FanPost

#SDSocialSummit with @SDHatGuy

The Invitation

I never thought my tweet would actually grant me entrance into this year's Social Summit.

Yeah, that's what I went with: equal parts factual and silly . It was meant in good fun, and later that night I was surprised with a message inviting me down to Petco along with other members of the social media scene. I excitedly begged my girlfriend to join in, and we woke up at the crack of 5am to make the 2 hour drive from the furnace of the Imperial Valley into slightly cooler, no less humid San Diego.

Upon arriving at the park, we met with Nicky Patriarca, the content manager of the Padres. She sequestered us past the gates and through the offices into an elevator that took us up to Club 19 for the beginning of the festivities.

Now, I've never experienced much of Petco Park personally, since I can only make trips to games a handful of times a year. Meeting my gaze were replicas of Tony's Silver Sluggers and Gold Gloves filling display cases, along with the smiling faces of Wayne Partello and Mike Dee.

At this particular point, I'm beside myself. I've never met anyone within the Padres organization personally, and I'm shaking hands with the guru of media and the president of the team itself. I tried to keep my cool behind a goofy grin as I took a seat along with my girlfriend on a bench.

Mike Dee

After a greeting from Wayne welcoming the assembled within the room to this year's summit, he gave the floor to Mike. He went on to explain how this season didn't go as planned, and that the team will be looking into the offseason to see what can be done to make a contender. He noted that the team itself didn't seem to gel at the right time and that the team's defense, all preseason warnings aside, has contributed to its share of losses. He then opened up the floor to questions. I don't recall all of them, but here's what I remember in no particular order:

- He thinks Gyorko makes for a good shortstop. He has good instinct and is capable of putting up good stats at the dish for a shortstop.

- As exciting as the offseason was this last year, he's hoping for a less exciting offseason this time around, hopefully with more tweaking to the roster rather than wholesale trades.

- They're undetermined with Murphy as manager. More or less along the company line, they'll evaluate him after the season. Mike noted that they're looking for someone who can manage a game, teach players and instruct, and help with clubhouse chemistry. Make of that what you will.

- Here's a funny note that made the rounds on Twitter as we heard it: Mike Dee has never seen Star Wars. He said he had to have someone explain a few characters to him on Saturday.

- They're working on the Dominican facility, but not like "laying down new carpet." He said that "It's not the house, it's the people in the house." Relating to international scouting, he did say that not every international prospect signed makes immediate waves; he pointedly mentioned Yasmany Tomas as an example of a $60 million player not playing up to the contract.

- Mike thinks that stuff such as sabermetrics has become "overblown." He joked that since they made a movie about it, that means it's overhyped. Mike went on to say that he thinks the next big development in sports is sports medicine and getting the best out of players. He noted that there used to just be a team trainer and doctor; now there's a vice president of sports medicine.

- I had to ask the hard hitting question: I queried Mike about the All-Star Game logo and whether yellow is making a comeback next year with the return of the SanDiegO logo as well. Mike made a funny right hook motion and went "pow!". He then told me to stay tuned.

I tried.

Mike then posed a question to the group: He stated that payroll this year sat at about 110 million. If payroll were to diminish down to around 80-85 million, would fans be upset if the difference in payroll would be spent on 16-18 year old international talent?

Most of the room raised their hands in wanting payroll spent on international talent.

Scavenger Hunt

After Mike Dee took off, Jesse Agler made an appearance and talked to the room about general goings-on, spoiling that we were to visit the Social Hour set later in the day. I noticed that his sock game, as displayed on the Social Hour, was strong. After he took his leave, we were challenged by Nicky to a photo scavenger hunt. She gave the group 6 things to fulfill for the hunt:

- Find Bluepper

- Take a pic with Tony Gwynn, but not with anything inside Club 19

- Pic of where we're going to eat

- Picture of a current Padre

- Picture of our favorite jersey

- A pic with the Coronado Bridge

I was able to grab 4 of the 6. I couldn't get to Tony's statue in time, nor to where Bluepper could have been. The humidity made for a bit of a moist walk back to the club. Here's my favorite uniform, natch:

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After chatting a bit with Wayne and Darklighter (who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time), Mudcat came into the club. Once again, I shook his hand with a goofy grin. The first time I saw Mark Grant was at FanFest, where I happened upon him walking along the second deck of the stadium. All I could muster then was, "Hey! How are you?" I'm not good with meeting local celebs, I guess.

