MLB Fan Cave

By: Ashley Chavez; @smashleychavez

As some of you know, Sergio Romo and Pablo Sandoval stopped by the Cave to hang out and shoot a super awesome sketch. You may also know that I am a Giants fan. But you may not know that I was crazy nervous about it. Since being in the Cave, we have met many fantastic ball players and musicians. I'll admit; I get really anxious to meet them and see how they are in real-life settings. So far it's been a trend that everyone is the coolest person on the planet, so the nerves have been quickly wearing off. But when your favorite baseball players come into town, holy smokes.

So the cars arrive, and fake cool Ashley comes to stage. Seriously, though, I was shaking in my flats. But I kept my composure and welcomed them into our humble abode. When ball players/celebrities/musicians stop by, we always give them a tour of the place. I think that really sets the tone to see their personalities and gives you a chance to feel them out. (Let me say that we are batting 1.000 with our guests, as it's amazing how great these people are off the field). So, back to the story. They walk in and are pretty much the coolest people I've ever met. I take them to the Dirt Bar (always my first stop) and they make me feel like I've known them forever. The nerves instantly vanish.

Favorite players plus totally chill and laid-back personalities equals fandom level max upgrade.

The sketch we had them do was hilarious. Panda, known for his handshakes with teammates, gave custom Panda-shakes to lucky fans at Washington Square Park. They set it up, lemonade stand style, charged a quarter for a shake and Romo was the ring master, calling people to step on up. After a while, Pablo would leave to use the restroom and Sergio would change the sign to say custom pitches, throwing a pitch for a quarter instead. So awesome.

After signing autographs and taking pictures for the fans outside the Cave, we get to the park and see that a lot of people got the memo that this skit was going on through updates from the Giants and MLB Fan Cave on Facebok and Twitter. There was a line behind the shake stand of about 150 people, all Giants fans. The guys were pumped. I told Panda that I hope he has 80 handshakes planned out, and he assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. It wasn't. Every single person in line got a handshake, photo, autograph, or all three! The players and the fans who showed up were all so into the skit, making the whole thing that much more fun. To say it was the best day ever is an understatement.

Sergio and Panda, please come back soon. All of the staff, production team and the Cave Dwellers are raving about having you guys here. You guys certainly make a great organization look better. Plus, Pablo, I forgot to get my Panda shake. And, Sergio, Ricardo still needs to play MW3 with you.