About 2 ½ years ago, we told you about the McKenney family’s unique devotion to the Tampa Bay Rays. Jeff and his daughter Jennifer are still at it and this week, their remarkable efforts were the subject of a feature story on Tampa’s WTSP-TV.
Since 1998, they’ve been collecting signed baseballs from every player, manager and coach. Even if a player spent just one day with the team, the McKenneys have made sure they’ve gotten a signed ball. The entire collection is displayed in individual ball cubes and each one is identified.
This time of year, they’re busy. Minor leaguers are called up to spend a few weeks with the big club and when the Rays are on the road, that sometimes leaves a short time frame to stake them out at the stadium. That doesn’t mean they won’t sometimes hit the road in order to snag a ball from someone who might not be around next season though.
Watch Bobby Lewis’ story below.