Unfortunately, the A’s didn’t win it this year, so you got the next best thing with the Giants taking it all the way this season. Against all odds & after a World Series 56-year drought, they finally won it all last Monday. Well played!
Being in a South San Francisco company, it’s Giants fever in the office. The company wanted a Giants group photo, so being the only hardcore A’s fan in the office (it’s hard work, lemme tell ya!), I was more than happy to be behind the camera. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have any orange in my wardrobe, except perhaps my Texas Longhorns boxers.
I was in the photo in spirit. My contribution were the pros: the baseball, two gloves, the mini bat, & the Timmy Lincecum bobblehead in the center bottom of the photo.
Quite the eventful trip we had out there! Cindy & I love taking short vacations, especially if they’re related to baseball! The A’s finished their season in Seattle, so we thought it would be fun to support the green & gold up in cool Seattle for the last two games this year. So we packed up our A’s jersey, baseball glove, & camera, but most importantly, my iPhone to help me build my iPhone autographs collection.
Cindy hooked us up with some outstanding seats five rows from the field—super close to the action. She pretty much set us up for a good time. What a great way to end the season—I scored two autographs in one game! Chris Carter (above) & Eric Sogard (below) are rookies, naturally relatively new to the A’s. They did their ballplayer duties & made the rounds for the fans, signing his autographs for the kids.
The best souvenir of the weekend: we made it on TV!
After the second inning, the family that sat behind us unfurled their home-made A’s banner. With the combination of sitting so close to the field, wearing out-of-town colors, & sitting next to a family with kids, all sporting A’s paraphernalia, I realized this would be an opportunity to be on camera, so I prompted Cindy to start waving. It’s really hard to tell if the camera is pointed at you, especially hard to know if you’re being broadcasted, so I just started parade-waving, panning left to right just in case the cameras happen to be on.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time we were on TV with the A’s:
This happened in 2009. With last Friday’s broadcast, that’s two years in a row on TV. Let’s keep the streak going next year!
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!)
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!
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!
