During 2009 Spring Training, my aunt (who is a massive Cleveland Indians fan), asked if I'd like to join her in Phoenix for a few days of baseball and sunshine. I had never been to spring training, so I quickly agreed. We ended up going to several games - a few with the Indians, one with the Dodgers, and a game with the Rangers (which I've already mentioned).Spring Training is an amazing time to get up close and personal to big league players. During the time there, I ended up getting several signatures on a Cleveland Indians score book. The cover was autographed by coach, Luis Rivera. Other signatures found on the pages include manager Eric Wedge, and players Travis Hafner, David Delucci, Ryan Garko, Jamey Caroll, Trevor Crowe, and Shin-Soo Choo.
Of this group, Hafner has done the most in his career in the bigs. Caroll has found a niche as a utility infielder, and Garko has displayed moments of powerful hitting at the corner positions. However it might be Choo who has the best big league career by the time these players all retire. If he does have a Hall of Fame worthy career, he would be the first Korean (and Asian) player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. As mentioned before, Spring Training is an amazing place to get signatures. I also have a ticket stub that has several Indian players on it, but that will be for a future installment. It is also where I met Bob Feller and obtained my first ever Hall of Famer signature.
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