Padres FanFest 2016

The San Diego Padres used their last two exhibition games as part of FanFest, an annual tradition, includes live music, vendor booths where you could win swag, get player autographs, and of course, buy discounted merchandise around the venue.

I arrived at Petco Park around 10AM when the gates were opened to the general public. When I went two years ago, there were a lot of people at the event. As the morning progressed, more and more fans came to enjoy the sights and sounds. Because there were few people there, I could browse through the jerseys and other merchandise causally.

If you wanted a jersey at a discounted price, they had plenty of them. Ghost of Padres' pasts and I didn't recognize a lot of their names. If you wanted a Nick Vincent, Will Venable, Kyle Blanks, or anyone else that had retired or had been traded in the last five seasons, you could probably find his name.

 One row of jerseys were signed by the player that wore them. I avoided them because I wear them and don't display them. Another row had jerseys with commemorative patches from the passing of Jerry Coleman and they were charging $125 for them. I went to $100 rows, which were the least expensive sets of jerseys and they had a wide variety of them.

It was great to have so many choices. Let's begin, shall we.

Odrisamer Despaigne played on the Padres for two seasons and I think I saw six of his starts in those two years. I went to see Mets play the Padres and he had no hitter through seven innings and lost it. I really wanted him to do it. He's in the Orioles' farm system now.

This is a Sunday Military Appreciation jersey. Every Sunday home game, the Padres celebrate a different branch of the Armed Services. Members of the military come out to throw out the first pitch, they get to stand on the field next to the players, and there is an entire section filled with active duty officers.

I wanted a throwback jersey so badly. The Padres wore these jerseys from 1980 - 1984. A few seasons ago, they had Turn Back the Clock games, and they chose this time period because 1984 was when they went the World Series for the first time.

I love the rounded fonts, the orange and brown on sleeves, and neck lines. This is my favorite Padres jersey that I own.

Brad Brach was with the Padres for a few seasons and now is with the Orioles.

Oh yes, I added another jersey to my collection of Polish left handed relief pitchers. Marc Rzepczynski is with the Oakland A's now. When the Padres acquired him, I knew I was going to acquire this jersey. 

This is my first Padres Road jersey and he was the player that I spent the most time searching for the racks for his name. Someone else was searching through the road jerseys and passed on him and I got it. I would like to thank the Padres for having the jerseys in alphabetical order; it really did help me look for certain players.


I decided that three was enough, unless I bought nine jerseys, so I could change every inning, I went around and saw what else was for sale. There were brown batting helmets with no logo for $35, used bats starting at $35, signed balls starting at $25, heavy jackets, player photos in frames, a set of stadium seats, batting practice jerseys, and big promotional banners from last season.

I went to checkout and went around the park.

 Speaking of banners, these were all around Petco and Gaslamp Quarter. Andy Green is current manager of the Padres and they had several banners of him around the park. I don't think Bud Black, the last manager, had a banner when he managed.

It's hard to see from this picture but it's a countdown clock to the All Star Game being held in San Diego.

All of the Padres' Team Stores had sales too. There were 50% percent off sales of different shirts, caps, and other knickknacks. I didn't know you could buy Chapstick with the team's logo on it. 

In the main team store, they were selling old Authentic jerseys for $50 but I didn't see any. I think they sold out after Friday's FanFest. You could buy Cool Base jerseys for $25 and that's a good deal.

Overall, I was happy. The weather was perfect, I got what I wanted at reasonable price, and it's good visit San Diego and the Gaslamp Quarter once again.