Early this morning I took a ride downtown to do an autograph signing with Donnie Baseball. I haven't seen Don Mattingly since January, when I took the red eye back from Seattle and headed right to a public appearance at Hall of Heroes. That signing alone could take up a few paragraphs. It was awesome to see him. I love hanging out with the Hitman. We talked some baseball. I always learn so much about the game from spending time with Donnie. There are so many little things about the game that we, as fans, don't know.
You all have probably seen the classic Mattingly tag photo. I didn't realize, until today, that the player Donnie is tagging is Julio Franco. That is so cool. Julio had an unbelievable week for the Mets. He became the oldest player in history to hit a home run. He also stole an important base against the Giants in that classic extra innings game. That bag made Franco the oldest player in 100 years to steal a base. It's amazing that every time he comes to the plate a record is broken.
Donnie and I also spent some time discussing the new Springsteen album. I was going to mention the album earlier in the week but I knew it would be more relevant in the Mattingly posting. First of all the album is incredible. I recommend it to everyone. It was made with a 14 person band at Bruce's ranch in Jersey. It's all classic songs made popluar by folk legend Pete Seeger. I knew Donnie was a fan so I recommended it to him. Not five minutes after we changed conversation topics, the new Bruce video came on television and the Hitman flipped for it. I think he picked up the album shortly after the signing. The highlight of my day was definitely turning Donnie on to the record. How awesome is that?
Check back later for the answers to a few email questions as well as an update on a surprise signing I am doing after Saturday's Yankee game.