Back in high school my buddy and I caught him outside the Radisson in Utica. Must have been ‘98 or ‘99, the Texas Rangers were playing the Hall of Fame game and were staying in the area.
My buddy was big on memorabilia so he wanted to spend an hour or so hanging out in front of the hotel. Sure enough, maybe around 10 or 11 we see Wetteland walking back with another guy (non-player). He rolled his eyes and said something like “ah ***” to his buddy, but was cool enough to sign for us. Being big Yankee kids we gushed to him about how awesome ‘96 was. He was cool and chatted for about all of a minute before he excused himself, which was infinitely cooler than Juan Gonzalez who said he wouldn’t talk to or sign anything for people who wait at hotels.
Anyway, he made it known to us that he was walking back from the strip club. Seemed cool at the time. Now? Kind of creepy.
Pretty sure I still have his autograph buried in my old desk back at my parents home. If I ever find it, I’ll be dropping it in the trash.