Day 1 of WWU was great. I met my favorite player, and our time management worked out great. We did not have to stand in autograph lines very long, allowing us time to browse the vendor area and sit in on a couple of presentations. The day could not have gone any better.
Day 2 did not start out the greatest. Around midnight, a couple a few doors down from us at the hotel started arguing. Two hours later, the front desk finally called the police to break things up. I made it very clear at checkout that I would not be staying there again. If you are ever in O'Fallon, IL, do not stay at the Sleep Inn. We bypassed the bleak breakfast, ate at a nearby IHOP, and returned to the WWU.
We arrived a few minutes after the gates opened Sunday morning. The feel-like temperature was -5 degrees. It was a very brisk walk from the parking lot. Once inside, things started looking up. We had two paid autographs right away.
Michael McGreevy's autograph was $15. I wish he signed his name in the white area, but the ticket still looks good.
Lefthanded pitching prospect Quinn Mathews is the Cardinals #3 prospect and #41 overall on the just released Baseball America top 100. Remember what I said about a lefty smudging his autograph on a ball yesterday? This one did some, but I will gladly take it for the $10 I paid for the autograph.
I took this picture at a Peoria Chiefs game on Father's Day last year. Mathews went 7 innings with 3 earned runs and 11 strikeouts. His auto and inscription turned out great.
The rest of our autographs were from free signers. Harris and Scruggs have not been at the WWU since their minor league days, while Horton is there every year.
We did sit through two different interview sessions. The first was with three members of the 1985 NL Championship team. I enjoyed hearing the stories about one of my favorite teams growing up. The second was with the Cardinals minor league position player and pitcher of the year, Jimmy Crooks and Mathews.
Overall, we had a great time. Attendance was down somewhat, but better than what I expected. The level of excitement was down. In previous years, people were eager to meet the players. This year, quite a few people were just going through the motions. I will say players were all upbeat and optimistic about the upcoming season.
Two major things I noticed about the weekend.
1) The Cardinals knew attendance could decline. To combat this, they offered a free autograph to early admission ticket holders. They also allowed anyone to watch the presentations/interviews on the main stage without an admission ticket. Neither had been done before. I am not sure either made a big difference.
2) I got the sense some areas were cut back on. The number of free autograph signers was down. The number of vendors was also down. In previous years, the team offered a discount for certain ticket packs. This year, all they did was waive the fees. This was not the answer for a team trying to get fans to the ballpark.
We will attend WWU in 2026 regardless of the team's performance. It is a father-son tradition that I hope my son will continue with his children.
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