I can not say how, but I got VIP passes to the DHL All-Star Fan-Fest at the Javitz Center in NYC! It was part of the celebration of the All-Star game that took place at Yankee Stadium yesterday.
I had a chance to walk around the city a bit before the event, and came across this lovely lady here. Apparently, there was a Liberty statue painted in the colors of every major league team and spread out all over the city. This one was in front of Madison Square Garden. The Cincinnatti Reds one was in front of a Models store in 80s. I would have liked to see that one live and in person.
MLB is actioning them all off. So, if you have a few thousand dollars lying around (opening bid for each is $5,000), you can click here for details. Proceeds of the auction go to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of America.
As for the Fan-Fest itself, it was great. Being a VIP meant that we got special access to a private area in the middle of the exhibition space and also admission to the event itself.
The VIP passes were a great perk. It gave you access to free food, a simulcast of the Home Run Derby, and a chance for a one-on-one autograph session with former MLB greats.
Who? Well, Darryl Strawberry:
Who was really nice. Also, Yankee Legend Bucky Dent:
And Dave Winfield also came out at the same time. By the time I got through the lines for Bucky Dent and Darryl Strawberry, Dave Winfield's was closed. My one gripe about the whole thing that I wish they staggered the players more. Anyway, here is Dave signing away.
They had about an hour before the next group of players came out, so my wife and I walked around for a bit.
The Fan-Fest is very family friendly. There are fun activities for kids and adults, You could have your image placed on a replica baseball card or the cover of the New York Post. You could go to a batting cage, have your pitches clocked for speed, or see how fast you could run the base paths.
There was also an auction house there auctioning off memorabilia. They had old baseball cards, jerseys, and pictures. A lot of stuff from Whitey Ford and Thurman Munson. Munson is one of my wife's favorite players, so we had to get a picture of Munson's MasterCharge card.
It might be blurry, but I assure you it's his!
They also had a replica of the clubhouse from the All-Star Game, which, having seen the clubhouses on the actual pre-game, looks nothing like them.
Here I am with former Red Josh Hamiltion's locker, at the moment he was at bat at the Home Run Derby.
We then headed back to the VIP area, which was in the shape of the a baseball diamond. We got back there just in time to see Dave Winfield being interviewed by FOX's Chris Myers. Unfortunately, he had to compete with Josh Hamiltion's awesome performace on the screen behind him.
Which was really unfair because Dave Winfield is a great speaker and was telling some great stories. But he didn't have it as bad as Wade Boggs, because he was being interviewed while the next autograph session began.
I'm pretty sure he was waving at me, not the woman in front of me. Yeah, I'm almost positive.
This time around, we didn't learned from our earlier mistake and made sure we got all the stars. And I'm glad we did because there was Graig Nettles:
Who had the best picture to have signed. And we got Mickey Rivers:
He was a really nice guy. As a matter of fact, they all were. And, last but not least, there was Steve Sax:
It was a blast to see all the player I grew up watching and be able to shake their hand. They said that Yogi Berra was signing somewhere in the building, but we didn't get to his autograph, which would have been nice.
We also got a chance to meet amd talk with Chris Myers, who was very personable and completely nice.
We also visited the Fan-Fest store. We spent more money than we should have considering we are about to go on a two-week vacation, but it was cool stuff. Like T-shirts and hats to remember the day. They even had the All-Star Game program. That was cool.
The Baseball Hall of Fame also brought some of their exhibits there. I got to see Tom Seaver's Reds jersey next to Mike Schmidt's:
As a Reds fan and a Schmitty fan, that was totally awesome. Here are some other pictures of jerseys throughout Baseball history:
There was also a store dedicated to Minor League baseball, where you could buy hats from almost all of the Minor League Baseball teams. I picked up a Sarasota Reds hat.
I heartily recommend the Fan-Fest if it ever comes to your town. I think tickets were only $30 a piece, and you got a lot for your money. Especially if you are a baseball fan and want to pass the love on to your kids.
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