Because the Major League schedule was re-designed to accomodate interleague play, I ended up with an extra day off between my games in Oakland and San Francisco. While I played in the City by the Bay, the Giants played a night game in St. Louis and then flew back home. I decided I would drive around San Francisco and look at all the sights but found it more difficult than I imagined and ended up purchasing a guided tour of the city. We visited the Golden Gate Bridge, the Japanese Tea Garden, Twin Peaks, the financial district, and got a close up view of the fog that often grips the city.
After the tour I headed over to the Beach Chalet, a restaurant owned (in part) by my cousin Timon Malloy, for a quick dinner. I was originally supposed to meet some friends of the family for dinner but they couldn't make it so I ended up eating alone, looking out at the ocean as the sun set (the restaurant is located at the very end of Golden Gate Park). The food was incredible, the people very nice (going out out of their way to make me feel comfortable while eating alone) and the view was absolutely magnificent. I recommend a stop at the Beach Chalet for anyone who lives in San Francisco or who pays the city a visit.
The day of the game I tried again to drive around the city and visit the sights -- this time I was a little more successful finding Union Square and the Exploratoriam. The Exploratoria is a wild and crazy science museum with enough attractions to fill two whole days of visits but it is geared more towards younger kids and can get boring for adults. Union Square is mostly shops (although Nordstrom's was having a big sale) and isn't really different than other cities except for some funky restaurants. On my way to the ballpark (I got a little lost) I drove along much of the 49 mile scenic highway before finally reaching the ballpark.
3 Com Park (it will be called Candlestick from here out), located at picturesque Candlestick Point, is a pretty ordinary stadium. It looks like most stadiums with high walls and thousands of empty parking spots -- no looking in from the outside, no wild colors or statues -- just the stadium. It is the location that makes this park so special -- the view of San Francisco Bay is absolutely incredible (unless the fog limits your sight to the end of your nose) and the stadium is the only thing out there so nothing gets in your way.
The park was designed as a multi-use facitlity and is shared by the Giants and the 49ers (San Francisco's NFL team). Like most of the multi-use facilities it is big and boring with wide open cement concourses guiding fans to all the facilities. Candlestick is obviously old -- paint is chipping off the walls and the facilities are outdated -- but it is very well suited for baseball despite its size. At least until football season starts, the field is in magnificent shape (although there are no designs carved into the grass like in all other ballparks), the seats are comfortable and provide a good view of the field (except for the bleacher seats which were rolled in on top of the football seats), and the scoreboard and diamondvision are in perfect view of everyone in the stadium. Even the 30 second clock from football has been transformed to track the speed of pitches.
The dugouts are very spacious with cubbies and hangars for each player to store his supplies. There are more than a dozen phone lines in each dugout for players and coaches to call the bullpen, front office, or local radio stations from. The dugouts are protected by a wire screen so foul balls can't hit idle players, garbage cans are located throughout both dugouts so players don't have to drop their garbage on the dugout floor, and the bullpens are a few steps away from the dugout (in the out of play area) so relief pitchers can sit in the dugout until they are called into action. The catch is, there is only one entrance to the field from the clubhouse area -- making it necesary for the visiting club to walk all the way across the field to return to their locker room from the clubhouse.
There is one part of the stadium -- not made of cement, metal or grass -- that plays the largest role in every baseball game played on the site. It is the weather. Because of the location of the stadium -- out on Candlestick Point -- the stadium attracts high winds, fog, cold temperatures, and other inclement elements that can affect the outcome of a game. On any given night, the temperature can drop twenty degrees, the wind will blow garbage out of the stands and onto the field, and fog will blanket the stadium (occasionally forcing the game had to be cancelled).
But, like most teams in baseball, the San Francisco Giants demanded a new baseball only facility (and after months of wrangling and a very difficult election) and will abandon "the stick" in the Spring of 2000. The 49ers will also get a new stadium. Nobody knows what the new park (PacBell Park) will be like -- it is still in the planning stages -- but it will rival the nicest ballparks in the majors (and hopefully still have a little bit of the home field weather advantage).
