The collector, that hound outside the stadium gate waiting to pounce on players to sign a baseball card or a ball, would sink to his knees at the sight.
In a designated room at the stadium where Major League Baseball plays its annual All-Star Game, there are bats, balls, pictures and jerseys spread out on tables. And for three or four hours on Monday and Tuesday before the game, the best players in the game circle the tables and sign.
“Whatever you want to get signed, you can put out there on the table,” said Braves All-Star pitcher Tim Hudson, who was previously named to the American League All-Star team with Oakland in 2000 and 2004. “I liked getting the team ball. It has everybody’s name on them. I have my jersey signed by all of them. That’s a neat thing.
“Everybody is really gracious about signing everything. You sit down and knock it out.”
Those two days at the All-Star break would be a collector’s bonanza, but it’s much more than just having access to current stars. What about bumping into, say, Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax and talking pitching for 10 minutes?
There are items that are so precious that you do not put them on the table. You request in person. Like the Derek Jeter jersey Brian McCann got the future Yankees Hall of Famer to sign. It’s going to get framed, of course.
McCann has bats signed by rivals -- the Mets' Carlos Beltran and David Wright -- but the collector’s items are not the real perks. It’s the memories, like being able in 20 years to say you shared a clubhouse with the slugger Albert Pujols.
“I didn’t go for the autographs or the memorabilia. I went there to take it all in, to enjoy my time there and meet some of the best players in the game,” said McCann, who has been named to the National League All-Star team in each of his five full major league seasons. “I have some jerseys. I have some bats, some balls.
“When I’m done playing, I’ll look back and enjoy it and see I was able to go to an All-Star Game and share a locker room with those guys. That’s what I’ll remember. Sitting around talking and hanging out.”
Bill Acree, the Braves traveling secretary, said that when Turner Field hosted the 2000 All-Star game, the Braves had a room-full of T-shirts and other memorabilia tagged with “Atlanta.”. Players would buy what they wanted and it would shipped home for them.
MLB gives each player two free tickets for the game and pays air fare for the player, his wife or guest. The player gets a hotel room -- at a top-shelf place of course -- and $91.50 per diem.
MLB asks players to sign about 14 dozen baseballs. Seven dozen go to the All-Star team to distribute among the participants.
Each All-Star gets tickets and passes to each All-Star off-field event. They also receive a ring and a gift from their league.
MLB also passes out VIP bags with hats, T-shirts and programs. They set up a table for the children of All-Stars to select gifts.
It is not just a game for the best players. MLB makes an event out of transporting the players to the stadium, its Red Carpet Ride on Tuesday afternoon sending the teams through Disneyland before arriving at Angel Stadium.
Some of the wives will be dressed by the clothier Tory Burch, who also provides a gift for each squad member's wife. The wives can also have their makeup done by a professional Bobbi Brown makeup artist who is on site at the hotel. Bobbi Brown also provides a gift bag of cosmetics for each squad member's wife.
If the wives wanted to skip batting practice -- what! -- Bobbi Brown hosted a master class in make up artistry for wives and guests Monday afternoon.
The festivities have become more elaborate since Dale Murphy went to the All-Star Game seven times between 1980 and 1987.
“We always got a ring and a gift bag of stuff and we always got a real nice oil portrait,” Murphy said. “I still have one of those oil portraits. It is very nice. I have some signed All-Star bats by all the guys.
“The thing I’ll remember is my first All-Star Game and playing with Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, guys like that.”
Steve Avery went to the All-Star Game in 1993, but he was in awe of the moment and tried to just soak it in. So it didn’t occur to him to get a truckload of collectibles.
“Should have done more collecting than I did,” he said.
Of course, the goodie bags and memorabilia don’t mean as much as the memories that are collected in the mind’s eye. The 1999 All-Star Game in Boston had that hitters' moment when the legendary Ted Williams, the last man to hit .400, was introduced on the field at Fenway Park. The game's reigning best hitters crowded around him and wouldn't leave, delaying the start of the game.
Billy Wagner had a pitcher’s moment before that 1999 game. It was his first All-Star Game and Roger Clemens tipped his cap at Wagner.
“That being my first All-Star Game, you don’t forget some of those things,” said Wagner, who met Hall of Famer Robin Roberts and talked with the legendary left-hander Koufax.
“I have my jersey signed by everybody. Randy Johnson is on there. Kevin Millwood was there for the Braves and Trevor Hoffman of the Padres. A bunch of good ones. Mike Piazza signed. So did [Sammy] Sosa and Mark [McGwire]. I’ve got it put up.”
For all their rings and baseballs and pictures and jerseys, it almost seems the players cherish the discussions with other stars much more.
Chipper Jones, who has been to six All-Star Games, had to pause for a moment to think about the memorabilia he brought home. Then he shrugged. The memories, not the memorabilia, were more important to him. He talked baseball with Barry Bonds, Sosa, McGwire and others.
“I have some stuff,” he said, “but I really remember just talking the game with guys.”
Derek Lowe played in the 2000 and 2002 All-Star games while he was with the Red Sox. When asked about what he carted back from the games, Lowe scratched his head and said, “I don’t know. That’s not why I went. To tell you the truth, I don’t know what I have or where it is. In a box, I think.”
Bobby Cox looked down at his fingers. “I think I have some rings,” he said.
All-Star goodie bags? Collectors may covet them. The players just say thanks for the memories.
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