Saturday Feb 11th, San Diego Padres Fanfest

Another day of graphing with my friend Benson and the site was good old San Diego for the Padres Fanfest. This was a 2nd of back to back trips to San Diego just for graphing purposes. A week ago we went out to get Tony Gwynn at El Cajon Ford. This was my first time at Padres Fanfest. From friends who have gone previous years I heard that it was the most interactive fanfest since the Padres literally open up the field for you. They let fans check out the club house, hang around in the dugout, walk on the field and play catch and so forth. The only downside was a lack of stars that were signing. Still a fun experience especially since we are still a few months away from baseball season. The Dodgers definitely need to learn a thing from the Padres by having an interactive Fanfest like the Padres do each year. They can learn a lesson or two.

Due to the lack of stars that were signing I stuck to getting the entire team of players on a Padre mini helmet. Ended up with Andrew Cashner, Huston Street, Tim Stauffer, Luke Gregerson, Joe Thatcher, Chase Headley, Brad Brach, Yonder Alonso, Erik Hamren, Nick Hundley, Kyle Blanks, Brad Boxberger, Cory Luebke, Will Venable on my Padres mini helmet.

Yonder Alonso on a SS ROMLB and Topps Card

Jerry Coleman on a SS ROMLB

After graphing I went with Benson to check out the Padres Garage Sale. They were slashing prices toward the end of fanfest. What caught our eye was a signed Vinny Castilla signed 2006 World Baseball Classic Baseball. This baseball looked different from the ones that were released in public and the ones used in the game which had gold foil printing. I did some research on my iphone and found out that it was a prototype
Check out http://www.photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/miscellaneous-baseballs-misprints-and-prototypes/rawlings-2006-world-baseball-classic-prototype-006.jpg.php
This is a great site for all things related to Rawlings baseballs. It's like an encyclopedia of all baseballs made. Through the site I found out that the ball I purchased was a prototype and since I am a collector of all things baseball I had to buy it. Plus they slashed the prices down to $15 dollars for the baseball so it was a bargain considering even standard non commemorative ROMLBs go for $15-20 these days. 

Vinny Castilla Signed Prototype WBC 2006 baseball

When I was about to pay for the item the cashier had an additional item for me to buy. The Padres had incredible items up for sale like game used bats for $30 and game used jerseys for $50-175 depending on the style and player. However all the good stuff went to season ticket holders since they had early entry into Fanfest. Thus there wasn't much left over at the end. The lady who was at the register asked me if I wanted to buy an Adrian Gonzalez game used batting practice jersey. I was like sure how much. She said $50. I was hesistant for a second since I wondered why she didn't buy the item herself. Can't go wrong for $50 for a high caliber player like Adrian even though he is now with the Red Sox. Well seating next to her I saw her husband and she was telling me that he'd get mad if she bought two jerseys. She had a throwback Matt Latos game worn jersey tucked underneath the table which she was planning on purchasing herself at the end of fanfest. I thanked her for the jersey and went home happy.

Adrian Gonzalez Batting Practice Jersey.