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I became a Mark Grace fan because of two reasons.
First, Grace is one hell of a first baseman.
Second, he has a genuine respect for the fans.
I won't speak here about the stats because they
speak for themselves. What I will speak about
here is about the second of my reasons for being
a Mark Grace fan. My respect of Grace from the fan perspective came after a period of watching him interact and hearing stories. My first reaction after the 1996 Convention (when I first saw him in real life) was that he was an airhead. Only later when I wrote and told him so and got an actual response back did I change my mind completely. He wrote and told me basically that if I wanted something signed, I should enclose a SASE. There was also a small postcard sized picture there that was signed. I was impressed first because he took the time to do this! I put him to the test the next year with an 8x10 glossy. It now hangs in my den signed with the other small one as an inset. Over the next two years I attended about 75 games at Wrigley field and in more than about half I saw him directly interact with the fans either by talking to one or more (or his "oldest girlfriend) or playing catch with the fans behind the Cubs Dugout. I thought that it was pretty damn cool that this superstar could do this! I even find it suprising to see a rookie doing it (which I never did see); but here was the great Mark Grace. I shook hands with him on two occassions when I still went to fan functions. He was always a good sport. I don't attend them anymore because I came to realize how special he was in this regard and that most other players could care less. It is hard to take something seriously when the other players don't. But I have my memories of these things and that is enough for me. Keep up the good work Gracie! |
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