In May, we had our second visitor to the apartment! My friend Carrie came visit with two goals: go to the SF area baseball stadiums and road trip to Lassen National Park. We did a lot of driving but that’s for another post. This one is about baseball!
Our first game was a drizzly weekday game at Oakland Coliseum. The A’s are not doing so well this year and local fans are mad about the upcoming move to Las Vegas. So, crowds were sparse but heckling was in full force. There were also more fans of the other team than the A’s, I think.
Paying for parking was interesting. We pulled up and there was some sort of issue with the wireless payment devices. It also reeked of weed, which was interesting since it was completely outdoors and only 4 attendants. Where was it coming from? Answer: the weed factory. Just kidding, I have no idea. Anyway, Tristan the supervisor walked over and noticed that Carrie was holding $20 since we didn’t know if cash was accepted. His demeanor instantly changed and he dropped his hand inside the car just under the window frame and said, “Gimmee the money, I’ll give you a discount.” Made sense to us, so we gave him the $20 which he palmed, magician-style. Pretty sure the Oakland A’s parking proceeds are never seeing that $20. But, we did get a discount since it would have been $30. And that is called a win-win.
The game was close until the 7th inning and then the 2-1 A’s lead transformed to 2-7. Yikes. That was also the time that it started drizzling harder so the place was near-empty with just a few hundred fans. It felt like a poorly attended minors game! I texted my brother who told me that when he went to a similar-type game, he looked up information about the players such as their high school coaches. So, when they came up to bat, he’d yell “Coach Schwartz always said you’d be good but never great!”
Then on Sunday, we went to Oracle Park to see the Giants. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun. We weren’t nearly as close seat-wise but we had SMS join us, which was great. I had gone in for an OR case that morning and met up with Carrie and SMS right before the game. They had tried to go to Jax (closed), so had gotten a beer at 21st Amendment.
So, now I am inspired to go to more baseball games at both stadiums. Summertime fun!
Every time I have been to see the A’s, they are playing the Texas Rangers. I don’t go often…once was because my husband had free tickets, and my daughter (now 27) was probably 4. Once was a work thing. And once when my daughter was in High School Chorus, they sang the National Anthem before the game, so of course we went. I’m pretty sure that’s it. I’ve been even fewer times to see the Giants, I think once. It’s a nice park though!
I’ve never been to a pro sporting event of any kind and WANT TO DO SO…soon. Maybe a goal for 2024?
I would strongly recommend it! Another fun option is a minor league game if you’re near a team. They tend to be very family friendly with lots of activities and cute community tie-ins. Also, kids are usually allowed to run the bases after the game. There are definitely some parents out there “helping” their kids who don’t want to be there while the parents clearly do!