One of the very few things i dislike about this site is the overwhelming negativity, especially since I am an optimist and the glass is always half full. I can see how I just participated in that and I just threw up in my mouth.

With that said, I grew up in Sarasota, FL, the former spring training home of the White Sox and single A affiliate, Sarasota White Sox. I watched Frank come through the single A team on his way up, and then got to watch him in Spring Training every year until 95. I was a kid then and was at the park every day, through work outs and games.

What is really sad is that so many adults during that time (who had clubhouse access) tried to scam a group of us kids that hung around the clubhouse and fields, in which we were always getting bats from the players. I can't count how many times guys would come out of the clubhouse with a hand full of singed balls (by FT) and would try to trade us for the bats we had gotten that day. All of them were fake. It was happening so much that we got really good at picking out which ones were fake. Frank even came out to us one day after an extended work out and asked to see some of the fake balls, which then got security involved who then revoked the clubhouse credentials of the guys who were doing it.

When I saw that autograph, specifically the sharpness of the "3", sharpness of the "5", the peak of the "F", and the cross line that he makes between the F and T, it triggered some flash backs that got me really fired up.

Sorry to rain on the parade, I just called it how I saw it.