Mark Grant

Everyone sat down as Mark addressed the group, saying he wished the season was better. He also mentioned being traded to the Padres as one of the best things to happen to him, knowing now that it would lead him into broadcasting. He also opened the floor to questions. In no particular order again:

- Mark says he does miss Matty V. He doesn't think he can get him to come back after Enberg leaves, though. He says Matty's current MLB job is pretty cushy.

- Mark said he doesn't know who will replace Dick Enberg (though all sources are pointing to ousted Don Orsillo of the Red Sox). Mark did get asked if he ever has to explain a social or obscure reference to Enberg. Mark said that much in the same way that it is comedic for your father to not get something, it is as funny when Dick does not catch a reference. Mark says he'll still explain it to Dick when warranted, though.

- He was naturally excited when Matt Kemp got the cycle, but was more excited that a legion of Padres fans finally got the monkey off their collective backs. He said it was funny that him and Jesse at the time were talking cycle after Matt Kemp completed half of it, and then were talking logistics for the triple as Kemp came up to bat.

- I asked Mudcat what his favorite call was outside of the Matt Kemp cycle, since that was too easy. He thought about it, referenced the Khalil Greene hit off of the Western Metal building, and then went to a call he made with Matty V regarding a player who hit a grand slam in Seattle, and then came back home and hit a grand slam vs. Seattle. Him and Matty were joking during the at-bat that the player (who I forget was) could punch his All-Star ticket if he hit another grand slam, and both were giggling like schoolgirls once it happened.

Josh Stein and Don Welke

Mark Grant left the room with a "I hate the Dodgers!", which warranted applause from the group. His departure brought in Josh Stein and the Coach himself, Don Welke. Both took a seat and began to talk about the season in general, and about scouting and international markets. Clearly, this portion of the summit was for die-hard fans of the game. Not that I tuned out, but I'm not as educated a fan (yet) as other people are. Here's what I can recall:

- Josh said that stats such as OBP and WAR are important in their own right, but there are some things that can't be replaced by old-fashioned scouting. Being the scouting guy, Don agreed.

- Josh noted that clubs such as the Mets, Astros, and Cardinals have strong baseball cultures within their systems, along with some of the clubs having plenty of high-draft picks to use in restocking the farm. He said some of the teams had to endure 100 loss seasons, which aren't very fun. He says teams like the Cardinals and Giants have fixtures and plenty of continuity within their systems to keep players in line with the overall mission goal. Don recalled a story where there was a tryout of 20 or so Dominican players. After the tryout, the head scout said that none of the players were what they were looking for. He said they wanted a player such as a boy shining shoes in the dugout, pointing to a young man indeed shining shoes. The scout asked him if he played baseball, the boy saying yes. Don ended saying that this young man went on to be a top prospect in the Cubs system (though he couldn't remember the name.)

- Josh and Don mentioned that they have work to do in looking around the international market.

Cody Decker

After Josh and Don took their leave, the ever-hilarious Cody Decker joined the group, fully dressed in Sunday camouflage. Being the Twitter personality, he opened the floor almost immediately to questions.

- His favorite doctor is the 10th doctor (a Doctor Who reference that flew over my head)

- He apparently is hiding a cat in his hotel room, and has been since he was with El Paso. His girlfriend brought a small kitten, and they've been taking it with them everywhere. Of course, he then mentioned that he shouldn't have said that to the group. You didn't read this part, either.

- Cody said he was tricked by the Tombstone movie quote, saying that the particular quote was so generic that it could have fit into any other movie.

- Cody said he wants to face Clayton Kershaw. He knows he'll get a fastball, and wants badly to be one of the few people to knock it out of Dodger Stadium. Cody says he's strong enough to do so if he gets contact, which he joked that he can hit a baseball. Growing up in Los Angeles, Cody wants to be known for doing bad things to the Dodgers.

