State of Being: May 2011

Guess what came in the mail yesterday?!?! My JP Arencibia signed baseball bat!!!

I need to give a huge shout out to my friend CC for making this happen. Without her I'm highly doubtful that my request would ever have reached the proper people. Thanks Caron!

So a few hours after my State of...Disappointment post I got an email from CC asking if she could pass along the blog post to her friend at the Blue Jays organization. Well, sure enough...within 24 hours I had an email from the Jays saying that my request had not fallen on deaf ears and that JP had definitely not forgotten and would have the bat sent right away.

I don't really care how it happened or why...I'm just so excited that I finally received my JP Arencibia signed bat! How cool is that?! In fact, you should check it out here:

Pretty sweet right?

If you're on twitter and not following JP Arencibia you should definitely check him out. He can be followed at @jparencibia9. He is definitely one of those athletes who interacts really well (and regularly) with his fans. It's a nice refreshing change from the days when athletes would charge for their autograph. Again with my naivety but it seems that some athletes just 'get it'.

Keep up the great work JP and the entire Blue Jays organization. You guys are doing a great job and I will continue to support as best as I can. See you in Baltimore in a week!

Cheers,
LW

Those of you who know me know my MLB loyalties lie with one team...the Toronto Blue Jays. Having grown up in Toronto I cheered on the team long before they had any success. It wasn't until the mid 80's that they really gave us something to cheer about - remember the 'Drive of '85??? Barfield, Moseby, and Bell made up one of the most feared outfields in all of baseball!

I've stayed true to my loyalties and have cheered on my Blue Jays ever since...and they've rewarded me with not one, but TWO World Championships! Not only that, but now that I live near Philadelphia they've given me a lifetime of bragging rights in the area - thank you Mitch Williams!!! I swear, he should have gotten the MVP that year! Who cares if I have to bask in the glow of the early 1990's?!

Last year I was watching feverishly when the Jays called up the much hyped catching prospect JP Arencibia. This was our future catcher with unlimited potential. In his first major league game he did not disappoint. He swatted a 2-run homer on the FIRST PITCH he faced at the major league level! He would finish the game going 4-5 with two homers and a triple shy of the cycle! What a debut!

So when JP made his twitter debut I was obviously a follower. And I wasn't the only one! He's now up to nearly 22,000 followers. Maybe low compared to other superstar celebrities, but well on his way! He tweets with the best of athletes! So when JP offered a signed bat for some fun trivia I knew I had my work cut out for me. I've included the interaction below - but suffice to say, I was able to answer his question correctly (see "Winner, winner, chicken dinner..."). I was getting an JP Arencibia signed bat! How COOL!!! Sure I'm a grown man (arguably), but I still get giddy when I win something that I'm really excited about.

Well, that was nearly 5 months ago and guess what....no autographed bat, yet. I did receive a direct message on 12/28 from JP that stated "ill send it to u when i go home im currently on vacation....". I know he's a rich celebrity, but surely he's back from vacation now, right? Of course he is - he's the Jays nearly-everyday catcher! I saw him on TV just the other day.

I've tweeted him back a few times seeing if he's had a chance to look into this...but have yet to receive a response. I'm sure it's just an oversight as he is incredibly busy with the season. But you'd think he could take the time to fulfill on his own contest, right???

My plan is to put the bat up in my office at work - presenting it proudly as a symbol of my decades of loyalty to the Toronto Blue Jays. It has a place next to my Roy Halladay bobble-head and my Ernie Whitt signed baseball.

Below are the tweets from JP Arencibia leading up to my victory. If you scroll down to the bottom you can read them in chronological order as you scroll upwards. I remain firm in my belief that he will eventually hold true to his word. He seems to really love the interaction he's allowed with twitter and I do think that enjoyment is honest.

Look, is a signed bat the be-all, end-all? Of course not. It would be cool to have and would definitely be something that I would cherish forever. I'm sure I could find a similar item on ebay for a reasonable price...but that's not the point. I guess my point is...it's nice to see an athlete able to interact with the fans in a positive manner rather than the mindless trash we see with other celebrities. Maybe I'm naive but I do like to see the best in everyone. And sports is no different. Right now I'm that little kid standing outside the locker room waiting for the star player to come out and sign his baseball because he said he'd do it after the game. He said he'd be here...so here I stand.

I will post an update when I have one. Hopefully I'll have good news to report soon. I'll even post a picture of the winning item, if and when I receive it.

Cheers,
LW

jparencibia9 jp arencibia

@hamswims Winner Winner chicken dinner....