Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey: All Star Game

Contrary to popular belief the Traveling Jersey is not really locked away in a secret warehouse among other historical relics. It just hangs in my closet. So when I was about to head out with the fam to All-Star Fan Fest on Friday I decided to dust it off for the baseball world to see.

We got there early and were surprised to see few fans in attendance. Jbox, my boys and I took this advantage to steal some bases and of course hit the cages.

On the way to meet up with Kev and his kids we had the Jersey appraised for a whopping $25. Seems about right to me. We checked out all the displays, my favorite being this Ty Cobb sweater from the Hall Of Fame.

My boys did some of the kids activities then we split as the crowd grew at an alarming rate. Fan Fest was better than I expected and at this point in the week I thought my All-Star activities were over.

I didn’t have any tickets to the Futures, HR Derby or All Star Game itself but with a little Jersey Magic and a close eye on Stubhub that was all about to change. Prices bottomed out on Saturday night so I called up the guys. If we didn’t jump on these tickets we knew we’d regret our decision for the rest of our lives. We got them at 120 bucks each, and we were going!

The next day Jbox and I were offered some free tickets to the Futures and Celebrity games. Big thanks to Charisma for some fantastic seats behind home plate! We took this opportunity to check out the new Padres Hall of Fame. And while there are definitely a few cool artifacts like Garvey’s Game 4 bat, I was a little let down. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very pretty and long over due, but I was hoping for more items to be displayed. Who knows, maybe a certain Jersey will make its way in someday.

We met up with some fellow Gaslamp Ballers on the way to our seats. We all reminisced about the Jersey for a couple innings before heading our separate ways. The Futures game was entertaining, showcasing some ridiculous defense. The Celebrity game, just so so.

Finally the day had arrived. 24 years later I was on my way, Sisterhood on my back to my second All Star Game.

I got there about an hour before Dex, Jbox and Kev so I made my way out to right field to watch batting practice. To say it was crowded would be an understatement. We were packed in like sardines, all with the hopes of catching a ball. Combine that with the sun beating down, I was straight cooking out there. Thankfully a godsend in the form of PS Andre was there as always to save me with sunblock.

The four of us headed up to visit Bobby and watch the opening ceremonies. Without a doubt this was my favorite part of the All-Star Game. The batting title trophies featuring Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn; Randy Jones with the first pitch; Trevor with the game ball and Wil Myers being introduced as a starter... Damn, it was hard to keep it all together.

After grabbing a bite to eat (and wiping away some tears) we ran into Lady Jane Mitchell and Uncle Teddy...

We headed back out to right field to watch the conclusion of the game. This city of San Diego and Padres are to be applauded on doing such a stellar job hosting the All-Star Game and all the festivities that go with it. I hadn’t felt that much positive energy at a game in San Diego since 1998. Even the opening of Petco and the ‘05, ‘06 playoffs fail in comparison.

I was also blown away by how much attention the SotTJ received. It seemed everybody wanted to know the stories behind it, touch it, take pictures , smell it and so forth. So be on the look out for the Sisterhood in Yuma and possibly Oakland. You can’t keep a good Jersey down.