Yesterday, upon returning from Indianapolis, I jumped right into a private signing with Red Sox legend Jim Rice. I have worked with Jim in the past and have always enjoyed conversing with him. He still works for the Sox as a studio analyst for the NESN network so he is extremely knowledgeable about the current team. That, coupled with my recent time in Boston, made for some interesting conversation. We spent the majority of the signing arguing the pros and cons of trading young position players for Johan Santana. Anyway, Jim signed some spectacular product including inscription baseballs (Red Sox Cpt, '78 AL MVP), MLB baseballs, bats and a handful of mini-batting helmets. Bottom line is that the guy belongs in Cooperstown. He put up unbelievable numbers consistently for one of the greatest franchises in the game. Hopefully next year the Hall gets it right.




A few hours after Jim completed the signing I began another autograph session. This one was with my man Darryl Strawberry. I have known Straw for several years and we have become pretty good friends over that time. He and I share a common bond in that his son went to my alma-mater University of Maryland (so we are both Terps fans). In an ironic turn of events DJ Strawberry is now backing up my boy Steve Nash in Phoenix. Anyway, Straw is doing awesome right now. He seems to have truly found his calling with all the charity work he is doing. The Darryl Strawberry Foundation is raising money for people who suffer from autism and their families. It was great to see Darryl doing so well and doing such important work.
We got some tough product signed including inscription baseballs (ROY, '86 WS Champs) and a few Shea Stadium/Willets Point Subway signs (with the '86 WS Champs inscriptions...strong!) After the signing Darryl headed over to our Last Licks Armonk store for an hour of public signing. While I was not there I feel the need to relay a story from the event. One of my friends was over at the store. The guy is a huge Yankees fan and felt the need to ask Straw which team was better- '86 or '96 (if you need to ask what teams I am talking about you probably should not be reading my stuff). My boy Darryl , without flinching said '86 (not that the '96 Yankees were not great). I'll end this one right there.
For more on Straw's foundation Click Here.
I encourage you all to check it out.