WGN | The Baseball Zealot

Today was the second day of the 2008 Cubs Convention. Brrr, it was below 0 degrees this morning as I walked to the Chicago Hilton for another day of fun. On my way out, I got a text message from my nephew, Joe who was going to meet me later.

I Scratched and Won

Friday night I was looking through all the swag and pamphlets I got on my first day and found my Scratch and Win card. The convention uses these for the high demand celebrities when it comes to autographs.

Well, I scratched my card and it said, “You are a winner!”

On the back it said to redeem it at the registration area and that’s the first thing I did Saturday morning. It turns out I won a Derrek Lee autograph and I was supposed to get in line for it at 2pm.

I wasn’t really collecting autographs this year so I sought out a dad and a kid and gave them the ticket. I told them the kid could have it as long as they didn’t sell it on Ebay. The dad emphatically said no, he wouldn’t.

And speaking of autographs:

Andy Pafko was signing autographs. I think Andy is the oldest former Cub to attend these conventions.

…and so was Jody Davis… always with a smile.

Two different players from different eras. Bill Madlock and Bob Feller.

Rich Hill signing a ball towards the end of the day.

Piniella gets thrown under the bus by an older lady

My first talk of the day was “Lou and his Crew”, essentially a Q&A with Piniella and his coaching staff.

The most humorous question was from a seemingly perturbed older lady who asked Piniella why he left his starting pitchers (she mentioned Marquis in particular) in when we were behind by 4 or 5 runs. She explained that sometimes it got her so mad she would throw things at her TV.

Piniella took it all in humor and invited her to sit next to him in the dugout so he could check with her in making decisions. The crowd responded with chants of Looouuu! Louuu!

A visit to the Tennessee Smokies booth

I stopped by the Tennessee Smokies booth and chatted with a nice woman with a terrific southern drawl. I rifled through the Smokies’ baseball card and found Chris Robinson. “Oh, he’s a great guy. He’s real nahce”, she said. I’m not surprised. Most players at or from Illinois have a good head on their shoulders.

I ended up buying the pack.

Storytelling with Cubs Legends

WGN’s “Storytelling with Cubs Legends” was my favorite of the day. With Ron Santo, Rick Sutcliffe, Lee Smith and Ernie Banks, it was fun to just listen their stories. As broadcasters, Santo and Sutcliffe were most talkative. That said, Lee Smith may have an intimidating facade while pitching but he’s quite funny behind the mike.

Looks like Sut is hamming it up for the camera.

Taking a break with the Cubscast guys

The hosts of the Cubscast podcast (well, two-thirds of them, Sneetch couldn’t make it to the Convention) had scheduled an informal get together at the hotel bar. I was due for a break by 3pm anyway so I stopped by. Sheps (right) shared photos of his recently passed kidney stone and Lou (left) and I talked a little shop.

Peoria Chiefs broadcaster Nathan Baliva stopped by the Cubscast table too. I had stopped by the Chiefs’ booth earlier in the day and got the above photo. Nathan was nice enough to do an interview on Baseball Zealot Radio last spring so it was good to see him again. It turns out he’s Sneetch’s brother, too Small world.

Cubs Pitching Clinic

The last event of Saturday was a pitching clinic put on for the kiddos. This was done with the help of Milt Pappas (left), Steve Trout (right) and Lester Strode. Fortunately, Bruce Froemming was not in attendance.

That’s all for now. Tomorrow is a light day at the convention but I do want to get some shopping done at the souvenir shops.

Many more photos at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

I rolled into Chicago on the rails of Amtrak around 9:30am ready for a weekend of Cubs fun. Zealot friend (and friend of mine) Tyler was nice enough to give up his apartment (and stay and his girlfriend’s) so I could headquarter there.

After dropping off my stuff and getting a bite, I walked over the Chicago Hilton. It’s a good mile walk. Friday was a cold day but not unbearable. At least the sun was out and the wind was kept to a minimum.

Entering the Hilton the first time on a Cubs Convention weekend can be intimidating. There are SO many people. I remember that from last year so I was a little more prepared. Lines of people everywhere because at this point, not everything is open. Once exhibits and such start opening, it’s like the floodgates have opened.

Anyway, I went to the proper room to get registered. Like the seasoned pro I am, I knew exactly where to go this time and even directed a couple first-timers their way there.

Once open I took a quick walk through of the vendor booths in the exhibit halls. I admit this is kind of fun. “Vendor” sounds a bit corporate and in some cases that’s true. But there are a lot baseball related organizations and small businesses that show off their wares.

When 5:00 came around, it was time for the opening ceremonies. Alas, I watched from the overflow room so I didn’t get a first hand look at the speakers instead watching the fun on a large video screen along with a throng of others.

Saturday, autograph hounds will be busy hunting their ultimate goal. These now empty queues will be lined with people.

The opening ceremonies were long pomp and circumstance and short on substance. But that’s ok… I don’t think anyone would expect anything different. By the way, for my money, Wayne Messmer has deepest, richest voice and he proved it in his singing of the National Anthem.

Emcee Pat Hughes then had the pleasure of introducing the Cubs players and other Cubs celebrities. There must have been some LSU alums sitting at the table next to mine. When both Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot were introduced, they broke into loud chants of “LSU! LSU! LSU!”

With the intros finished, a WGN-produced video detailing the 2007 season was shown for us. Fortunately, it left out that nasty little business with the Dbacks.

By 6:30, it was time for my interview with Eric Loy at WDWS. I enjoy my talks with Eric (this was my second). He seems knowledgeable on the game and definitely has opinions. Anyway, I hope I sounded reasonably intelligent.

By then, I was ready to head back to Zealot headquarters. Right now a Giordano’s pizza on the way while I write this.

In summary, Friday was a day of rallying the troops. Tomorrow, a new day of talks, seminars, fun and who knows what else.

More photos of the Cubs Convention at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

Tag: WGN

2008 Cubs Convention: Day 2