Padres FanFest 2018 - The Quest For More Jerseys

I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw today. There was a lot to choose from when it came to jerseys. Let's begin.


The night before I created a wish list by going Baseball Reference. The Padres have had a large roster turnover in the last few years, so I felt I had a chance of getting some of these jerseys. 

 I wasn't going to buy everything on the list. I did find most of the names on the list and next year, I'll probably still see these jerseys for sale.

Outside of Petco Park, there was huge line to get in. I arrived just about when the gates opened for the general public. 

After getting inside, I looked for my old friend pointing the way. (I have to take this picture every year.)

This is what I saw next.

 Last year I arrived several hours after it opened and it was empty. Seeing all these people was a little bit of a surprise. It makes me happy though because it means people care about the team...and probably read this blog.

There were several tables full of batting practice jerseys going back from many seasons. I'm not into these but I'm really sure I could have found everyone on my list in here.

I don't know why the jerseys were less expensive this year. I don't think they had that much more than previous seasons.

It's hard to tell but behind the sign are Spring Training jerseys. I really liked the lettering on them and considered getting one. I had no idea they had artwork on them.

 I wish I had looked at these to see if they were blank or not. I really liked the All Star jerseys from a couple seasons ago.

 They had many racks full of jerseys and people like me were going through the rows, looking for different players. The Padres have had a lot of different jerseys over the years, which means they had many different styles for sale.

 This stuck out at me. Was Andrew McCutchen close to becoming a Padre? It's just so odd.

 Fans could buy patches,

 banners,

 and blank line up cards.

They also had postcards, jersey letters and numbers, signed baseballs, hats, and shirts from previous giveaways.



What did I get? 

 I bought a Jabari Blash Padres alternate jersey. He was one of my favorites on the team last season. Also, I was a big fan of the gold trim jerseys, The team should have kept them.

 Brad Boxberger wasn't on the list but I really like the Padres throwback jerseys. This jersey was from their Wayback Wednesday promotion. It has a '98 on the front of it for the 1998 NL Championship team. It also has the friar patch on it.

Another throwback jersey. Chase d'Arnaud played on the Padres for a short time last season. I really like the lettering on it.  

Out of all the jerseys, this is the one I wanted the most. Jered Weaver spent half a season with Padres before his age and injuries caught up with him. While many Angels fans have his jersey, I have this one, and I'm sure I'll get a lot of comments on it.

I bought two hats.

The first one has the US flag on it. The second one is another All Star hat. The current one I have is tight on me, so I bought a bigger one.

These were $20 each.


For non merchandise buyers, there were a wide variety of activities; photo booths, autograph signings, Q & A forums, and fans could go on the field. I can't remember them having that, so I had to go and walk around the outfield.

All in all, I'm really happy. I'll go next year to maybe complete the list but I really don't need that many jerseys.