Willie Mays Yelled at Me

On baseball, autographs, and aloof Mothers

One thing that has stayed with me since my childhood is my love of baseball.

It’s never been a better time to be a baseball fan — technology allows fans to watch games coast-to-coast.

It’s also never been a worse time — because of ~13 pitching changes per game even a 2–1 game lasts three hours, but I sometimes wonder if I’d still be the fan I am today if it weren’t for one summer day in 1995.

Back in the day when AOL ruled the internet, newspapers use to have advertisements. I remember ads for car dealerships, grocery stores, and a strip club named Buns ‘n Roses. However, my Dad caught an advertisement for a baseball card show at the Bloomington Ice Garden, and Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays would be signing autographs.

That’s right, the greatest baseball players of all-time would be signing autographs at a municipal hockey rink 25 minutes from my house.

It was a sort of a homecoming for Willie, who, as a 20-year-old, played for the New York Giants’ minor league team, the Minneapolis Millers. At 7 1/2 years younger than the average AAA player, Willie played 35 games, hit .477, got on base 52% of the time, and had 29 extra-base hits. I’m willing to bet he played well in center field too.

This event…