On April 25, 2014, Jace Ryan Peterson made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres. It was a short stint and after 27 games with the Padres, he was sent back down to the minors.

During the offseason Jace was dealt to the Atlanta Braves along with a few other players in exchange for Justin Upton. The trade worked out well for Jace since he ended up making the Braves roster right out of spring training this year.

Jace spent the entire 2013 season with the Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League where he batted .303 and had 42 stolen bases. 

I want to wish Jace the best of luck in the big leagues.

On May 4, 2015, Austin Charles Hedges made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres. Austin spent most of the 2013 season with the Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League. During that time he was considered the best defensive catcher in all of minor league baseball.

Since being called up to the majors, Austin has split time behind the plate with Derek Norris. Austin isn’t much of a hitter, but his defensive skills behind the plate should guarantee him a very long big league career.

I want to wish Austin the best of luck in the big leagues.

The Lake Elsinore Storm made a trip to visit the Inland Empire 66ers. I didn’t attend the game but showed up after and waited for some of the players near the team bus.

Former major leaguer Xavier Nady recently got the gig as the Storm hitting coach and I wanted to meet him. Rod Barajas began the season as the Storm hitting coach, then was promoted to Double-A San Antonio. Nady then came in to fill the void.

After waiting for over an hour, Xavier came out and signed for the few of us that were waiting for him. You can judge by the background of the photo that this was a very late night autograph session. Luckily we were both wearing white.

Facts about Xavier

• Full name is Xavier Clifford Nady.
• Attended UC Berkeley.
• Was drafted by the Padres in the 2nd round of the 2000 amateur draft.
• 2x World Series champion.
• Had a 12 year major league career.

Wikipedia

Jim Leyritz made an appearance at the Optometry Practice of Dr. Alex Corbin liu. It was a private event for only a limited number of guests. People had to contact Dr. Liu when the event was posted publicly to participate and to no surprise, the guest list was quickly filled.

It was easy going with Jim talking to fans and signing autographs. He signed his full signature which isn’t something that he always does. It wasn’t Jim’s first time at the practice either, he had already been there a number of times as a patient.

Some of my signed items.

Stay tuned for the next free giveaway which will be a Jim Leyritz signed jersey!

Jim played for 6 different teams during his Major League career. His most memorable moments always seemed to come when wearing a Yankees uniform.

Facts about Jim

• Full name is James Joseph Leyritz.
• Attended Middle Georgia College and the University of Kentucky.
• 2x World Series champion.
• Hit the last Major League home run of the 1990’s.
• Played 11 seasons in the big leagues.

www.jimleyritz.com

On April 8, 2015, Delino Diaab DeShields made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers. If the name sounds familiar it’s because he is the son of former big leaguer Delino DeShields.

Delino started his career in the Astros organization after being drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 amateur draft. He spent the entire 2013 season at Class A Lancaster, where he hit .317 with 51 stolen bases. Delino eventually made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers and the speedster is currently among the league leaders in stolen bases.

I want to wish Delino the best of luck in the big leagues.