Justin Upton, Stephen Drew, former player Jay Bell, pitching coach Bryan Price and broadcasters Mark Grace and Daron Sutton of the Arizona Diamondbacks were in attendance for the northern portion of their 2009 Hometown Tour that visited Flagstaff Feb. 5.

The players and broadcasters spent the morning signing autographs for fans and onlookers in Prescott before heading north to Flagstaff in the late afternoon. Select Dbacks players and media members traveled to various cities around Arizona to renew fans’ enthusiasm in the upcoming season.

Upon arriving at the JCPenny in the Flagstaff Mall, I headed toward the back of the line to where I could not see the booth where the stars of the hour were waiting. In the crowd of onlookers waiting patiently for their turn, a security guard commented under his breath that “baseball kind of sucks.” 

From my vantage point, the line stretched out beyond Spencer’s Gifts toward the center of the mall, and it appeared not everyone would be able to get their autographs. It happens. Try again next year. 

As I got closer I could see how the booth was set up. There was a photographer walking around looking for different angles as I crept close to the booth. The wait for an autograph lasted roughly an hour.

I first approached the table with Drew and Upton. I produced a 2001 Dbacks World Series banner for the two to sign. Drew appeared confused and mentioned he was not on that team, but he ended up signing in a space below the insignia. Thus, he was not pleased — nor amused — by my ploy. Upton quickly signed it and moved on without saying much. I, as well as everyone else, received signed photographs from all the guests involved.

Moving on to Sutton and Price, I said it was okay for Daron to sign my banner, despite not having been on the team. He went into a jovial recollection of what he was doing in 2001. He was probably the most outspoken and enthusiastic of the group. I asked Price if he (Dbacks) had a top-five pitching staff going into this season.

“I like to think so,” Price said. “We’re going to need to in order to make the playoffs.” 

Last but not least, Bell and Grace, two of the many heroes who made Arizona’s World Series victory possible, awaited me. They looked pretty weary but pressed on until the end of the session.

Afterward, I stood back, hoping to get further interviews with either Upton or Drew, but it was not in the cards. Two things worth noticing were Grace signing a kid’s arm and Upton holding a baby like Santa. Upton stepped away from the table several times during the session to answer his phone, leaving people in line hoping to shake his hand and greet him.

Overall, it was a good day, and I can say I’m officially geared up for the ‘09 season.