Showing posts with label 1996 Best Fayetteville Generals Team Set. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1996 Best Fayetteville Generals Team Set. Show all posts

Thursday, November 16, 2023

Carlos De La Cruz


I met him at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex, the Philadelphia Phillies spring training facility in Clearwater, Florida in 2020.

He was there watching his son, Carlos play in a simulated game. I had seen him there quite frequently over the years watching his son, and for the longest time, I wasn't aware that he was a former player. When I was made aware of his playing career, I immediately sought out a card but my source for minor league cards was sold out. Two years later, I found a new source and to my surprise, he had a card in stock.
Since it had been over a year since the last time that I saw Carlos in attendance, I wanted to be absolutely sure that it was him. When the younger Carlos was finished with the game, he walked amongst the crowd to get to the locker room. I stopped him and asked if that was his dad in attendance. He said "yes" and then I said, "oh, good, I have a card of his." He smiled and then caught up with his dad. I stayed behind and gave them a moment for themselves but I saw Carlos point to me as he told his dad that I had his baseball card. His dad had the biggest smile as I approached him. I said to him, "Carlos, can I have your autograph?" He took my card and pen and then gave me a big hug. He was so thrilled to be asked and he thanked me multiple times. It was a really cool experience.

Carlos signed a 1996 Best Fayetteville Generals Team Set card #11.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=delacr001car