Seattle Mariners 2012 FanFest Official Thread!

[frikativ54]

I just came back from Seattle Mariners FanFest. This year, season ticket holders got in an hour early, which meant that some items were gone before I could get in. However, Jeremy, being one of the nicest guys on the forum, grabbed some Smoak stuff, so I wouldn't miss out. I came home with two Smoak caps, a navy and a red, white, and blue. They will go well with my two Justin Smoak game used jerseys, my road alternate, the only one he wore all year, and my road grey, one of a few he wore in 2011.

I got to the gates nearly two hours early, so I could get a voucher for the Jesus Montero - Casper Wells dual signing. I got a black full size bat signed by Montero with my silver paint pen, as well as my game used helmet autographed by Casper Wells. The guy who was running the signing said, "Oh, it's your helmet." Casper said and repeated twice as he examined what was clearly his helmet, "It's not my helmet. I don't throw my helmets." I got a good laugh out of that one.

As for other stuff I bought, I got a couple of Mike Carp hats, one from the 4th of July and one that he wore all season. The one he wore for all of 2011 showed good use. In addition, I bought a Brandon League 4th of July cap. In all, it was a great day, and I got to hang out with Jeremy, a forum member named Chris, and some others. When my hands aren't nearly as full of game used stuff tomorrow, I'm going to take more photographs.

Below are some pictures:



Casper Wells helmet with Jesus Monter bat



Casper Wells helmet



Greg Halman game used memorial display

[yanks12025]

Les,

Were the chambliss jerseys still there or anything new?

[frikativ54]

Les,

Were the chambliss jerseys still there or anything new?

I didn't look for the Chambliss jerseys specifically, but I didn't see anything new. All of the jerseys were discounted, and things looked pretty well-picked over by the time I left during the two o'clock hour. They still could be there. I was just so focused on hats and Smoak stuff that I wasn't thinking about too much else.

[BurlesonBlue]

I didn't look for the Chambliss jerseys specifically, but I didn't see anything new. All of the jerseys were discounted, and things looked pretty well-picked over by the time I left during the two o'clock hour. They still could be there. I was just so focused on hats and Smoak stuff that I wasn't thinking about too much else.

Most definitely. With jerseys from the team store marked down at half-off, I couldn't help but pick up a 2004 "team-issued" but clearly game used Cha Seung Baek jersey. The Mariners Care Garage Sale had some pretty good items as well, including $50 "Los Marineros" Salute to Latin Baseball Day jerseys, but those were all picked over by the time I made it over there.

[BurlesonBlue]

Most definitely. With jerseys from the team store marked down at half-off, I couldn't help but pick up a 2004 "team-issued" but clearly game used Cha Seung Baek jersey. The Mariners Care Garage Sale had some pretty good items as well, including $50 "Los Marineros" Salute to Latin Baseball Day jerseys, but those were all picked over by the time I made it over there.

And actually, upon review of the lone picture I could find from Baek's major league debut, it's a style match, with the front Seattle lettering matching up. While this doesn't prove it's from that game, it doesn't rule out the possibility that I now own Baek's Major League Debut jersey!

[Klattsy]

Wasn't any old Ryan Rowland Smith's or Chris Snelling gear lying around was there?

[chakes89]

I know it might be a bit of a stretch but was there any Chris Reitsma stuff?

[frikativ54]

Wasn't any old Ryan Rowland Smith's or Chris Snelling gear lying around was there?

Sorry; there weren't any that I noticed.

[frikativ54]

I know it might be a bit of a stretch but was there any Chris Reitsma stuff?

Nope. I wish I could say that I saw some, but I didn't.

-Frik

[frikativ54]

Day two was by far my favorite of Mariners FanFest. I got in line over two hours before the gates opened, so I had my pick of autograph sessions. I ended up getting Danny Hultzen and Taijuan Walker to sign baseballs. Also, I picked up what I thought were two Trayvon Robinson caps, along with a Blake Beavan 4th of July hat that I had overlooked the day before.

Right after I bought them, I walked past the Social Media Table, and who was there but Trayvon himself. The guy in front of me asked if he could get a picture with his son and Robinson, so I made the same request for a photo with the M's rookie. He gladly obliged, and now I have two photos of me and Trayvon together. After that experience, I walked over to the M's Team Store booth, where I purchased a teal Robinson rookie jersey that was MLB authenticated to a couple of games last fall. It was 30 percent off.

After I took some pictures, I went over to the Dan Wilson autograph signing. While he was never my favorite Mariner, my brother in New York wanted an autographed baseball, so I obliged. I got the very last ticket for the Wilson autograph signing, which went well. Then, I headed back over to the Mariners game used booth, where stuff was getting marked down quickly. They even had a "buy one, get one half off" jersey sale. I could have spent a lot more money on jerseys, but since the M's are not my collecting focus, I settled for one jersey, along with all the hats I had accumulated.

As I was at the table, I realized that the two hats I had bought earlier could have either been Trayvon's or Ryan Langerhans's. While I hoped they were of the former, both wore number 12 during different portions of the season. Upon further inspection, both had the same handwriting underneath and both were size 7 1/8, so I am assuming I got two caps of the same player. Unfortunately, neither hologram is listed yet in the MLB authentication database, so I don't know whose hats I have. Kind of frustrating.

During the whole event, players, staff, and fans were friendly and courteous. People were more than willing to snap photographs for me, since I spent most of Sunday alone. Players were very amenable to signing with whatever pen I wanted and on the sweet spot, if I so desired. I didn't have to worry about sharpie autographs, nor about athletes being rude and fan unfriendly. Prices for game used stuff were quite fair, and I ended up taking home hats from several young Mariners. I figure that if a few pan out, I will have some nice pieces. I couldn't have been happier with the way things went.

I will post more pictures later and would love to read other stories about M's FanFest.

-Frik