Your Worst Experience Dealing With An Athlete

[sfgiants452]

One of my worst came last year in Pittsburgh when the Pirates faced the Giants. I stayed at the hotel with the Giants with the goal of getting the entire team to sign the ball in just 3 days. Sounds tough but I almost accomplished it. I got everyone, including Bonds (he was very nice about it and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life), except for 2......brian wilson (for some reason couldnt find him) and ray durham. I asked Ray over 3 times to sign but he refused. First the excuse was "I cant sign in the hotel" (everyone else did), second time was outside and he said "I am not allowed to sign after games" (bs), and the third was in the stadium when he said "I have to go stretch"...and he never did. He also had the nerve to tell a 6 year old that "I am not Ray Durham." He was a completely horrible person. I have also seen others have pretty bad ones. It was after my first Yankees game back in 1996 and after the game my dad brought me to the players exit. Now back then at 5 years old I was too scared for some reason to speak up, so I didnt ask any of the players for anything. Suprisingly there wasnt anyone at the exit except for me, my dad, another 5 year old, and his dad. A ton of Yankees came out and signed for the little kid except for one. Paul O Neil. He walked right by him and said "I am not getting paid to sign autographs" and he continued to his car. Another bad one I have seen was Bobby Bonilla. Once again I was standing next to a kid (wasnt sure of his age) who kept yelling and asking him for an auto. After bp he walks over and to the kids delight...bobby takes the ball writes something and gave it back to him. To the kids dismay Bobby put a huge X on the sweet spot of his ball and walked away. I have had trouble with some people to..... Ken Griffey Jr., rookie on the giants Fred Lewis, again Ray Durham (complete a**h***), Hideki Matsui (only signed for japanese people...love him as a player though),Eric Byrnes, Curt Schilling, etc.
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My stories are too long for good experiences, so I will just give a list of the players. Nomar Garciaparra, Omar Viquel, Todd Helton, Mark Sweeney, Carlos Lee, Chris Gomez, Dontrelle Willis, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, David Wright, Willie Mays, and again believe or not Barry Bonds.

Anthony

[both-teams-played-hard]

When I was 19 (legal adult, but still a teenager) I waited behind the hotel, in an alley, next to the team bus and along comes Magic Johnson. I had a photo and sharpie in hand. Magic was walking slowly, just be-bopping along. He wasn't carrying any luggage or bags or nothing. He wasn't wearing sunglasses. It was "the" Magic, the guy whose smile will light up the sky from Bangor, Maine to El Segundo (blah,blah,blah). I bought the shoes. I paid my debts to the Magic society. I said "Magic, could I have your autograph?" Magic seemed to walk slower and said, "No". There was no one around. No bodyguards, no other players, no security, no media, nobody. And most importantly, no other autograph seekers. It's more reasonable and easier to reject a crowd than a single punk kid. I was choked up. I said "Magic-C'mon..just one for the road?" He stopped and turned around and took a few steps toward me in a threatening manner and says, "No, man! None for the road!" I was real close to crying. It was just like an after-school special. Now was my golden chance to crack-back on Showtime himself! I quickly and nervously said "Well, Magic...I hope you have a ...bad game." Golden chance blown. Magic Johnson's highlight reel flashed before my eyes. As a kid, I was sold the dream that Magic was a real, nice guy. Reality is a bitch. I have never asked for an autograph since. I am a grown man. I am too old to ask for an autograph. I liked autographs from players who wanted to sign (for free). Yes, those days are over. But how much can you make, being a grown man selling autographs you got at the hotel? The rule is simple. If you were a child when they played...it is fair game to ask for an autograph. How would my life have changed if Magic signed for me? The lesson I learned about fantasy and reality is worth more than an autograph from Magic. The stories I've read on this thread are more valuable than the actual autographs.

Yes, I know this is an old story. Years have passed, but I am still haunted by the smugness and arrogance of Tragic Johnson. Sorry for the vent, but we're all friends, right? Everytime I see that rat's face, it reminds me of how much a true richard he is. On TNT's NBA show with Barkley and Kenny Smith, Tragic is occasionally a host. Why? Does he need the money? Is he afraid that he will be forgotten? Too late Tragic, you're a has-been. It's over...put a fork in yourself- cause you're done. I guess I'm suffering from post-magic-stress-disorder....the gift that keeps on giving. You're a fraud. Tragic fronts like he helps the less fortunate. If there is a tax break involved, then he's Mr. Charity. He's a phoney and is so out of touch with low-income neighborhoods in L.A. It doesn't say much for Michigan State U., because he has no grasp of the English language and struggles with subject/verb agreement. Why doesn't Tragic french-kiss Isiah in public anymore? Did folks stopped falling for the "we're just special friends" line? Tragic...nobody cares about your movie theatres, nobody cares what politician you endorse, nobody cares what new business you've opened. Alright, Tragic you're real freakin' rich. Next. Please don't refer to yourself in the third person...that's reserved for active players.

Anyone else have any stories about bad experiences with players?

[frikativ54]

Hunter Pence. There's absolutely no comparison. I "met" Hunter Pence at an autograph signing put on by Sports Collectibles of Houston on August 26th, 2007. I had called the show's promoters two days before to reserve an autograph ticket and to ask if Pence would pose for a photograph with me. They agreed to both, no problems whatsoever.

When it came to the show, however, Hunter Pence was extremely rude and unfriendly. I told him that I had flown in from Portland, was a huge Astros fan, could I please have the photograph with him to which the show's promoters said I was entitled. He refused to even acknowledge me, threw his hands up in the air, and looked straight at security.

The security guard barked at me that I was "impeding" the flow of the line. What was comical was that the "overseer" for Sports Collectibles of Houston had time to argue with me about what color pen I wanted the signature in (I had grabbed blue, which is apparently inferior to black), but Hunter Pence didn't have 5 seconds to smile and take a picture with me, when my Mom had the camera in hand. And to top it off, this was after I paid $500 for a game-used bat from Pence's people. I was practically in tears, which Hunter Pence obviously saw, and went on unaffected.

I've had my pictures taken with people as famous as Jeff Bagwell and Mitt Romney, but a rookie can't even acknowledge a big fan who flew all the way in from Portland to see the Astros? I've even met Elizabeth Dole and Joe Lieberman, and all were perfectly civil and cordial. If anybody needs a Pence gamer, this person has one to sell.

[godwulf]

I've been thinking about starting a thread called "Worst FanFest Experiences", since it's about that time of year, in which to tell this story...but this one will do.

One of the best things about this experience is that I have photos to help me remember it as vividly as possible - which hopefully, you'll be able to see when you click on the links.

At last year's Diamondbacks FanFest, they had, as I recall, ten players signing, and they were charging 5 bucks for two players' autographs, for charity. Much to everyone's surprise, Randy Johnson was one of the players.

I own one of Randy's 2001 World Series cracked gamers, and I figured that the FanFest would be a great time to get it autographed without incurring Randy's usual triple-digit signing fee.

The other guys were all great - Jose Valverde, Livan Hernandez, Doug Davis, Micah Owings, and so on. Then it was time to face the Big Unit.

http://www.printroom.com/popupImage....6816&effectRGB=

As you can see, I'm pointing to the sweet spot on the bat, between the name and the label, and I'm very politely asking Randy to please sign there with a black Sharpie. If I had it to do over again, I'd have put a black Sharpie in his hand, but at the time I didn't think that was necessary.

So Randy very deliberately picks up a blue Sharpie, picks up and turns the bat almost 90 degrees, and signs it on the side - making display of both the name and signature almost impossible.

Note the "What the...?" expression on my face.

http://www.printroom.com/popupImage....6837&effectRGB=

Mentally shrugging this off as "Whatever", I then begin to ask the question, "Hey, Randy...somebody told me that you guys were issued a certain number of these bats for the Series...do you happen to remember how many you got?" Before I'd even finished asking the question, Randy was shaking his head...and then he sat there staring down at the bat through his dark glasses like it was a snake or something, and finally he said - in a very grumpy and irritated tone, "I don't even know where you got this bat!"

I hadn't been asking him to authenticate the thing, for cryin' out loud - just asking what I thought was a simple, innocent question.

Anyway, again, mentally shrugging it off, and taking the hint that our "conversation" was over, I very politely and without a trace of sarcasm, said, "Thank you very much, Randy", and began to walk away. At that point, he looked up (for the first time since I'd walked up to the table, I might add) and - in a very sarcastic and ugly tone, and with a little smile on his face to match, he said, "Have a nice day!"

[AROD313]

Will Clark almost ran me over with a Cadillac. I was waiting near the Player parking lot at Candlestick and Will the Thrill came ripping in had to be doing at least 50Mph missed me by inches. The guy was a real Jerk when I asked him for his autograph he told me to Blank off and walked into the stadium. I was about 13 at the time. The guy was a real class act.

