I know this is off topic but i'll gladly take the bashing in exchage for telling my story.

A lady I work with is Friends with the PR lady for the base. The PR lady wanted to bring a few Japanese ballplayers on the base to shop at the BX and eat american food. The lady I work with asked her friend if she needed any help, as she knew i was a big baseball fan. I was asked to meet the players at the gate at 5pm to sign them on and show them around the BX.

So I pull up to the gate and there were 4 american guys standing outside. I instantly recognized one of the mas Matt Murton. I remembered him from his Cubs days. So i walk up to them and ask if they were comming on base. Then we introduced ourselves to each other and kinda stood around and talked while we were waiting on the PR lady to show up. The other 3 guys were Randy Messenger, Casey Fossum and Craig Brazell. They all had some time in the MLB and recently signed to play in Japan.

Finally we get the ball rolling and head over to the BX. The guys were really nice and were asking me a bunch of questions about the base and about the military. I in turn had my fair share of questions for them. We get upstairs and 3 of the players wanted to just browse around and Matt Murton wanted to go look at supplements. I took him over there and was helping him try to find want he needed. We must have stood there for a good 15-20 mins just talkin and lookin at different products. He was thrilled to visit the base and kept saying its something he'll never forget. Then we walked over to the electronics and checked out the video games. He wanted to find a new game to play and we prolly spent another 30 mins standing there talking and browsing at different games. There was a lot of normal conversation, as i did a good job of keeping my composure and trying not to ask too much about baseball. I was standing there still in awe, i couldnt believe how a few years ago i was watching Matt take fly balls in the outfield in Cincinnati as a Cub and now im standing here shopping with him.

We finally got the players checked out at the cash register, then we headed down stairs for some food. It was great just sitting there with these guys talking and sharing stories. Taco Bell and Subway is what everyone was craving for. They told me they've got a game this Saturday and invited out to watch and said when i get there to yell at them so they can come over and say hi. Matt wants to bring my son on the field and pass with him, which i know he'll be excited for that.

After dinner, we exchanged emailed addresses. Matt put mine down in his phone and shot me and email right there. Finally we took a group photo with everyones cameras which turned out great.

It didnt hit me until after I got in my car and drove away. I was pretty pumped about everything. Looking forward to Saturday...

Will post pics here soon.