A DREAM SUMMER
13 ball parks, 25 teams a dream come true for baseball fans
Summer tour precedes return to work for administrator mother and school nurse daughter
By Don Eriksson
Friday, August 26, 2005 - Pat and Christin, are not your average baseball fans. They are passionate about the sport, the players they love, and they carry it to the individual players in person.
This summer, the mother-daughter team has been doing a tour of major league ball parks 13 different ones so far and have been over 36 ball games featuring 25 different major league teams with more to go in Fenway, Tropicana Field in Tampa and Camden Yard in Baltimore.
Pat is Director of Administration for Northern Ballet Theater, New Hampshire's only professional ballet company. Christin, 22, has performed with the company. She is a 2005 college graduate and about to begin her job as School Nurse.
The duo planned their baseball summer carefully, hoping to visit as many major league parks as they can before their work year begins, and they succeeded to a large degree. They have mostly paid their own way but did receive a graduation gift of a week in New York.
Pat has been a Yankees fan all her life until recently. Christin has been the same since 1996, but shifted her allegiance to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when her all-time favorite player, Tino Martinez, was traded there as a free agent in 2004.
Their love of the sport transcends Yankee-dom, however, and they have amassed more than 300 autographed baseballs, hundreds of pictures with baseball, basketball and football players, and other memorabilia. All are stored in safe places, but the pair will take interested visitors to their location to share the passion.
Since Christin has catalogued over 300 autographs acquired with her naturally bubbly personality and some craftiness.
"She goes to batting practice and usually the first fan in," Pat said, spilling the beans. "She heads for the visiting team's dugout, which usually has far less of a crowd. She stands her ground until the players come back from batting practice and then Christin starts up a conversation with the players, and then nicely asks for a signature." Christin has a Media Guide for each team, and reads them from cover to cover to learn about the team and the players.
The kicker, however, is that Christin always wears a shirt and hat from the visiting team, especially at Fenway, just to tick off the Red Sox fans. She has favorite players on every team, and has managed to get a picture taken with everyone of them this summer! "The players realize she isn't about to sell the signatures on ebay and that she is a true baseball fan," Pat said.
Christin's summer reached a zenith when she met all the Devil Rays and former Lowell Spinner David Eckstein of the St. Louis Cardinals. She has pictures of herself with every Devil Ray and also Eckstein.
"We've seen the Rays 14 times," Pat said. "The players know Christin by name."
A typical scenario took place on July 7 and 8 at Tropicana Field in games between the Devil Rays and Detroit Tigers. Christin managed to snag Mike Maroth of the Tigers whom she had met at a Lowell Spinners dinner a few years ago. He gave his autograph to her, the only one he signed. Christin managed a few more Tigers signatures as well.
Moving to the Rays' side of the field and wearing her green Devil Rays' shirt, Christin met quite a few players who signed balls and posed for pictures after she told them she had come all the way from Massachusetts to see them.
Her goal was to meet the entire Rays team this summer, which she did. Now, players recognize the duo and wave as they take the field. Christin has become close friends with several of the Rays. There are binders of Christin's pictures with the Rays and all the other players she's met in the past two years.
During a Rays game against the Red Sox at Fenway, the mother-daughter team ran into FSM Florida television commentator Todd Kalas and showed him a picture they had taken of him at a Yankees game. Kalas remembered them, and, amazed they would wear Devil Rays shirts at Fenway, interviewed them as Rays fans of the game.
In the 6th inning, Kalas put them on television again, telling them Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli had asked them to be his guest in the owner's seats for the next game. Out of money, the Manfredos would not have been able to buy tickets on their own.
They sat with Naimoli at the next game, who bought them food and water throughout. The Red Sox's Larry Lucino was also there. Christin said the men spoke mostly about which players were standouts and who they would prefer to keep on their teams. "Mr. Naimoli made a dream come true for me, I don't think anyone realizes how big of a Rays fan I really am."
Pat and Christin have chronicled their summer and the photos they have taken on their Web site http://www.patchristin.com/ The pair subscribes to "Extra Innings" on cable to watch all games. Christin scores ever the games they attend, and refuses to leave before the final out.
