I Met Don Mattingly!

Last night, Dan and I went to a charity dinner for the Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer at Mohegan Sun, where Don Mattingly was honored. Mike Francesca and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, WFAN and YES Network's “Mike and the Mad Dog” emceed and the event raised more than $1 million for the charity.

The event was supposed to be a roast of Mattingly by his fellow Yankees and other figures in baseball, but as the New York Daily News' Bill Madden quickly found out after having a joke about Mattingly's recent troubles fall flat on its face, nobody was much in the mood for roasting. Mattingly was praised by the likes of Don Zimmer, Goose Gossage, Mel Stottlemyre and Jim Leyland, with other great players like Moose Skowron and Robinson Cano in attendance.

There were also live and silent auctions for some terrific sports memorabilia. I bid $60 on a ball signed by Hank Bauer, one of my Dad's favorite Yankees, and won it. So I'll be sending that down to him in Florida.

At a private cocktail party after the roast, I got to shake hands with Mattingly and get my picture taken with him. He was a very nice, down to earth guy and stayed at the party for a while, chatting with guests, taking pictures and signing autographs. I was really happy to have met one of my favorite Yankees, and I have the picture here as a souvenir of the occasion.

Thanks to Dan for giving me the opportunity. It was a fun time.