Their love for baseball is evident at MLBPAA event in San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- Batting practice was in full swing, the smell of hot dogs filled the air and you bet it was time for baseball.

"It's a day at the ball park for the guys and this reminds them of the passion they have for the game,'' San Diego Padres legend Randy Jones said.

Jones, who won the 1976 National League Cy Young Award, wasn't talking about the participants prepping for Tuesday night's contest between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres.

Instead it was the national pastime's former players that were in Jones' thoughts, as he looked around a packed auditorium at Petco Park.

The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association was having its Alumni Day Series in America's Finest City and there were more bodies than there were chairs.

"Every one of these guys still has a love for the game and you can see it in their eyes,'' said Jones, who also pitched for the Mets. "Even if they just got a taste of the big leagues, we all share that passion.''

Plenty of stories were getting passed around as more than 40 men told tales, some tall and some otherwise. It was a reunion of sorts, with guys swapping stories of the glory days gone by, but never forgotten.

"It doesn't take long before I see someone I either played with or against,'' said David Newhan, who spent parts of eight major-league seasons with five teams.

Among the cool parts at an event where sore shoulders, barking elbows and aching knees were put on ice were the introductions. Each player rose, stated their name and the number of squads they cashed a check from.

The once-speedy Derrel Thomas stood and started running through his list when someone shouted: "We don't have time for all your teams.''

That line brought with it a hearty laugh and a booming voice from the back.

"I got all you guys beat,'' Mark Redman said.

He certainly did in the jewelry department as his 2003 Florida Marlins World Series ring swallowed the lefty's hefty finger.

"It is pretty big, but I thought I would bring it out for this function,'' he said.

But back to his plethora of teams. It's enough that Redman had to take a deep breath before spitting out: Twins, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers, Marlins, Rangers, A's, Pirates, Royals, Blue Jays, Braves and Rockies.

Whew.

But no matter the uniform, length of service time, position or platitudes, all these gentleman were the same: they played the game with honor and now they live it with pride.

"We're all part of the same fraternity,'' said Newhan, fresh from managing the Angels Class AA team in Mobile, Ala. "Regardless of what generation you might had played in it's just nice to be around other guys that played the game. It's great to be connected to the game, and these guys, through this organization.''

Other professional leagues look at the MLBPAA with envy. It has more than 9,000 members, with 75 percent of them being ex-players. Also included are the players' wives, baseball scouts, front-office personnel, umpires and even a baseball scribe or two.

"Hey wasn't your dad a sportswriter?'' Joe Sambito said when spotting Newhan.

Ross Newhan certainly was, an icon in Southern California newspaper circles.

"I hope he never ripped you,'' David Newhan said with a chuckle.

Sambito, who pitched 11 seasons with the Astros, Mets and Red Sox, put in perspective the thrills and realities of being in "The Show."

"We get to live out every fan's dream,'' he said. "But you can also get injured by the smallest of things and it can be over.''

That's where the MLBPAA steps in. It assists its members with health benefits, pensions and finding work after the cheering has stopped.

"We want to promote the game of baseball, raise money for charities and serve the needs of the former players,'' said Dan Foster, the CEO of the MLBPAA.

That's a big endeavor, but it's a worthy cause for these appreciative former big leaguers.