Christin has met many Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics players at her former part-time job at Nashua Sports Collectibles because players are invited in for autograph sessions by owner Bill McLaughlin.
Christin has met Tim Wakefield, for example, and has a photo of herself wearing his world champion ring.
"Ortiz is a big teddy bear," she said. "He came up to me, pointed, and said, "You, every time I come here to Nashua, I have to give you a bear hug.' He has the nicest personality."
"Johnny Damon isn't that shy," Christin said, "and Jason Varitek has one of the nicest personalities.
Kevin Millar is so great, so funny," she added, describing how she followed him to the door of a men's room and waited for him to come out in order to meet him.
"Dave Roberts is probably the nicest guy you could ever meet, after Tino Martinez," she said.
"When we were in Philly, the Padres were playing and Christin's boss told Dave Roberts to look for her," Pat said. "We're standing by the field, we called his name and he knew us. He came over and gave us the biggest hugs."
"We have a picture of Tino Martinez Christin took in Toronto last summer," she continued. "She took that picture every time the Rays came to Fenway and we could never hook up. Finally she mailed it to Tino and within two days it was back in our hands with a hand written note wishing her luck in [her] nursing career."
"Mark Teixeira, of Texas, and Eckstein told me they have never forgotten how it was to play ball as a kid," Christin said, "so they sign autographs for kids for 20 minutes before every game."
Some of the collected inventory includes a piece of the Red Sox bench from the World Series in St. Louis, a brick from Baltimore Stadium, David Sheffield's sliding pants, Eckstein's batting glove and an autographed copy of his inspirational book for kids, "Have a Heart."
Martinez signed a shirt, Patriot Rodney Harrison signed a bobble-head doll, and Derek Jeter signed Christin's first autographed baseball. There are bats signed by Jason Varitek, Willie Mays, three generations of the Boone family Bob, Brett and grandfather, Ray, Aubrey Huff, Toby Hall and Jonny Gomes. A photograph of Fenway's diamond holds signatures of the players on its surface beside their positions.
"Carlton Fisk was upset that Varitek had already signed his name behind the plate," Christin said.
There are pictures of Christin with Patriots Adam Vinatieri, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, Corey Dillon, Roosevelt Colvin, Lonnie Paxton, Josh Miller, Dan Koppen, and others with Celtics Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis to name a few.
There is a media guide signed by three quarters of the Anaheim Angels championship team, and Johnny Damon's beer bottle. Also tucked away is a large selection of autographed hats. Her goal this summer is to have the entire Devil Rays team sign the hat, and it's more than half way done!
"My absolute favorite thing is my dad's [the late former Finance Committee member Ernie Manfredo] Little League trophy and a 1960 Yankee's score sheet he filled out," Christin said.
This summer the pair has visited Tropicana Stadium, Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Baltimore (a favorite), Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Washington, D.C., both Chicago fields, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Christin came home with 70 autographs, not including the extra ones she acquired for fellow travelers and friends.
"Most of all, Christin met her idol, David Eckstein, the only man who has ever come close to her love of Tino," Pat wrote on the Web site. "He was the reason we took the trip to the Midwest, and Christin was finally able to get her picture with him. "He was great," said Christin, "we talked about the time he was with the Lowell Spinners. He was happy to know someone remembered him from the east coast."
"And of course, Christin is anxiously awaiting the return of the Devil Rays to Boston on August 28," she wrote. Because of the difficulity of obtaining tickets at Fenway, they purchased single seats and will not be sitting together. "It's okay," stated Christin, "as long as I get to see MY GUYS!"
Still planned for the rest of the season, 4 Rays games at Fenway, 1 Orioles game at Fenway, 1 Angels game at Fenway, 2 Rays games in Tampa and 2 Rays games in Baltimore.
"How do we finance these trips you may ask?" suggested Pat, "lots of free frequent flyer miles, and our baseball piggy bank...we save all year in advance for the upcoming baseball season."
