What a treat I had on my way home from Salt Lake City.
I arrived at LAX at 7 and my next flight to Chicago wasn't until 9:46 but there was an earlier flight that left at 8:21 AM. I slipped into the Red Carper Club and got moved to the early flight and kept a first class seat. She asked me what I wanted 3, 4 or 5 Aisle. I took the 4 aisle and headed out to McDonald's. I waited for my flight which was leaving from Gate 73 by standing behind the seats for Gate 72 which was headed to Maui. People watching in LAX is a hoot as you never know who or what you'll see.
As I'm people watching up walks Dave and he sits down in the last row of seats for the Maui flight. Being a baseball fan I wanted a picture without causing a stir as it was 7 AM and I had no idea how he would react. I sat next to him and asked quietly if I could take a picture and he obliged even asking if I wanted to be in it or not. Nah, I didn't want him to stand and have people recognize him and disrupt his morning. I got the solo shot, said thanks and headed across the hall to my flight to Chicago.
As I'm sitting in 4A I hear "Ah ha figures as much" and Mr. Dave Winfield is my seatmate for the next 3 1/2 hours. We talked about family and kids and careers for awhile and he then excused himself for the Kindle he was carrying and I headed off into my beginners power point presentations. Dave was a truly warm and friendly guy without a pretentious bone in his body. We talked about our age, eyesight, weight, health and being in our later 50's just like we'd known one another for a long time. I had no feelings of discomfort and we both felt free talking about anything. He was intrigued by my frequent flyer stories and the things we all pull off around here.
Just before arrival I asked him if he had another connection and he indicated had a long layover as he was headed to Hartford, the home of ESPN. I invited him to join me in the Red Carpet Club and he gratefully accepted.
This guy is as down to earth as they get. I'm up grabbing a coke, and he is toting our bags to a different TV screen for the news and a better view. We spent the next 3 hours talking about BMI lounge access, churning credit cards, opening bank accounts and the sites we all use for making our frugal travel experiences. Dave is taking notes on a yellow pad and writing down websites and instruction on some of our deals. I got him the BMI address to get himself comped to BMI Gold and he in turn gave me his business card from the San Diego Padres and a note on the back telling me how to contact him to use a couple of his seats for a San Diego home game this year. He really didn't need to do that. I was just glad to share some of the stuff we do.
Before we headed out he gave me his other email address so I could send him some more stuff and I finally asked him about baseball. I said "We've been talking about travel so much I haven't had a chance to ask you about the game.
With the most genuine response, he turn to face me even more directly he said "Ask away"
My questions were who was the manager he most enjoyed working for and he said two. The first was Tito Gaston as they roomed together when they were first in the majors and Billy Martin of the Yankees. He said Billy had an air about him that motivated the people around him and if you were on Billy's good side, things were good. But if you were in Billy's doghouse, well then things weren't quite as pleasant. Billy was as hard partying as the press made him out, but they got along just fine.
My next question was about his other Yankee boss Mr. George Steinbrenner. I did not recall at first, but he reminded me of the time Steinbrenner was banned from baseball for the way he had treated Dave re: his contract etc. Mr Steinbrenner did eventually apologize but I'm not sure there is any lasting warm feelings between them. I got the feeling that the public opinion of Mr S. may have been kinder than he really was. He did not tell me that. That was just my feeling.
And my third and final question was there a ballpark that he was just anxious to go to because he hit the best there. You know that anticipation of being in a city where everything went his way. His answer was surprising in that he named a few cities he thought he had hit well in, but nothing really outstanding. I'd have to look up the stats to see where it was. But he did tell me that there were times when he just knew he was on stride. He'd tell the guys in the dugout he'd hit a "dinger" and boom there it would go. Karma, Intuition? Who knows? but Dave knew.
When it was time to catch our flights, I asked if I could have a picture and he gladly obliged. We got he guys working the bar in the club watching the Padres-Dodgers game to take a photo. The first ones did not turn out due to lighting and Dave suggested we move to another spot where they would come out better.
So my mileage run was extra special. I got the miles I needed for Josh and got to spend the better part of a day with a really nice guy, that just happened to hit 285 lifetime, 485 homeruns, played 22 seasons for 6 teams and never spent a day in the minors. He told me he got to play in two great eras, the first when he came up and played against our childhood hereos like Willy Mays and then got to play with the greats of the last era like Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson.
I was also reminded that every ballplayer that ends up in the majors is touted as the next All Star and Hall of Famer until they actually play in the bigs. That is when the work really begins. Dave had to change his batting style three times in his career and constantly had to keep working to improve. He left the game a Hall of Famer.
And he left me feeling I'd made a friend and met a really nice down to earth guy.