- He hasn't really pranked anyone in the clubhouse yet, stating that he's only been there a week. He said he'd need another week before that was possible, and that setting fire to Matt Kemp's locker probably wouldn't go over well. An episode with Andrew Cashner's phone charger was more a misunderstanding than anything else: Cody didn't know his locker was one of the few with an outlet, so he was surprised to find a foreign charger there. Him and Cash quickly made things up with a rearranging of chargers. Big leaguers, just like us, can have outlet problems.

I got to ask Cody a question, and I started off by congratulating him on his season with El Paso. Cody quickly countered with "Was it really? I forgot how to play at the end of it." Laughter filled the club. I then asked how it felt to finally wear the Padres uniform, adding the question of if it felt starchy.

Cody joked that it is indeed a Majestic uniform and it feels good, not like the Russell little league uniforms that are itchy. It's not like the cool El Paso uniform and definitely not like the dog face uniform they wore this year, which he said was the best. He finished by saying the feeling was indescribable, and he's enjoying every second.

Padres Social Hour

After Cody took off, the group was led out of the club and down the stairs into the stadium's under works. The cavernous concrete hallways led us past the Padres Clubhouse, a slick blue blocked facade that pointedly jumped out against the otherwise drab gray concrete. Against the wall leading away from the clubhouse were framed lineups of every single opening day the Padres have played.

We continued on down the concrete walkway until we made it to the Western Metal Supply building, and a doorway immediately opened us up to the walkway next to the Social Hour set which was well underway with the day's show. Cody Decker joined Jesse and Bill Center on the set. Cody said that before being called up to the Padres, he legitimately was thinking of hanging up his cleats after El Paso's season ended. Having a taste of the big leagues, Cody said he's going to continue playing. I snagged this photo from my vantage point:

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I got to meet Jesse after the episode ended and he immediately recognized me as the hat guy. Of course I was beside myself again.

We walked out and turned left to immediately see the outfield. Nicky had us gather in for a group picture, which Cody joined in on:

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After the photo we walked through the store and were led up to our Toyota Terrace suites. The group split off into each suite: my girlfriend and I joined Darklighter and Jodes in one of them.

Suite Life

Of course, being the SD Hat Guy, I had some caps on deck:

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If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you'll note the mesh fitted on the right. That cap paid dividends as it was rather humid and a touch warm for a Sunday afternoon.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey

After a few innings, I noticed Jodes sewing something. Natural curiosity got me to ask what it was. She was sewing a handmade SD loves Weezer sweatband onto the fabled Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey. She, of course having gone to see Weezer at the Del Mar fair earlier in the month. I've never seen the Jersey personally, and Jodes even asked if I wanted to put it on.

OF COURSE I DID.

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Everything I've ever read about the Jersey is true; it fits absolutely perfectly, even on my slim 6'7 frame. I noted to Darklighter and Jodes that I could feel the magic emanating from it. It's indeed a sight to behold and wear. I'm privileged to have worn it before its retirement.

Lunch

As the game went on, we were joined by Nicky and Bluepper, who came up to the suite to hang out. I shook Bluepper's hand in between bites of my Wings N Things lunch. I noted that I was happy to meet the guy behind the scenes of the Social Hour and the guy "everyone makes fun of." Bluepper responded with, "Yeah, I'm that guy everyone makes fun of." Not the smoothest thing for me to say, I admit.

The Padres made the game intermittently entertaining. After being down 2 runs after 2 solo shots given up by Shields, the team gamely came back to tie it up behind a nifty Shields double and a Jankowski triple that he almost stretched into a inside-the-park homer. Spangs batted him in after. Of course, Shields would cough up another homer, this time a 2 run shot that couldn't be overcome.

All-Star Cap

So, I know you're wondering what cap I bought. A generous 25% off at the team store scored me this:

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I had to be ready for next year, right?

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Conclusion

Overall, I had an absolute blast at the SD Social Summit. I never thought or expected my collecting of caps would get me anywhere, and it was truly an honor and privilege to have attended this year. A big thanks goes out to the Padres organization for having some awesome personnel to put on great experiences like this.

Thanks for reading! Go Pads!

- Tim (The SD Hat Guy)

(yes, I'll eventually get back to the Hat Stash posts!)

This FanPost was written by a member of the Gaslamp Ball community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gaslamp Ball staff or SB Nation.