I'm a huge D-Backs fan and I had never been to a D-Backs Fan Fest before yesterday. It was awesome! I planned on attending with a buddy of mine, but we weren't able to meet up, so I went by myself. Subway was the main sponser and they had a promotion going where if you bought two value meals, you could bring in your reciept and get in an hour early and get Dan Haren's autograph for free. So I took advantage of that opportunitty and arrived right at 9 am. When I got in I was surprized to see that people could pick between Dan Haren, Luis Gonzalez, and Miguel Montero for their free autograph. I wanted Haren, so I got my voucher and got in line. I probably waited about 45 minutes or so, not too long. Here is a picture of Dan handing me my ball back. Not the best picture, but a picture nontheless.
Here is my new Dan Haren autographed baseball.
From there I walked over to section 132, where I could enter the field. Here is a shot of the field.
I headed over to the Foundation Yard Sale. Again, this was my first D-Backs Fan Fest, so I was unaware of the Yard Sale. I walk in and right off the bat are a couple thousand autographed baseballs for sale, mostly from former D-Backs. They wanted $50 for Gonzo and then had several players for $25, $10 and $2. That's right, $2 for an autographed MLB ball. I could have gone nuts, but I controlled myself and picked out two balls that were each $2. They had broken bats, game worn hats and jerseys and a smattering of other items all for great prices. All proceeds went to Diamondback charities. Here is what I got.
Robby Hammock autographed ball ($2)
Shane Reynolds autographed ball ($2)
Josh Wilson Locker Nameplate ($3) - my last name is Wilson, so I had to get this
Alex Cintron Locker Nameplate ($3) - these are the actual nameplates that were above the players lockers
Troy Glaus Locker Nameplate ($3)
Carlos Quentin Bobblehead ($3)
After checking out at the Yard Sale I started wandering and ran into Matt Williams, who was signing autographs while waiting for his turn to go on the radio. I pulled out my card binder, but for some reason I had forgot to bring any Williams cards.
I did however, have some Signature Cards, so I had Matt sign one for me. Thanks Matt!
Next I went over and took a tour of the locker room/clubhouse area. Here are some of the teams lockers.
Brandon Webb
Mark Reynolds
Dan Haren
Justin Upton
Conor Jackson
Chris Young
Clay Zavada
The tour ended with you coming out in the dugout, which was pretty cool.
I had a great time! My time and funds were both low, so I didn't stay for any of the autograph sessions that required a $5 per player per item donation, but I still ended up with some sweet auto's to add to my collection. I can't wait til next year!