Saturday was the 2nd Annual Dodger FanFest, and it was wonderful. There was plenty of space, a lot of activities, and few of the horrid lines that plagued last years event. I give the Dodgers group a solid A+ for paying close attention to last years debacle and improving nearly every aspect of the event.
My only complaint is, where was the museum display? Last year, a phenomenal booth was put together featuring some incredible Baseball memorabilia. This year, they didn't bother to put one together. Oh well...
Before I show you all of my pics from FanFest, I thought I would provide links to some other sites that include some great photos. Check them out below:
- Dodgers photographer Juan Ocampo has a whole slew of photos from FanFest available for viewing, here.
- Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider shares various tweets from FanFest, here.
- Ken Gurnick at MLB.com writes, "Scully, FanFest crowd excited over Dodgers".
- Jason Drantch at Feelin' Kinda Blue shares his thoughts about FanFest.
- The Sons of Steve Garvey shares some great pics from Killeen at FanFest.
- Dodger Penguin shares his day at FanFest. BTW, Dodger Penguin is running a contest for a free Pepe Yniguez autograph that he got there. Go here to check that out.
- Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA shares his photos from FanFest.
- David's Autograph Signings shares his busy day of autograph hunting at FanFest.
- True to the Blue provides a nice recap of his day at FanFest.
- Chris Long at SoCal Autograph Odysses recaps FanFest, too.
- Roger Arrieta at Dodgers Beat shares his own recap of FanFest.
- RJ at RBI Collecting shares some of his autograph gets.
- Blue Heaven reader Austin shares his Tommy Lasorda rookie card that he got autographed at FanFest, here. It was a great pleasure to meet you Austin!
FanFest was held in Lots B & P; which are located adjacent to the stadium at the Top deck and left field reserve entrances. It provided plenty of room to roam around and not feel crowded. Also, the system of selling tickets (for charity) for player autographs was a great decision. It removed all of the anger and confusion that hampered last years FanFest. Furthermore, it's obvious they reduced the number of autograph vouchers available. Autographed sessions were slated to last 50 minutes, but each player finished up in far less time that that.
I got to Dodger Stadium bright and early, and waited in the line of cars at the Sunset entrance. When they finally opened the gate it was a mad rush to get in.
One of the first things I saw when walking to FanFest was a group of 3 fellows sporting Puig Destroyer jackets. See it above. Unfortunately, I didn't stop them to ask about the jackets, but I'm certain others did. As soon as I track those interviews down I'll be sure to point you there.
Below is a look at some of the booths and activities inside. Click on any pic to embiggen.
Below is the booth for the Mystery Bags. They were selling autographed baseballs, photos and jersey uniforms for $20, $20 and $40, respectively. I didn't purchase a bag myself, but I saw folks getting autographs of players like Olmedo "the Killer Tomato" Saenz and Mariano Duncan. I also saw a couple of St. Patrick's Day autographed jerseys in the jersey mystery bags; which I thought was cool.
And the Dodgers Jr. Broadcasters were in the house. Go here for information about the Dodgers Jr. Fan Club.
There was a booth with a bunch of Dodgers memorabilia for sale; including the below Clayton Kershaw and Vin Scully signed items.
They also opened up the stadium so folks could roam around. As you can see, they are just starting to fix up the field after last weekends Stadium Series game.
Also, construction is well underway in the outfield pavilion areas. Last weekend those buildings didn't exist.
I also ran into one of the new Dodger broadcasters preparing to film something. Below is Alanna Rizzo.
The Dodger fire truck in Lot P.
I went to view the Dodger field from the Top Deck and realized that I could see into the media tent between the autograph area and the interview stage.
Players were greeting each other like they were long lost friends.
Tommy Lasorda is being interviewed below. Above, you can see Brian Wilson being interviewed, as well.
Below are a handful of photos of some Dodgers speaking from the interview stage. Below, Ned Colletti let us all know that the arbitration case with AJ Ellis has closed. AJ has signed a new 1-year contract.
Below, Yasiel Puig is speaking to the crowd.
Finally, I get to the autograph lines. Check out those photos below.
I was able to get vouchers for Dan Haren, Mickey Hatcher, Justin Sellers, Orel Hershiser, Ned Colletti and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Check out photos of them below. I was also able to capture photos of a few other Dodgers while waiting in line; including Nomar Garciaparra below.
Above left is Dan Haren. Above right is Mickey Hatcher. Below left is Tommy Lasorda. Below right is Tim Wallach and Shawn Green.
Hyun Jin Ryu.
Ned Colletti.
Matt Kemp and Orel Hershiser.
And here are my autographed Baseballs.
Orel Hershiser & Justin Sellers
Ned Colletti and Hyun-Jin Ryu
Dan Haren and Mickey Hatcher
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