FanPost Friday: Who was your first “favorite” player?

Originally when I set out to write this week’s prompt I was going to ask fans to tell us all about their first favorite Rays player. But as I considered that, I knew that many fans (fans who read and write for this site, even) had a pre-existing history with baseball before the Rays ever existed. So with that in mind, I decided the best approach was to broaden things a little.

As much as we, as fans, are deeply connected to our team and can find new players to love with each passing season (this is something Rays fans have learned to be especially good at), we also get attached to individuals. It’s impossible, as you watch dozens of games over the course of a season, to not learn more about player personalities, and find ourselves connecting to certain guys, rooting for them like we have a personal investment in their success.

I think it’s also safe to say that most of us remember the exact player we first considered to be our favorite. The one guy whose jersey we were willing to buy, whose walk-up music we recognized immediately. It didn’t matter if he was a good player, a long-term team guy, or just a brief call-up who made a splash. Everyone remembers their first favorite.

In this week’s FanPost Friday, we want to know who your first favorite player was, and why they were so special to you. Were you in the stadium for their first home run? Did you get into their line at a fan event and have a great interaction? What was it about them that made them stand out to you so much?

Head over to the FanPost section, select “New FanPost” on the left, then tell us all about the player who made you love baseball on a slightly more personal level.