Saturday, Jul. 11, 2009

Fans, former players tour All-Star FanFest

Fans and former players alike got their first taste of All-Star week Friday with the opening of the FanFest at America's Center.

And after going hungry for 44 years -- with the most recent St. Louis All-Star Game taking place back in 1966 when old Busch Stadium was still known as new Busch Stadium -- they feasted on the spectacle.

"This is my first All-Star Game, so it's all new to me and it's really nice to be part of it," said former Cardinals hurler Danny Cox, who signed free autographs for fans young and old. "I think it's great. I love to see everybody so excited about baseball."

Cox said he narrowly missed an All-Star invite in 1985 when he finished the season with an 18-9 mark and 2.88 ERA.

"Joaquin (Andujar) was selected and he wasn't going to go," Cox said. "I think I was like 11-3 at the time and I thought they would probably pick me to go, but they picked Ron Darling from the Mets instead, even though I had a better record."

Cox said he didn't mind at the time.

"I figured I'd get to go another time," Cox said. "I was on a lot of All-Star teams when I was in the minors and younger, so I thought I would get another chance. But I never did. It would have been nice, but I was able to play in three World Series and get a World Series ring, so I can't really complain."

Fans oohed and ahead as they searched through memorabilia stands for treasures and waited in line to let their kids get their picture taken in a replica of a major league dugout or an autograph from a former player. All the while stars mingled with the crowd.

Former Cardinals closer Lee Smith stopped repeatedly to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans as he walked down an aisle -- after he just finished a two-hour stint in the autograph booth.

Brothers Mike and Dennis Miller looked with awe at a display of major league trophies. Some of them were historic, like a crystal bat that was given to Ted Williams, others haven't even been passed out yet.

"I think it's really neat to be able to see the trophies before they have even been engraved," Dennis Miller, originally from Troy but who now lives near Milwaukee, said as he looked at a display with the 2009 National and American leagues' Most Valuable Awards inside.

Mike Miller, who still lives in Troy, said he liked the display set up by the National League Hall of Fame the Best.

Vendors said they were happy with the size of the first-day crowd. But they were uncertain about how their sales were going to turn out in a down economy.

Ira Zar, of Legendary Sports Prints in Plantsville, Conn., said he added several St. Louis-themed items to his inventory of original baseball-themed paintings for the 2009 All-Star Game.

"It's too early to tell how we'll do, but I'm a little nervous," Zar said. "We're making deals and offering specials."

Zar's offerings include paintings of a youthful Stan Musial on the dugout steps, an overhead of old Busch Stadium that, on closer inspection, reveals ghostly images of Cardinals legends including Bob Gibson and Mark McGwire in the night sky and a other historic sports scenes including major league baseball.

Whether it's a letdown following last season's All-Star Game in New York for the last season at old Yankee Stadium or the economy, ticket prices are down considerably.

According to spokesman Doug Terfehr, the Internet ticket reselling site Razorgator.com reported the average 2009 All-Star Game ticket on its sight sells for $679 compared with $1,460 last year or $996 the year before in San Francisco.

Tickets to the Home Run Derby, however, are doing better. This year they are selling for an average of $491 compared with $449 last season in New York and $458 for the 2007 Home Run Derby in San Francisco.

Cox said he has fielded a lot of requests from people who think he has a line on tickets to the All-Star Game as a former player. But he said he was scrambling for them himself.

"People think players get free tickets or something," Cox said. "But we pay for them just like everybody else ... if we can find them."