I Got Served

...by Atlanta Braves alumni! That's right, the Braves alumni were on hand to serve Waffle House breakfast at the Braves Open House a few weeks ago. Participants included Ryan Klesko, Johnny Estrada, Otis Nixon, Marquis Grissom, Terry Harper, Rick Camp, and Jim Nash. Of course, I was most excited to see Klesko. The mid-90's Braves will always hold a spot in my heart because that is when I first began following baseball.

The food was divided into two lines. The line my dad and I went through had Klesko, Grissom, and Nash serving. When we got to Klesko he greeted us with a smile and spoke to us. He joked saying that we had to get a waffle because Marquis made them. Later on, he came out from behind the table and signed autographs and took pictures with lots of people. Luckily, I was one of them!

I also asked Estrada for a picture. I think I caught him off-guard because he looked surprised since know one had approached him yet. I hope I didn't bother him. From the huge smile on his face, it looks like he got over it.

After breakfast, their was a Q&A with the players. A lot of kids asked questions like, "Who was the best?" and "What was your favorite game?" It was interesting hearing everyone's responses. Marquis spoke about catching the last out of the '95 World Series and Klesko mentioned how he was drafted as a pitcher (I had no idea) and how cocky he was as a young player. All the players gave great advise to the kids about working hard in both sports and school because it is extremely difficult to get drafted and only 90% of those drafted make it to the Majors.

After the Q&A, most of the players jetted, but Rick Camp hung around and signed autographs. He was so cool. He seemed genuinely happy and incredibly humbled by the fact that people of all ages were waiting to meet him and get his autograph.

What an awesome start to the season! I have loved taking advantage of all these opportunities to meet players and attend events since moving to Atlanta.