El Tiante And Me

In 2013, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. My father-in-law and his best friend had been making yearly trips to Florida for Spring Training. That year, I was invited along.  It was amazing. We took in three games: We started with the Braves facing the Yankees, and ended with the Rays versus the Pirates. It was that middle game that I'll remember the most.

March 6th, 2013 - Jet Blue Park, Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox. We had tickets to see a game there against the Pirates. We got there early, as planned, to watch batting practice. There's something transcendent about standing in the front row of seats on a beautiful sunny day watching the fielders play catch while the sounds of a bat hitting a ball echo through a mostly empty stadium. I'd call it serene if you didn't have to pay attention to where the batted balls were going so you didn't get hit by a stray. It was heaven nonetheless.

I had a baseball and a black ball-point pen with me (No Sharpies! They bleed through he leather!), just in case the opportunity for an autograph should arise. That was another thing. We weren't laser focused autograph hounds like a lot of people there. We were ready if it happened, but if we went away empty handed that was fine too. 

The guys on the field were putting their work in, and attempts to call anyone over proved futile. I got some pictures of Jon Lester, Brock Holt, and Jackie Bradley Jr, but they all kept their distance. It looked like today would have been one of those empty handed days until a golf cart drove passed us along the third base line. The cart stopped, and the passenger got out and started making his way to the stands, a few feet away. Ball and pen in one hand, I fumbled with my phone in the other to snap a quick picture:

 

 

When I said I was fine if I ended the day without an autograph, I meant it. This was a vacation, and my enjoyment wasn't going to hinge on someone's scribble. That being said, when a player starts making his way down the line towards you, the excitement level builds, and you start hoping that they don't decide to walk away before they reach you. (I've had ball players leave after signing the for the person right next to me - looking at you Ian Desmond!) 

 

 

That day was special. I handed the ball and pen to Louie Tiant, who took the ball, signed it and handed it back to me. I made it a point to use what little Spanish I know and tell him "Gracias." Shortly thereafter he returned to the golf cart and was sped away. That brief moment stands out in my memories. It was my first real connection with someone who played for the Red Sox (even though he last played when I was 7!). I'm forever grateful that he took those few moments of his time to connect with the fans that day.

 

Later that year, I'm not exactly sure when, the itch to start collecting started to come back. It started like these things do, with nostalgia. I remember being in a Dollar Tree and seeing packs of baseball cards near the checkout line. My first real introduction to repacks. I hadn't collected in earnest for about 20 years - since high school. Now here I was in my late 30's, looking at this simply packaged stack of baseball cards, and thought, for a dollar, why not? It'll be fun. 

 

I opened the pack and that nostalgia wave hit immediately. Cards from my youth, cards I knew I still had in boxes in my attic. I saw the fronts and immediately knew what years most of them were from. That alone might have been enough to hook me back in, but what really dealt the knockout punch was a single card that I couldn't believe I was holding in my hands.

 

 

Wait, what? Luis Tiant! I have his autograph! What is a card this old doing in a cheap $1 repack? I was in awe, studying the card front and back. Wow, he looks so young on this card. I almost didn't recognize him without his mustache. I didn't realize he pitched for the Indians. Do all repacks have older cards in them? Is that normal? (Only one way to find out...)

In January of 2014, I joined the TCDB and started entering my collection. According to the database, I entered this 1968 Topps card (the first one I ever owned!) in February of that year. I don't know when I bought that repack exactly, but in my mind's revisionist history I believe that this card was purchased before I joined and that this repack and the ones that followed led me to the website. I think it's fairly safe to say Luis Tiant helped jump start my return to the hobby, and by extension this blog. Another thing I owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Tiant for.

It hasn't been a great start of the week for me personally, and the passing of Luis Tiant was a blow that I didn't really need. It did however put things in perspective, especially when I was digging through my old blog posts and came across a quote of his:

 

 

I needed that one, and I need to remember it. One last thing I can thank El Tiante for. 

Gracias.