[MCyganik]

I was a bit bummed because the promoter hyped up that former Sox pitcher Bill Lee was bringing by "one of a kind memorabilia from his playing days" to sell. Bill is a great guy and everywhere in New England so his appearance wasn't a big deal but I was excited about the chance to own something from his playing days for my memorabilia collection that came directly from him.

Surviving the tropical storm, he and his wife unpacked and aside from a few generic and branded bats and photos and branded hats, the few bits of memorabilia he had was very random - and not originally his.

When someone mentioned to his wife that the promoter announced he was selling all his memorabilia, the color drained from her face. She sort of frustratingly asked Bill what he said to the promoter and he sort of played it off. She later told me he didn't really have anything from his playing days since he left the Sox and Expos on bad terms back then.

Bill and I chatted for awhile and he's so friendly with 100 stories a minute so it was fun and I don't want to sound ungrateful by any means. I kind of felt sorry for him since he came through a tropical storm on a Friday and there were hardly anyone but the brave dealers who showed up to set up during the storm. But he had fun with it.

As I stated above, the show got caught between post-Covid planning, a tropical storm and a busy summer schedule. But I do think the promoter was hasty in announcing Lee's offerings without checking first, and selling "Early Bird" tickets for a show that was quite underwhelming compared to 2019.

Hopefully it will be back to normal in 2022!