Summer finally warmed up for us Bay Area folk. I’ve always wanted to go to a mid-week baseball day game, & now my wish has been fulfilled this season. We were lucky that on the most comfortable day this summer, our company bought a whole bunch of bleacher seats at the Giants game. After the success of our company’s outrageous anniversary party, our CEO thought it would be a blast to throw another company function. Baseball during work hours? Yes, please!
The game itself was good. You have to appreciate good baseball, even if it’s not played by your favorite team. The Giants stuck it out with the red-hot Cincinnati Reds, coming back to tie it up in the 11th inning after being killed earlier in the game.
Many of you know where my alliances lie, but visiting AT&T Park is always a treat. They have nicer things on this side of the Bay. The garlic fries, for example, can’t be beat.
Best part? Hanging out with good people from work. It’s nice to stretch out my legs outside the office, even though our office environment is far from being overly formal. I may have gone a bit overboard with my energy level, but I absolutely love baseball & it becomes hard to contain myself. Oh well, at least with that, I was able to get us on the big screen! (Not the first time this happened!)
Bay Area, Lifestyle, baseball, photography
Even when I’m not in Oakland catching an A’s game, I’m always trying to find a way to get my baseball fix. When my uncle told me my young cousin started little league, we didn’t hesitate to catch his early morning games across the bridge in Hayward. My little niece Ava shared our enthusiasm as well, so we took her along to go see him play for the Hayward Athletics (can’t go wrong with a name like that!).
At the game we watched, he was the only player to hit a home run, & he caught a good game to boot.
Ava didn’t understand the rules of the game, so she made friends with a five-year-old girl she met at the ballgame. She didn’t absorb as much baseball as we did, but had just as much fun!
Bay Area, Family, baseball, photography
I had to come in to work last Thursday morning so I can take the super early shuttle to get to the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s were giving away a fleece Snuggie—what they called a Sluggie—to the first 10,000 fans. I had to get a good spot in line to guarantee getting the wearable blanket. Otherwise, my wizard hat wouldn’t make sense (photo above).
Thanks to all my friends & family who came out to rock the left field bleachers. Without them, I wouldn’t have got us on DiamondVision (finally!) & started the wave that went all the way around the Coliseum 7.5 times. Ahh, what a good game.
Another thanks to my cousin Daniel for wearing my camera & taking almost all of the photos of the evening. Nice shots!
Bay Area, Family, Photo of the day, baseball, photography, sports
Yeah, we’re big baseball nuts. We couldn’t wait for baseball to start in the Bay, so we flew out to Arizona to get our fix! This was our first MLB Spring Training out in Arizona, & we can’t wait to do it again next year.
We wake up in obscene hours here in Bay to catch a 7:00am Saturday morning flight from SFO. We land in Phoenix, shuttle over to the rental car complex (a 10 minute bus ride from the terminal) to pick up our PT Cruiser, then drive straight to Scottsdale Stadium to watch the Giants play the A’s. The game ends at 5:00ish, so we take a 15-minute walk from the park to our hotel to freshen up for dinner. It was the night of the Pacquiao fight, so we walked over to a local steakhouse for a little dinner, boxing, & mechanical bull riding.
After church on Sunday morning in Tempe, we went straight to the A’s Spring Training ballpark at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium, sliding into our seats a bit before showtime. It felt good to see the ol’ boys back on the field. On top of that, we were blessed with gorgeous weather during our whole trip & the A’s winning both games during our visit.
No, I didn’t get any iPhone signatures this time, or caught any homerun/foul balls, but one cool baseball-related thing that happened during our visit: at the restaurant on Saturday night, we were almost sure that Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs was dining at the table next to ours.
Photo of the day, baseball, photography, travel
