Dinner with Padres announcers

Padres announcers Mark Grant (green shirt, center
rear) and Don Orsillo (blue shirt next to him)
were hosts of a fabulous dinner for this
correspondent (far right) and five others.
(Photo Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

An extravagant dinner with Padres announcers Mark Grant and Don Orsillo Sept. 7 was enjoyed by six of us--won by a former schoolmate of my brother's, who outbid others in a charity fund-raising event for Rady's Children Hospital all the way from Brisbane, Australia.

I found the Fox announcers, who are employees of the Padres, to be friendly and down-to-earth. I thought, with the glamor and glitz of professional sports these days, and the money tied to television, maybe these guys would be phony, stuck-up, putting on a facade.

But from the start, the community relations people working for the San Diego ballclub were welcoming and showing of sincere concern for our safe arrival at the table with Orsillo and Grant.

The meal was out of this world, with an elaborate lobster, crab, and shrimp display plopped in the middle of the table. That came, before each of us were served with a steak--cured 45 days (my brother's), or dry ribeye (like mine)--expertly prepared to our custom order.

Much of the talk around the table had to do with our high school playing days, since four of us were Camarillo High graduates, Classes of 1970 and '71. I recalled how Randy, a member of our group who sat next to Mark, had executed a perfect hook slide into second base in all-star competition. Only, his cleat from one foot sliced open the calf on the other leg.

The pitcher, athletic enough to slide so well (though he was tagged out on the play), looked down at his puncture wound and went into shock. I remember somewhat his facial expression. Randy remembered it, too.

We stayed over three hours, which is quite a way to go for a weeknight dinner at a fabulous steak and seafood place (Del Frisco's downtown). The whole thing was thanks to Mike, my brother's former classmate, who had lobbed the highest bid to win the dinner (one of seven the announcers are going to host!).

Randy pitched briefly for the Expos and Orioles back in the day. Mark realized that his brother had played with Randy, so during the dinner he texted him and told him he was now eating dinner with a former teammate.

There were a lot of jokes with Orsillo, the play-by-play announcer on Fox Sports, and Grant, the analyst, about their dinner guests earning the right to come into the booth during a broadcast for a future interview.

What amazed us sextet of tablemates was that the two announcers have six more such dinners to take part in. "You're going to way a ton after that," I said to Grant, who was seated at the far end of the table.

Orsillo sat at my end, next to Mike, the winning bidder, who won the rights to two hours of detailed one-on-one conversation about how the veteran play-by-play man (he used to do Red Sox games, and he was headed out the next morning at 4:30 a.m. for Mets-Phillies in New York) recognizes a two-seamer from the booth, versus a four-seamer, versus a slider or curve, and so forth.