Treated a buddy of mine to a baseball game between the Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics, at AT&T Park for his birthday.
The night started out pleasantly enough. We nabbed ourselves an orange jersey t-shirt during the free giveaway and made our way to our seats. I have never sat so close to the action before. Usually I sit way up in the rafters. Sitting in the first couple of rows on the lower level is whole another experience.
For one, the players do not look like tiny dots on the field; they actually look like real people.
We started off the night with a Hef. The ballpark no longer serves the Gordon Birsch brand, which was disappointing after having walked both levels of concession stands. Got a bratwurst to go along with the beer. The thing was huge! At least a foot long. Finished off the night with garlic fries and nachoes. I really wanted to get a philly cheesesteak and another beer before the game ended, but the lines are crazy long. Would have missed half the game waiting in line.
Back at our seats, we were looking for any foul balls that came our way. Birthday boy brought a glove and was gracious enough to sit on my right in the path of any oncoming balls. The old adage of “bring your glove, get a ball” proved true. The 3rd base coach picked up a foul ball and tossed it into the stands. My friend reached out with his glove and snatched it from the waiting hands of two other people. Awesome.
We were also close enough to see Omar Vizquel steal home for the only run of the game. The A’s pitcher, Greg Smith, was just staring at first base for a long time with the bases loaded. By the time he threw home, Vizquel was already crossing the plate. Never seen a steal for home live before. That was great.
On an otherwise disappointing night for the home team, a funny incident happened in the bottom of the ninth. While Huston Street was getting ready to throw a pitch, the field sprinklers turned on and soaked the A’s in the field. Everyone had a good laugh. An awesome finale to a great night.
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