Padre jersey to travel all of the world
March 04, 2012 9:18 PM
The San Diego Padres have been in existence 1969, and no player has ever hit for the cycle.
Yuma native Nathan Zack is convinced this is the year, thanks to some good mojo brought about by the Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey.
Much like the movie from which it takes its name, the Padres fan site Gaslampball.com is undertaking a project, sending a game-worn 1993 Dave Staton jersey on a trip across the world.
Its first stop was Yuma, where Zack — who works with Yuma parks and rec — wore the jersey Monday at the Arizona Winter League Championship game. In that game, James Mays hit for the cycle.
“I went on Twitter afterwards and posted that,” Zack said. “I guaranteed that it's going to happen, that a Padre will hit for the cycle this year. When it happened (in the AWL championship game), I was like great. I had never seen one before and now one of these guys did it.”
Zack handed off the jersey Saturday after taking it around town — to the prison, up Telegraph Pass and of course in the clubhouse of the former spring training home to the Padres: Desert Sun Stadium.
That's why Yuma was chosen as the first destination of the jersey. The Padres trained here until 1993 before going to Peoria the next year. Zack said it's also the reason Staton's jersey was chosen — he was part of both the 1993 and 1994 teams and trained in both Yuma and Peoria. Staton played all 46 games of his big league career in those seasons, hitting .213 with nine home runs 108 at-bats.
“I didn't think they'd send it to me first, but I just threw out the suggestion,” Zack said. “That guy played on the last team to have spring training here, and I work in the clubhouse every day. It kind of surprised me. There's supposed to be a no washing rule, so I'm kind of glad I got it first.”
Zack said various Padres fans will take it for a couple days at a time, following the Padres across the country. The goal is to have it in every stadium the Padres play at this year. There's also a planned trip to London and Belgium this year as well.
For a lifelong Padres fan, Zack said having the jersey was very exciting.
“It kind of broke my heart when they left. For a year I became a Rockies fan out of spite, then realized that there's too much Padres in my blood. Tony Gwynn gave me a ball when I was 3 and I've been hooked ever since.”
Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey
Yuma native Nathan Zack is convinced this is the year, thanks to some good mojo brought about by the Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey.
Much like the movie from which it takes its name, the Padres fan site Gaslampball.com is undertaking a project, sending a game-worn 1993 Dave Staton jersey on a trip across the world.
Its first stop was Yuma, where Zack — who works with Yuma parks and rec — wore the jersey Monday at the Arizona Winter League Championship game. In that game, James Mays hit for the cycle.
“I went on Twitter afterwards and posted that,” Zack said. “I guaranteed that it's going to happen, that a Padre will hit for the cycle this year. When it happened (in the AWL championship game), I was like great. I had never seen one before and now one of these guys did it.”
Zack handed off the jersey Saturday after taking it around town — to the prison, up Telegraph Pass and of course in the clubhouse of the former spring training home to the Padres: Desert Sun Stadium.
That's why Yuma was chosen as the first destination of the jersey. The Padres trained here until 1993 before going to Peoria the next year. Zack said it's also the reason Staton's jersey was chosen — he was part of both the 1993 and 1994 teams and trained in both Yuma and Peoria. Staton played all 46 games of his big league career in those seasons, hitting .213 with nine home runs 108 at-bats.
“I didn't think they'd send it to me first, but I just threw out the suggestion,” Zack said. “That guy played on the last team to have spring training here, and I work in the clubhouse every day. It kind of surprised me. There's supposed to be a no washing rule, so I'm kind of glad I got it first.”
Zack said various Padres fans will take it for a couple days at a time, following the Padres across the country. The goal is to have it in every stadium the Padres play at this year. There's also a planned trip to London and Belgium this year as well.
For a lifelong Padres fan, Zack said having the jersey was very exciting.
“It kind of broke my heart when they left. For a year I became a Rockies fan out of spite, then realized that there's too much Padres in my blood. Tony Gwynn gave me a ball when I was 3 and I've been hooked ever since.”
Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey
