My memory isn't what it used to be. That's why it's important to document anything sports related on this blog... including going to ball games.
2019 Topps #616
My cousin from Hawaii was in town over the weekend. She bought some tickets to the San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies game on Monday. We got up early, hopped on Caltrain, and arrived in the city about three hours before the game. With time to kill, we hopped in an Uber and went to Japantown where we grabbed a small lunch and walked around.
We grabbed another Uber and were dropped off at Oracle a little over an hour before the game. I knew heading into the game that I wanted to grab a few wallet card photos. Here's the best one:
It's a shot of Tony and Juan outside of Oracle Park as we were walking up to the gate. With time to kill, we walked around the entire park to give my cousin and her son a chance to take in the full ballpark experience.
Here's a photo of the view behind home plate that semi-resembles the above 2019 Topps card:
And here's a panoramic view from our seats:
These were the best seats I've ever had at Oracle Park. We were behind the Phillies dugout and were low enough to get a great view of the players... and high enough to see the entire field. With clear skies and mild temperatures... it was a perfect day for baseball.
One of the highlights came before the game when two fighter planes flew over us right after the National Anthem. It was really, really cool. Unfortunately... I didn't capture it on film. But if you're interested, you can watch it here.
I was really impressed with the San Francisco Giants organization and their efforts to honor those who died while serving our country. Throughout the game there were tributes to special visitors and members of the United States Armed Forces.
As for the game... I wore my San Jose Giants hoodie to try and fit in. I'm not a San Francisco Giants fan, but I do support the local farm team. It was cool to see Matt Chapman back in the Bay Area. And I was excited to see Blake Snell pitch in person:
There were a lot of Phillies fans sitting in our section, but I didn't see any tension among the fans. Sure Giants fans booed Harper... while Phillies fans cheered him on. But from my view... everyone seemed to be having a great time.
Normally I like to highlight the food, but honestly my hot dog was tiny and the garlic fries were mediocre at best.
Having taken Caltrain up to the game, we knew we had to beat the crowd back to the train. So we left during the top of the eighth... with the Giants leading 8 to 4. A lot of fans had the same idea, but the three of us were able to grab seats for the 90 minute ride back down to the South Bay.
It ended up being almost a twelve hour experience that was exhausting... but memorable. I already have one more game lined up this season as I've already bought my tickets for the final A's game. Hoping to hit up at least one other A's game during the summer... and probably a San Jose Giants game too.
If that happens... I'll be sure to document it here. Otherwise... I'm likely to forget it happened in a few years.
Thank you Jamie for the ticket to the game and for motivating me to get my butt back to Oracle.
Everyone else... thank you for taking the time to read this post.
Happy Wednesday and sayonara!
17 comments:
I used to love going to ballgames and keeping score. The Rangers are my local team, but I've only been to a couple games since they built the new indoor stadium. It's so loud inside now that I don't enjoy being at the game anymore.
I've never been to the Giants' current digs. Saw a few games at Candlestick, and I might do a blog post about those.
Anyway, sucks that the Phillies lost. Cool Marichal statue though.
Very cool that you got to go to that game and you're right that it was a great day for it. I'm glad to hear that they did a solid job of recognizing Memorial Day. The view from your seats looked quite nice indeed! Had your cousin's son been to an MLB game before, or to see the Giants specifically? Always cool when it's someone first game at a park.
Baseball and family, doesn't get any better than that.
p.s. I got your package today, thanks.
Need to get you a Masanori Murakami shirt to wear next time…
In all seriousness it's never a bad thing to wear MiLB gear. I wear San Jose and Trenton stuff all the time.
I attended a Giants v Phils game a few yrs ago; the scalped seat I bought was amongst a group of traveling Phillies fans (had a great time with them) and found out later that blogger Jim from the Phillies room was attending same game; probably sitting within feet of me!
the angels in order - i'm not a fan of big crowds myself, but i think baseball games are an exception. that being said... i don't go very often. and when i do, it's usually to the san jose giants games where the crowds are small, but the food is still yummy.
elliptical man - oracle park is really nice. if you get the opportunity, i'd recommend going at least once. i went to candlestick a lot back in the 80's and 90's. it was before crowds bothered me. looking forward to seeing your post. i too have a collection of cards featuring candlestick
dennis - yeah... he's been to several games. we went to the oakland coliseum years ago. he's attending college down in souther california and is an angels fan, so he's been to a few of their games.
johnnys trading spot - yeah... going to the final a's game at the coliseum with my brother (who used to take me to games back in the 70's and 80's). that should be cool. glad the cards arrived safe and sound.
nick vossbrink - if they made a murakami jersey or t-shirt, i'd totally buy one. i just saw that the giants had a special japanese heritage mays jersey giveaway. that would have been cool to wear to the game.
mr haverkamp - i was blown away by the number of phillies fans that attended that game. i was even more impressed that the interaction between the giants and phillies fans was civil and overall pleasant. i wonder if jim attended monday's game.
Looks like a beautiful day at a beautiful ballpark (mediocre food and crowded train rides aside)! Way better than the Dome we have here in Nagoya!
Looks like a great day at the park! I visited Oracle Park back in 2022 and enjoyed it very much. Although I do agree that the fries were not very good.
Taking the train is a great way to go to the game. I haven't been to one before 2019. Maybe this year.
Kind of surprised beating the crowds is a concern for the trains in SF. In New York they run extra subways after a game. And if you don't like crowds, they're usually thinner about 30 minutes after the game ends.
Got the cards you sent. Much thanks!
Sounds like a really fun day.
Glad the Giants were winning. I'll always be partial to them.
I'll be headed to a ball game myself in a few days.
Great seats buddy!!
i had a great time at at&t park the one game i went to - 20 years ago! i hope to make it back someday.
Nice write up! One of these days I need to go there looks like a fantastic place to watch baseball.
sean - crowds or not... i'm hoping to attend at least a few baseball games in japan one day
the lost collector - i was pretty surprised by the garlic fries. they're usually really good. on the other hand, i haven't been to oracle in a while.
bo - they might run extra trains during the week, but on memorial day they were using the weekend train schedule and they were running by the hour. and it definitely would have been more packed than the one we were on. we could have waited a few hours and gone out to dinner or something, but it had been a long day already.
brett alan - good to hear. enjoy
ginko-5 - hope you had fun at your game.
sumomenkoman - my cousin went all out on tickets. the view was definitely impressive
gcrl - with the a's leaving the area... maybe i'l go to more games at oracle after this season. that being said... it still won't be a lot.
steve at 1975baseballcards.com - it really is a nice ballpark. the downside is that it is always packed.
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