Finally!  My review of the 2012 National Baseball & Softball Expo!  I would have done a review sooner but I've been pretty busy with getting ready for and going to this year's WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center.  Now that things have settled down a bit, I can get done to business!

The two day National Baseball & Softball Expo was held on January 21 and 22, 2012.  This time it was at the San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.  Having the expo there at the Hall of Champions was a great idea because the hall was big enough for the exhibitors to exhibit and demonstrate their products, and have fans to wait in line while the retired and current baseball players sat at a small, white table to sign for fans.  Current and retired players in attendance were Carlos Hernandez, Omar Vizquel, Morgan Ensberg, Edgar Gonzalez, Mat Latos, Cecil Fielder, Cliff Lee, and Curtis Granderson.  The hall, however, is a three-storied building with small rooms, a dining area with big screen tvs, food to eat, and wooden chairs and tables.  They also had a few Padres and Chargers memorabilia on display.  Plus, they had the big screens turned on all over the hall so you could see the Patriots vs Ravens playoff game, and later on, the 49ers vs Giants playoff game.  Now onto the good, the bad, the cool, and the ugly!

The Good:  Free autographs for everyone!  I managed to get Carlos Hernandez and Omaz Vizquel to sign a couple of old baseball cards.  Edgar Gonzalez, Morgan Ensberg, and Mat Latos signed my new Padres mini helmet with a silver sharpie (gold or black sharpie doesn't look as good on a dark blue helmet.  And blue sharpie won't show, of course!).  I was pretty pleased with the autographs I had gotten.  I even got an autographed Phiten flyer of Cliff Lee at a exhibitors' booth.  Cliff Lee and Curtis Granderson were supposedly there the day before.  The Curtis Granderson Phiten flyer was unsigned.  Figures!  I also met three old ladies who played pro ball during the WW 2 years when the men went to fight in the big war.  I bought their All-American Professional Baseball League calender and had them sign it.  These are some of the ladies who inspired the movie, A League of Their Own.  Just remember, "There's no crying in baseball!"  For those who couldn't make it to the expo and feel like crying, you may do so now!  Just kidding!

The Bad:  I went to the second day of the expo so I missed out on who was signing on day one of the expo.  Other current Padres players, Curtis Granderson, Cliff Lee, and Extra Sports 1090 AM were all there on day one of the expo.  Too bad 'cause I like to meet ALL the players, and it would be nice to meet the talk show hosts of AM 1090.  Plus, one player who didn't sign unless he got paid was Cecil Fielder.  He was not under contract to sign at the expo but you could buy raffle tickets for a chance to win a signed a ball or jersey.  When I told my friend (who couldn't make it to the expo) that Fielder wasn't signing for free, he got pissed.  I told my friend to chill, and got him a signed Vizquel card instead.  I guess it's best to not to ask a player who has a gambling addiction, problems with his son (Prince), and a bad reputation (due to his personal problems) for his autograph, free or not.

What was bad about the Hall of Champions were many things.  First of all, it is too big for the small amount of San Diego memorabilia shown there.  Secondly, the owner is rumored to be a Oakland Raider fan, which means not enough San Diego stuff will ever be displayed there (maybe a lack of funds remains the cause for a lack of material displayed).  For the few things displayed there, people have complained they won't pay the price to go there ever again.  The expo itself managed to fill the whole building which made going to the hall for once worth going to.

The Cool:  Seeing Carlos Hernandez, Omar Vizquel, and their friends and/or family eating lunch together at a table in the dining area.  I have no idea if Carlos and Omar are really good friends or not, but it was nice to see them eating and laughing together with family and friends.  I guess it is easy for them to relate to one another since they are both from the same country and can speak the same language.  A few fans also asked for autographs and to take pictures while they were at their table.  Carlos and Omar are really nice guys if any of you ever gets the chance to meets them.

Another cool thing that I did at the expo was take pictures of fans with the players at the autograph table.  A few fans apparently asked me if I could borrow and use their cameras to take pictures of them with some of the players.  Of course I said yes.  And boy, do some people have some really nice cameras and phones with cameras out there.  Not like my cheap digital camera!

The Ugly:   Mat Latos saying that he got ignored (dissed!) by Edgar Gonzalez.  Is there no real love in or out of the clubhouse for Mat Latos?  All I've heard is negative things from Latos and his girlfriend about the Padres organization since he got traded to the Reds.  Some players just hate being traded to another team when they already love the team that they are playing for.  I'm just glad Mat and Edgar behaved like grown men (mostly) and didn't duke it out at the expo.  Not a good place for that.  Plus, I don't think Mat was that mad about it.

Overall, the National Baseball & Softball Expo was alot of fun, and it was better for autograph signing than last year at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  If you live in the San Diego or Southern California area, I highly recommend going to this expo.  Can't wait for next year!