I Met Joe Carter!!!! Salem-Keizer Volcanoes at Vancouver Canadians (08/20/13)

 Yesterday I went to possibly my last game of the year. The main reason I picked this game is because of the legendary Joe Carter. He came to the game and signed autographs and met with the fans. Joe Carter might not be a Hall of Famer (which...I am not sure if he deserve it or not), but he certainly is the most popular player in Canada. He was the one who got the final out of 1992 world series when the Blue Jays won their first ever championship. The next year, he hit a 3-run homer to WIN the world series!

We got there the second the gate opened. And there was such a long line up already that it went all the way around the stadium and out of the stadium to the middle of the parking lot...We were in the middle of that huge lineup. It was 6pm, and he doesn't start signing until 7 after he threw out the first pitch. Personally, I think the organization can be a lot better. I think they should let him sign the second the gates are open, and then take a maybe 10-20 min break and go throw the first pitch, and then back at it again. There was this grandma who is at least 70 years old, an avid Blue Jay and Joe Carter fan, took out her collection since the 1993 world series and was so happy to see Joe Carter. That was just amazing. Comparing to people around me, I am no where near a complete avid baseball fan.

By the time we met Joe Carter, it was already 8:45pm. I have two balls for him to sign. One is a 1993 world series baseball and one is a regular major league ball. I asked him to inscribe "touch them all." Which is the famous line the broadcaster said after he hit his world series winning homerun. 

There were a lot of people watching Joe Carter and taking pictures. The photo is unfortunately hit with a flash light by some other fan....

Anna had jersey and a ball for him to sign. I asked her to ask Joe to sign "WS winning HR" on the baseball. She did that, and Joe Carter asked her jokingly, "who told you to do that?" They had to good laugh. Joe Carter is a great guy.

Here are the 3 baseballs that I got. (One is for a friend so unfortunately I can't keep them all)

The game today also is a really fast game, the typical low scoring game. By the time we were done, it was 8:50pm and there were only 2 innings left. It was a 1-1 game. Volcanoes is actually the best team in the league so far this season. Vancouver Canadians are trying to make playoffs in a race against another team. They need to win. The game was tight the whole way. Our seats were amazing as we were in the first row of our section. 

The atmosphere at the stadium were amazing. We are very loud. Vancouver Canadians won in the bottom of 11th with a walk off double by the catcher Matt Reeves. I went home very satisfied. Unless Vancouver Canadians make the playoffs, I won't be watching another game this season. It was a great way to end my baseball (fan) season as I start school next Monday.