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Originally Posted by canjond
Great read!
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I just finished reading the comments after this article and 2 stuck out as also saying volumes about this man and what he did for the game of Baseball.
1.) "I was about 10 or 11 and my Uncle was in town from San Diego. The Padres happened to be in Philly so my Uncle picked me up and we went down to the Vet to watch the game. It was a Thursday afternoon the place was empty. We had seats down the RF line and during warm-ups Tony happened to be to be playing catch with Fernando Valenzuela. So I just sat their watching these two greats laugh and joke with each other. So they finish up and head into the dugout. Fernando jogs off and Tony comes over asks me if I have a pen signs the ball that he and Fernando were playing catch. He flips me the ball hands my pen back smiles says enjoy the game and jogs off. I will never forget it completely unsolicited and comes and signs an autograph for a kid who was just watching him play catch. The ball sits in a case on my desk where I opened my laptop yesterday only to be saddened by the news. RIP Tony."
2.) "Fantastic story! I'm from Cincinnati and am and will always be a Reds fan, but spent two unbelievable years in the Padres minor leagues. BY FAR the best baseball memory I have in the 30 years I played was one day during spring training I was hitting in a cage off a tee all by myself. Mr Padre happened to walk by after a not so pretty swing and after the Eff Bombs settled (I just couldn't get it that day) I turned around and Tony was lifting the net walking into the cage. He and I spent 30 mins talking about hitting and I got my own personal hitting lesson. I was in awe and he was completely excited talking hitting for 1/2 hour to some kid. Cut from a different mold he was. Truly one of a kind and players today should strive to be more like him...
Now, if I only would have had that lesson at like 15 instead of 22 I may have made it past A ball...
RIP - Baseball lost one of the greats!"