My Top Pittsburgh Pirates Moments from the 2008 season

: As I mentioned, I did get Nate McLouth's autograph, but there were so many others that I got. This was my first year attempting to get autographs, and in large part it was a success. I will definitely be able to get more, as I will be sitting right where autographs are usually given. My autographs ranged from teams and eras, but I was happy to get each and everyone of them.

The fun started at the team's annual event called PirateFest. The annual event, is usually done as a way for players to say thanks to the fans. There are autograph signings, games and much fun every year. The autograph sessions were done in one area, and there was a line. Each signing involved a current Pirate, a former Pirate and a future Pirate.

I actually did get in line for a little bit, but after discovering how long the wait was (2 1/2 hours), I instantly left the line. Immediately afterwards, there was a Pirates Q&A session and I saw my chance. The session lasted around an hour and afterwards I was ready to do some back and forth running.

The first person I approached was Tom Gorzelanny and after congratulating him on his marriage and his good season I got his signature. I then proceeded to run back and forth repeatedly to get many more signatures. The signatures were Zach Duke, Xavier Nady, and Paul Maholm.

After the running, I got Bob Walk, Matt Morris (more on him later), Bob Friend and Ian Snell all seperately at the radio booth. I also got Matt Capps and Jack Wilson seperately at one of the stages.

Then during the summer, I attended the Parade of Champions, a part of Pittsburgh's 250 anniversary. The event featured champions in every sport and had a lot of different features. There were several autograph sessions during the day and one was extra special. In fact, it was so special that it was seperate from all of the other signers. I instantly got in line because of the person and because of how long the line was going to be. Any guesses who this person is?

If you said Bill Mazeroski, then you are correct. Mazeroski was great, and he was in town because he would in a couple days' time throw out the first pitch in the Pirates-Yankees game. I also was able to get signatures from Steve Blass, Kent Tekulve, John Candelaria and Bob Friend. 

Bill Mazeroski

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?