Alright, let me tell you about getting this Juan Soto signature. It wasn’t exactly straightforward, you know?
So, I’d been wanting something, anything really, signed by him for a while. Big fan, obviously. Watched him play, followed his stats, the whole deal. But getting an autograph these days? It’s tough.
Trying My Luck
I heard his team was coming to town. Figured, okay, this might be my shot. Bought tickets, not the best seats, but decent enough, maybe close enough to shout or something during warmups. Got there crazy early, like hours before the first pitch. Stood by the railings down the line during batting practice. You know the scene, tons of people all trying the same thing.
- Had a fresh baseball.
- Brought a couple of Sharpies, just in case one died.
- Stood there, baking in the sun a bit.
Called out his name a few times. “Juan! Mr. Soto!” Felt kinda dumb, yelling like that. He was focused, doing his thing. He signed a couple, but way down the line from where I was. Saw some kids get lucky. Good for them, but man, I was thinking, “This ain’t gonna happen.”
Almost Gave Up
Game time came and went. Great game, but no luck on the autograph front during the match itself, obviously. Afterwards, I tried hanging around the player’s exit area. Security guards were everywhere, real serious faces. They kept telling everyone to clear out. It felt pretty hopeless at that point. Packed up my ball, feeling pretty deflated. Started walking towards the exit with the crowd.
Then the unexpected happened.
Seriously, pure chance. He came out a side entrance, maybe heading to a different car or something? Not the main exit everyone was watching. Only a few people noticed. He seemed in a rush, but paused for like, 10 seconds. Signed maybe three things super quick. I was right there, just held out my ball without even thinking. He grabbed it, scribbled something real fast, pushed it back into my hand, and boom, he was gone. Didn’t even really look at me.
Success!
I just stood there for a second, kinda stunned. Looked down at the ball. There it was. His signature. Wasn’t the neatest thing, looked rushed, but it was definitely his. Felt this huge wave of relief and excitement. All that waiting, feeling silly yelling his name, it actually worked out in the end.
So yeah, that’s the story. Wasn’t some fancy event or planned meeting. Just pure luck, being in the right spot at the absolute right second after almost completely striking out. Got the ball sitting on my desk now. Every time I see it, I remember that whole day, the waiting, the near disappointment, and then that split second of luck. Pretty cool.
