Nicest Guy in Baseball

Every so often, Sports Illustrated asks in its player poll who the nicest guy in baseball is. Last year Jim Thome earned the title. I'm sure he is a very nice guy, but in my opinion, there is no one nicer in the game of baseball than Javy Lopez. Let me explain why...

Last year, my dad and I travelled down to Florida for the Atlanta Braves Fantasy Camp in which former players act as coaches and put on a week long camp. The price is something like $3,000 and you have to be 26 years old to participate. Campers get uniforms like the pros wear, bats with their names, the whole deal. On the last day, the campers play a game against the pros. As you all know, Javy is my favorite player and any time I get to see him play ball again after four (now five) years of retirement is worth the seven hour drive from Atlanta to Kissimmee, FL.

That year I got all sorts of former Braves' autographs. Pete Smith came over to the seats where I was standing. There were other guys there wanting autographs, but he stopped at me first, signed my card, and handed me the baseball that was in his hand. Later, an umpire tossed me another ball that had landed near where I was sitting. I took that one and got Marquis Grissom and Greg Olson to sign it. I didn't know at the time that players didn't like signing the same ball as another player and when one of the guys handed it to Marquis for me, he must have said something about it because when they told him it was for me, he started apologizing. I know it decreases the value of the ball, but I don't collect autographs to sell or trade. I collect them because it's fun. The cards I got signed are below.

 At first, Javy didn't seem like he wanted to sign anything. A lot of players were giving each other crap for signing that day. I think it's because most of the guys there were older and had pages and pages of cards they wanted signed. You know, the types that take the signed items straight to eBay. But after lunch, Javy did as he promised and signed for everyone with something for him. I was ecstatic! These aren't my first autographs of his, but they are the first ones I ever got in person which means way more to me.



As if that wasn't enough...

After the game was over, all the pros and campers shook hands, gave each other hugs, and were taking pictures since it was the final day of camp. I was standing at the edge of the third base dugout (the pros' dugout) when all the other autograph hounds had left. Javy was the only player to walk back to the dugout to get his equipment. As he walked over I said, "Mr. Lopez, do you have a moment to take a picture with me?" He smiled really big and said, "Sure!" Now I know he probably didn't want to and I'm sure it gets old when people ask for autographs and pictures all the time, but he said yes. And he said yes with a smile on his face. If he was annoyed, he didn't let it show. I jumped down on the field and my dad snapped the picture of us. We both told him thank you so much and he smiled again and said, "You're welcome!"

Best day of my life.

Side note: If I had known I was going to take a picture with Javy Lopez, I wouldn't have dressed like a slob.

So this year I decided that I wanted Javy to sign an 8x10 of our picture from that day. This time my dad and I travelled 9 hours from NC to FL in hopes of getting my picture signed. I got a few other autographs in the meantime. Eddie Perez wasn't listed as one of the pros coming so I didn't have a card with me. I had a silver Sharpie in my hand for him to sign my ticket, but he signed it with what he had at the time. That's ok, I'm not going to turn into an autograph snob.

Fantasy camp this year was a lot different. There were probably four times the amount of campers and ten times the amount of autograph seekers. There were so many campers that they were split between 3 or 4 fields. We finally found the field Javy was at. It wasn't a stadium so you could just walk right up to the backstop where they were sitting and watch the game. A group of guys from an adult softball team in Venezuela were in a tournament at the same complex and must have heard that former Braves were there. One of them must have gotten Javy's attention because he came out of the dugout and started signing baseballs for them and taking pictures with them. I know it sounds silly, but I felt bad joining in just because they seemed to have a connection...speaking spanish and laughing with each other and I'm some little girl wanting an autograph. I waited until they were through and then showed him my picture. He looked at it and smiled and said, "When was this?!" I told him about it and he gladly signed it and even took another picture with me. He stood there until everyone one of us got our item signed and took a picture with him. He didn't looked annoyed, he didn't rush anyone, he didn't turn anyone away. He just smiled. He asked questions and carried on a conversation.

Nicest guy in baseball.