You Stay Classy, San Diego

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For the second straight season, I have kicked off the baseball season from the deep throes of winter by attending a Major League Fan Fest. If you recall, last year's Mariners Fan Fest was a unique opportunity that was such an amusing trip with wonderful experiences. It was at that time I decried that Fan Fest, wherever, was the only way to start the season. When I moved down here to California last October, I pledged to uphold that.

When going around to the three teams around the area, the Dodgers, Angels and Padres, I looked for as much uniqueness as I could. The only two teams to hold a Fan Fest at the beginning of the year were the Dodgers and Padres, so I decided to go with the small-market San Diego Padres for my kickoff carnival. I am glad I made this decision because I see a lot of similarities between the Padres and Mariners as an organization, so I would assume that their Fan Fest celebrations would be similar too.

So, what exactly is Fan Fest? To put it simply, it is an event thrown by ball clubs to get people excited for the season, promote the sale of season tickets, and get people interested in the club before they leave for Spring Training. Think of it as a "State Fair" for baseball.

I've been to San Diego twice before to games, so my visit to Petco Park wasn't that groundbreaking. However, I didn't realize just how close to San Diego I really am from my new home here in the Inland Empire. Only encountering a small bit of traffic through Riverside, I made San Diego in a little more than an hour and fifteen minutes. For comparison, it usually takes that long to get to Los Angeles from here any day of the week, plus whatever traffic may be. What really strikes me is just how different the climate and geography of San Diego and San Diego County is from here in the Inland Empire. There is, actually, some greenery in Southern California, and the rolling hills and bluffs really are a welcome relief from the flat semi-desert expanse here in the Inland Empire.

Big difference right off the top between the Padres and Mariners when it comes to Fan Fest: The Padres were all free. Everything from the parking to the tours were zero charge. Aside from the tank of gas to drive to and from San Diego and the Subway for lunch, this Baseball Road Trip didn't cost me a dime.

I got to Petco at around 1pm and noticed a huge crowd had already been through the experience. To be honest, Padres Fan Fest had the exact same activities and events as Mariners Fan Fest did. The only difference once you got into the park was the teams involved. This was a little disappointing because the allure was gone and it felt kind of like "been-there-done-that". Despite this, my first stop was to walk onto the field and snap a few pictures of the Western Metal Supply Building from left field. I walked around the bases and made my way to the Player's Forum up on top of the Padres Dugout. Considering the price of admission, I suppose that this part of Fan Fest was worth it.

The Padres featured four players for their q&a forum: Josh Johnson, Chris Denorfia, Yonder Alonso and Joaquin Benoit. Just like the Mariners, the players had a few introductory remarks, which were a little interesting considering Johnson and Benoit are both recent offseason acquisitions. After the introductions, they opened up the forum to questions from the people seated in the section. Just like last year, I raised my hand and asked a question.

"This question is directed at the two pitchers, Josh and Joaquin. What are your opinions of the new 'Padded Hat Rule' and will you wear them during games?"

Obviously my question was in relation to the safety measure implemented by the MLB Commissioner's office this past offseason to allow pitchers the choice to wear special padded hats while on the mound in an effort to stem the tide of the horrific head injuries from batted balls. Personally, I think it's a good idea and I would encourage my pitchers to wear them. However, some pitchers have already come out in public and said that they won't wear them electing to take the risks of batted line drives back to the mound.

Josh Johnson answered me directly saying that he understood why the rule was put in place and the merits behind it, but that he wouldn't wear it. Benoit said pretty much the same thing. Not surprising, really, but still interesting.

After the forum, I took a tour of the Padres clubhouse, visited the garage sale to see if there were any items I might want to purchase, and then ended with catching some fly balls in the outfield. All-in-all, I was there for about two hours and covered pretty much everything.

My thoughts on Fan Fest are almost a shoulder shrug with an "I don't know" attached to it. It really stunk going by myself, which is depressingly a recurring theme on Baseball Road Trips, but it seemed like I had just done it all before. I can't complain too much because it was free, but I guess once you've been to one Fan Fest, you kind of have been to them all.

Anyways, the train keeps rolling as this Sunday I have a special trip planned. As many of you know, I religiously follow the dictates of the book The Baseball Fan's Bucket List. Number 93 states to "Visit Dedeaux Field and the USC Baseball Hall of Fame." So, on Sunday, I'm going to take the train into Los Angeles, ride my bike to the University of Southern California and Dedeaux Field to see the Trojans play host to the Northwestern Wildcats. Normally I don't like college games, but if it's in The Bucket List, I'm happily obligated to go. I'm excited to see some actual baseball be played and to ride my bike around LA.

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)