[skyking26]

Mark McGwire would stick out in my mind. First got him at a signing after a Tigers game in Detroit early in his career. At the time I believe he was going thru his divorce and had a BEAUTIFUL long haired brunette at the signing practically sitting on his lap the whole time. His mind was obviously on other things and he said little. Flash forward to his later years with Oakland in Det. again. My wife and I watch him hit one on the left field roof. I went out by the team busses (Sunday getaway day to the airport). All I wanted was a picture with him. Had nothing to sign. He was probably the last guy out, and I hollered "great shot today" out to him and he stopped and looked at me like I was the lowest form of life on the planet.

I still today am a fan of the ability to crush a ball before and after steroids, but do not think much of him as a person given how I perceived him...

[srothw]

Best: Kirk Gibson spring training 1984
Best: Ozzie/Jose Canseco at a show I co-promoted in 1989. Fricking hilarius guys.

Best: Pete Rose at same show in 1989 and at Stadium in 1990. Took a dozen balls from me and asked how long I needed them back in. they arrived in less than a week -at no cost plus a letter.

Worst: Pete Rose in LV in 2002. Total DI**, especialy after being so cool in 89,90. Tried to say hello, nice to see you again and was a fing prick.

Worst: Magic Johnson. Met him 3-4 times at MSU games and he always treats people like cra*. I witnessed him sign about 100 autographs for African-american people but ignored me and friend for 45 minutes while rubbing his sweat on me.-we were the only whie people in teh room. Made me wonder or at least get pissed off at him.

[skyking26]

Mark McGwire would stick out in my mind. First got him at a signing after a Tigers game in Detroit early in his career. At the time I believe he was going thru his divorce and had a BEAUTIFUL long haired brunette at the signing practically sitting on his lap the whole time. His mind was obviously on other things and he said little. Flash forward to his later years with Oakland in Det. again. My wife and I watch him hit one on the left field roof. I went out by the team busses (Sunday getaway day to the airport). All I wanted was a picture with him. Had nothing to sign. He was probably the last guy out, and I hollered "great shot today" out to him and he stopped and looked at me like I was the lowest form of life on the planet.

I still today am a fan of the ability to crush a ball before and after steroids, but do not think much of him as a person given how I perceived him...

Honorable mentions on the bad guy list would include Reggie Jackson. He appeared locally about 10 years ago with his army of guys. Back then there was a crippled girl that would always be there - but could not afford the auto. of the players, so she'd watch. I overheard from my spot in the line guys telling Reggie how great it would be image-wise to go up and talk to the girl. He said he wanted no part in it. They finally convinced him and he got his s*rry as* up and went over and pretended to be friendly to her. What a loser.

*Al Kaline. Total jerk in almost every scenario I have encountered him whether paid or a walk up.
*Hank Aaron. Sat out in the limo and made hundreds wait in line while he watched a football game on tv. Then when I asked if he'd write 755 on the ball he told his guys, "I thought I told you guys I was not writing anything but Hank Aaron." Not a nice man.
*Willie Mays. Stll mad he did not make the $$. Today he will deliberately sign in another location other than where you ask to piss you off.

I'm sure I could think of more. These stick out over the years as the worst!!

[AWA85]

Mine may not be as bad as some, but it sticks out to myself and always will. Being from Iowa it was big that my girfleind got me REDS tickets to see the Reds and Cubs play in Cincinnati. Well her and I go there hours early and I am a huge Homer Bailey fan after watching him pitch in single A and working his way up. I call out a few times to him as he is going to stretch (not playing that day) he doesnt even look over. Than as he is walking back with hardly anyone along the first base side because it is so early I call out to him and my girlfriend asks him politely a couple of times and he just walks by without even looking. Sad part was I wanted to name our cat Homer, but the girl and I comprised on Bailey.... and he was just too cool that day.

Things like that may not mean they are like this all the time but shows how cool some of these guys think they are, and how much it really means to some fans.

[godwulf]

Things like that may not mean they are like this all the time but shows how cool some of these guys think they are, and how much it really means to some fans.

Maybe the fame, success and money causes some of these guys to become that way - rude and contemptuous around the fans - but in other cases, I think they must start out that way.

I've gone out to the Arizona Fall League games the past couple of years, and these are, for the most part, double-A guys, though they are the best double-A guys, and it seems like even at that stage in their careers, you see a huge division in attitude. Most seemed to take the autograph seekers in stride - even the guys with the huge binders who wanted them to sign a dozen of the same card - and some of the better-known prospects, like Ryan Braun and Max Scherzer, went out of their way to make themselves available to the fans, and would hang around in the parking lot for half an hour after a game to make sure everybody got an autograph who wanted one. Other guys were very surly about the whole thing, and made it clear that they resented even being talked to.

I guess maybe it all boils down to the fact that there are good guys, friendly people, along with with opposites, in every line of work, and sports is no exception.