And here's what his autograph looks like on the sweet spot of a baseball:
"N. Al?"
"National American League?"
"N. Delta... umm... Vertical Loop?"
Dunno. This I do know; all of Reds Country is hoping he develops into something closer to the Johnny Bench end of the Reds' draft spectrum and not the Brandon Larson end.
Nick was signing in the Season Ticket Holders only line (membership has its privileges) and due in part to the early hour and also due in part to the seeming dearth of surviving Reds season ticket holders, Lou and I were able to go through Nick's line twice in that first hour of RedsFest.
Herewith, a rapid-fire aggregation of the leading lights from our autograph-seeking achievements On December 3rd and 4th;
Robert Stephenson, pitcher.
Shedric Long (catcher, second base) shooting me the horns. Very cool.
Jose Peraza, shortstop.
Dilson Herrera, second base, acquired from the Mets in the Jay Bruce trade.
Rookie Davis, pitcher.
Many former players were on hand Friday and Saturday. Among the vets, it was great - and heart warming - to see Dave Parker (below) engaging with his hometown fans:
The biggest draw is, naturally enough, the current Reds:
I've been to a nearly innumerable number of RedsFests and Big Red Machine Reunion autograph shows (and a disastrous 1990 Reds Reunion autograph show) and the 2015 All-Star Game FanFest going back to 1991/92. I've observed and experienced the full range of player-fan interactions; from players who were last-minute no-shows (Aroldis Chapman) to players who wouldn't deign to glance at the fans (Yorman Rodriguez) or even grunt an acknowledgement (did I mention Yorman Rodriquez?) to players who were friendly, eagerly interactive, talkative and warmly animated. I'm happy to report - because I'm a Vottomaniac - that I have never seen any player, retired or active, who was more engaging and friendly to every fan who went through an autograph line than was/is Joey Votto. No sooner than one fan would depart the podium that Joey Votto's eyes would immediately search for the next fan in line, smile broadly, look each fan square in the eye and initiate a friendly greeting. Votto asked the fans visiting him how their own day was going, if they were having fun, if they were enjoying RedsFest. At the conclusion of each encounter, Votto thanked the fans for being there.
Must be that Canadian brand of kindness we hear so much about. Who knows what any of us are like behind closed doors, but in my own experiences Joey Votto publicly has consistently been a decent, generous, kind fellow.
Such as WLWT-TV long-time sports anchor "Lonesome" George Vogel. I don't often watch channel 5 for my local news fix these days. For the latest breaking news from River City I most often tune into WCPO hoping to catch Tanya O'Rourke.....
..... or newsbabe Ashley Zilka. She is a fabulous reporter or something.
We ran into two of Lou's old Reily Elementary School best pals:
Tim F. (the man in black, top) and Mitch S. (the man in red, directly above). None of my preppy Townie friends would know these two fine gentlemen but they were both former Little League teammates on the various Reily-based teams Lou played for back in the day; Cherokee Motors, Big Valley Auto Parts, Wilman Furniture.
Former Middletown Middie and current Chicago Cubs World Champion Kyle Schwarber was in line to get autographs, too!
Lou insists this guy was not Kyle Schwarber. Maybe he's right. Maybe.
The highlight of RedsFest 2016, aside from our Nick Senzel crowning achievement, was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Friday to meet the Hit King Peter Edward Rose and to have our photographs taken with him!
The Reds called this opportunity a "Meet & Greet with Pete Rose." I dubbed it the "Pete & Greet." The Reds should pay me to come up with names for their events.
OK, OK. You got me. A twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We hit up Pete on Saturday, too. I was proud of my Hit King photos and, later, shared them with Kuertz who I knew would be
On Saturday afternoon The B Team took a time-out from the RedsFest activities and ventured on a brief excursion to the downtown branch of the Cincinnati Public Library in order for my youngest niece (picture above with Peter Edward) to collect an Honorable Mention award for artwork she submitted to a CPL contest.
Awesome, right?! While waiting for the awards ceremony to begin, I discussed with my niece the Impressionistic nature of her painting (thank you Antiques Roadshow!) and through the voodoo magic of smartphone technology I showed her some of the more famous works of Monet, Degas, Cezanne and Bob Ross.
Meanwhile, almost simultaneously in Michigan, my oldest niece - and her team - achieved a medal finish in a synchronized skating competition (hence her absence from the Pete Rose photo).
The B Team was killin' it that December weekend!
Speaking of artists, Tom Tsuchiya was at RedsFest demonstrating the technique he uses in creating all the baseball player sculptures (not statues) found outside Great American Ball Park.
I engaged Tom in a discussion about his sculptures, the details of which I will not bore you with here.
WLW broadcast legend, and former Professional League of American Rules Football tight end, Bob Trumpy was not at RedsFest but when cruising the memorabilia vendor tables we found a jersey autographed by "Grumpy."
Lou and I found this to be funny. We generally find all things Trumpy to be funny.
Nearing the conclusion of RedsFest late on Saturday afternoon and worn out from ceaselessly killin' it, we retired to the Season Ticket Holders VIP Ultra Lounge.
We luxuriated on the sumptuous faux leather couches, enjoying the dulcet vocal stylings of The Mistics (on stage, behind us).
The Mistics brought their A-game, as they always do. Midway through the set The Mistics singled-out Reds' Senior V.P. of Business Operations Karen Forgus for a serenade.
We took that as our cue to exit RedsFest as conquering heroes.
Roll the credits!
