Volpe isn't a ballplayer; he's a forlorn fan in search of a team. Sick of greedy owners and loyalty-challenged players who go where the money is, Volpe, 45, a business consultant in Falls Church, Va., has offered himself as the first-ever free-agent fan.
It all began in November after the San Francisco Giants, a team he had cheered for since boyhood, traded his favorite player, third baseman Matt Williams, to the Cleveland Indians. Volpe got the news from late-night TV, rushed upstairs to complain to his wife, Mary Beth, and rushed back down again when Mary Beth, unmoved, suggested he write to the Giants. By dawn he had decided that, as a fan, he was tired of being unappreciated and had written to every major league team. "Somebody needed to get the message across," he says. "Fans are the most important part of the game, not profits and ticket sales."
Soon teams began writing back—23 major league and seven minor league teams so far—wooing Volpe as if he were some lusty young slugger. The Baltimore Orioles plied him with crab cakes. The New York Mets brought him to a clinic for kids at Shea Stadium, where he pitched to manager Bobby Valentine. The Florida Marlins flew him to Miami for their February Fanfest. Volpe, who says he will pick a team soon—it will not be the Giants—has also netted a trove of caps, jerseys and jackets and has donated them to St. James Catholic School in Falls Church, which his sons Ross, 13, and Andrew, 9, attend. The principal, Sister Janet Regina, says she is delighted but admits the Williams trade didn't bother her. "Actually," she says, "I'm a Phillies fan."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
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