was practically in tears. And it was obvious that Hunter Pence saw that, and of course, he couldn't care less. He's going to make his millions, so what difference does one teary-eyed fan make? Contrast that with someone like Jeff Bagwell, who I held up a sign that I had flown so far to see him, when it was brought to his attention, came over and signed my game-used bat and un-used hat, and was nice enough to pose for several pictures.

What has stuck in my mind? Of course, it's how much you can do for a kid if you are just nice and take 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to sign something. I've only been to Houston twice in my twenty-three years of existence, but I tell you that I left with far different impressions, due in most part to the way I was treated by professional athletes.

I think I read about your experience once before but it still surprises me because Pence was the absolutely best Astros signer this past spring training than anyone else on the team. He signed autographs every time I went to their practices and games and usually signed at least 100+ autographs every time. You must have caught him on a really, really bad day which is quite unfortunately because he's one of the nicest players I've ever met.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i23/mastershaketoyou/Astros%20Spring%20Training%202008/joshpence.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i23/mastershaketoyou/Astros%20Spring%20Training%202008/jaredpence.jpg

[jshortt]

I think I read about your experience once before but it still surprises me because Pence was the absolutely best Astros signer this past spring training than anyone else on the team. He signed autographs every time I went to their practices and games and usually signed at least 100+ autographs every time. You must have caught him on a really, really bad day which is quite unfortunately because he's one of the nicest players I've ever met.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i23/mastershaketoyou/Astros%20Spring%20Training%202008/joshpence.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i23/mastershaketoyou/Astros%20Spring%20Training%202008/jaredpence.jpg


I would have to second Mastershake's theory. It must have been a TERRIBLE day for Hunter when you met him. Easily one of, if not THE, nicest superstar player in the NL right now. He's always been really talkative with me, and just super nice. The last Astros series of 2007 in Cincy, I was chatting him up about the prices of his bats on Ebay. He was laughing, and couldn't believe what his bats were going for. When I told him that I had seen one auction end at around $700-ish, he cracked up and said "For ME?" Heck, he was still great at the stadium a couple of weeks ago. He signed at least one thing for everybody that wanted one (though it was all personalized, if that sort of thing bothers you), took pics, and joked around.

I would try to put that last experience out of your mind, and try to get to see him again. I can almost guarantee that it will be a totally different experience.

-Josh

[frikativ54]

I would have to second Mastershake's theory. It must have been a TERRIBLE day for Hunter when you met him. Easily one of, if not THE, nicest superstar player in the NL right now. He's always been really talkative with me, and just super nice. The last Astros series of 2007 in Cincy, I was chatting him up about the prices of his bats on Ebay. He was laughing, and couldn't believe what his bats were going for. When I told him that I had seen one auction end at around $700-ish, he cracked up and said "For ME?" Heck, he was still great at the stadium a couple of weeks ago. He signed at least one thing for everybody that wanted one (though it was all personalized, if that sort of thing bothers you), took pics, and joked around.

I would try to put that last experience out of your mind, and try to get to see him again. I can almost guarantee that it will be a totally different experience.

-Josh

Thanks for telling me that. I will definitely try to get a photo with him next time I'm at an MLB ballpark. I guess I'll just have to accept it as a really bad day. Good to hear he's nice the majority of times, because I love the Astros and try to think the best of their players.

[godwulf]

I can't say how he is at free autograph opportunities, since he goes out of his way to avoid them, but when it comes to paid signing events - Randy Johnson, hands down.

I don't know where this strong aversion to signing autographs, that you see with some guys, comes from. It's not just athletes, of course - many non-sport celebs are infamous in that realm, too. I wonder whether anyone has ever done a formal study on the subject.

Reggie Sanders, now that he's retired from Baseball and working as a commentator for Fox and the Diamondbacks, is back in Phoenix full-time, and a lot of people have been after him to sign their 2001 World Series items. I was told just last month that he was not signing for anyone, and had said that now that he's not playing any more, he's not signing, either. (I know...it makes no sense, but that's what he supposedly said.) Then last week, I found out that he's doing a paid signing on the 17th, which should be well-attended. We'll see how personable he is under those conditions, I guess.

[platinum1]

for me it would have to be michael young. i have never seen him sign at the stadium and he tends to ignore all request.
That's crazy Miguel Young signs everything when he comes to Comiskey Park. For some reason players dont like to sign at Home.

[stlbats]

It is true that for some reason most players dont sign as well at home parks. Reggie Sanders was a very good signer and very friendly guy when he was in St Louis.

Jason
stlbats@bellsouth.net

[OaklandAsFan]

That's crazy Miguel Young signs everything when he comes to Comiskey Park. For some reason players dont like to sign at Home.


Alot of players don't like to sign at home because 90 times out of 100 it is the same people standing there to get the graphs day in and day out.