Orioles – Blue Jays, 10/02/09

Posted by esiason14 :: Posted in In-Person Autographs :: No Comments Yet

Last night I took my son to the first game of the final Orioles series of the year. They were playing the Blue Jays. I didn’t think it would be anything special… just another game at the Yard.

We got there around 5:15, which gave us enough time to watch batting practice and grab a hot dog or two before the game started. As we were ordering our food, we were approached by a couple of women. At first I thought they were trying to get us to sign up for something so I kind of nicely blew them off. They asked if I was an Orioles fan and I told them no, but my son is. They asked us a few more questions about the Orioles, how many games we had been to this season, etc… then they asked my son if he would like to be part of the Orioles Fan Appreciation Weekend. Of course he said yes and they told us to fill out a form and to meet them at 6:30 near Home Plate Plaza. They had chosen my son to run out of the field with the players for the National Anthems. Each kid would be paired with a player and would stand next to them during at their position. Pretty cool.

We met the team rep at Home Plate Plaza at 6:30 and then proceeded downstairs. Each winner was given an Official Major League baseball and instructions. They were to run out to the player’s position, stand there for the National Anthems, get their ball signed and then run back. We waited in the tunnel for about 20 minutes and then they led us onto the field. I wasn’t able to run on the field, but they allowed me to stand behind home plate…just behind the National Anthem singers.

To make a long story short, my son was paired with Jeff Fiorentino. He got to run out to centerfield and stand between Lou Montanez and Jeff Fiorentino. Just my luck, this is the one time that I didn’t bring a camera to the game. All I had was my iPhone so my pictures were terrible. Oh well.

So I just wanted to say thank you to the Orioles. While their season is probably one they would like to forget, they gave my son an experience that he will remember his whole life.

Tyler is the the short one in the gray jersey and hat.

(Click on each image to view the full size)