The Atlanta Braves have had an eventful offseason and have kept busy around the holidays.
On Tuesday, they announced the signing of veteran reliever Jason Grilli to a two-year contract. On Wednesday, news broke that the team signed veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal.
News of that nature would normally come to light thanks to writers and reporters like ESPN's Buster Olney or Tim Kurkjian, or Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Not this time, though.
Pierzynski's signing was first reported on Twitter by Atlanta resident Aaron Lunsford, whose father learned of the signing while talking to Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez while they shopped at a local HoneyBaked Ham store.
After reports of the signing were confirmed by MLB.com's Mark Bowman, Lunsford took to Twitter again to explain how the conversation went down.
"According to [David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution], Fredi is saying my dad overheard him talking about AJ signing. Fredi spoke directly to my dad while waiting in line.
"Nobody else in the store recognized Fredi. My dad said hello, then they started talking baseball. Yada yada yada ...
"Fredi after mentioning Grilli signing, 'We signed a catcher today, Pierzynski.' Dad -- 'AJ?' Fredi -- 'Yep. You're the first to know."
And the cherry on the top of the proverbial ice cream sundae? Wednesday was Lunsford's father's birthday.
As Mark Townsend of Yahoo Sports noted, "In terms of unusual places for a baseball story to break, that ranks right up there with David Murphy's daughter's daycare leading that he was signing with the Cleveland Indians last November.
"[Lunsford's father] is among the most unlikely of baseball sources to report a deal, first and foremost, but it sounds like he's a decent guy, too. Otherwise, we're sure Gonzalez would not have been as engaging or forthright with such information. If he's guilty of anything, it's being respectful and kind.
"Reminder: It always pays to be respectful and kind."
Good to the last drop
There's an old saying that it's better to give than receive.
Washington Nationals pitcher Doug Fister was in the giving spirit Wednesday, offering his Twitter followers a drink at Starbucks by using a virtual gift card.
Fister posted a Starbucks bar code along with the message, "Merry Christmas Eve! Have a Starbucks on us! Have the barista scan the pic below. Don't be a grinch, please use for 1."
The post was retweeted 2,480 times, meaning the gift card didn't last long.
"Sorry for the misunderstanding," Fister posted later Wednesday. "The gift card was meant as a first come, first serve until the amount ran out, just a little holiday gift."
Speed dating
NHRA driver Courtney Force, 26, and IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, 25, who've been dating since last year, are now engaged to be married, accoding to a tweet from Force sent from Venice, Italy.
"In lieu of rice, should well-wishers just throw lug nuts?" Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times asked.
Sports quiz
Which team did Fredi Gonzalez manage before the Atlanta Braves?
Answer
Gonzalez was the manager of the Florida Marlins in 2007-2010.
Sports on 12/26/2014