When I first stepped out of clubhouse for batting practice, all of the members of the media were sitting quietly in the dugout. I couldn't figure out why nobody was standing by the batting cage watching the players take their swings so I took it upon myself to set the trend. I was two steps from the dugout when the first gust of wind hit me -- almost knocking me over and sending my hat off my head and onto the infield grass. I could hear the other media guys laughing at me quietly in the background, and trying to look cool I grabbed my hat and walked confidently to the cage.
Things pretty calm until the Giants starting taking swings -- then the wind really picked up. I was dressed in long pants and a short-sleeved shirt and froze my butt off. Glenallen Hill walked up to me, sort of smiling as if he felt sorry for me, and looked at my Great American Baseball Trip hat. I commented that the weather was pretty nice -- sarcastically dropping a comment about the wind. He laughed and said "you think this is windy . . .? [expletive deleted] this is the Rock. . . this is nothing. . .you just wait."
Mysteriously, when the Phillies took the field the wind subsided. I watched Curt Schiling (probably the last time I will see him in a Phillies uniform) teach one of the coaches children how to throw a curve ball and then talk to manager Terry Francona about his trade options (I would tell you what I overheard, but I promised not to let anything slip -- sorry). I said hello to some of the players I had met in Philadelphia and watched as they crushed balls over the fence (it was easier without the wind blowing in).
I rested my arms on the cage next to some of the Phillies coaches and tired to listen in on their conversation. "I'll give you $200 for your first pick" I overheard one player say. "No, wait. . .I'll give you $300". The batting coach only chuckled and nodded his head. The player who had shouted the offer came over near us and offered again. . "how about $300 not to pick Favre." I realized then they were talking about football. A few moments later I turned to the batting coach and offered my opinion about his pick. "You don't want to choose Favre," I said "his brother just got tossed in the slammer for violating his probation -- he's all screwed up in the head." The coach never even looked at me while letting out response saying "Man, his brother has always been a thug -- and it ain't bothered him yet." There was a brief silence before the coach turned to me and asked if I was Mickey Morandini's son. If his judgement of looks (since he assumed I looked like Morandini) is any indication of his overall judgement, the rest of the folks in the draft have nothing to worry about.
I was dissappointed in the support I was given by the Giants front office folks. Sure, the Media Relations Department granted me a media credential which gave me access to the field prior to the game. But, I had a previously arranged meeting with the General Manager and when I called to confirm it, they said they wouldn't have any time for me.
You see, when I originally sent a letter to the Giants announcing my trip and asking for a meeting, I spoke with Karen from the baseball operations office and she said there would be no problem. We spoke about the trip, she offered suggestions, and directions to the things in the city, and generally was supportive of the whole adventure. But, when I spoke to her again two days prior to the game, she changed her mind (sounding as if she didn't remember me) and said nobody would have time to meet with me. I was really dissappointed.
When I first entered the press box I walked right through it thinking it was far too nice to be the area designated for the baseball writers. It was an easy mistake to make since the box is really just a series of converted sky boxes (another indication that this is really a football stadium) with the walls still in place breaking the area into sections. The rows are very steep and narrow making it difficult for the occupants to walk around, and the chairs are very high -- almost like bar stools with backs -- which you need a ladder to enter and exit.
The area is filled with the smell of freshly popped popcorn and the sounds of cynical baseball writers bashing the visiting team. While most boxes are filled with loud and obnoxious people, these guys take it to a new art form throwing out profanities and lude stories like they are shakespearean sonnets. I can't really say I was offended by their conduct since I spent most of the game in the stands, but it certainly set the tone before I left for my seats.
I admit, I had a little trouble communicating with the Spanish radio representative who was sitting next to me (because of his accent) and limited our conversation to a minimum. I spent most of time while in the press box either typing on my computer or talking with the attendant in the box who was diligently preparing popcorn, hot coffee, and making sure all of the regulars were well taken care of. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to meet the public address announcer -- the first woman in such a position in baseball history -- and instead spent the limited time I was in the box watching her from the other side of a plexiglass window. Overall, I felt more like an observer in this box than any other I have visited.
THE FOOD"Uggghhhh. . . I am so full. I can't believe I ate everything that I did." I would think that is what most folks were saying after the ballgame -- I know I was. That is because Candlestick park offers a wide variety of edible treats, each of which is unique to the ballpark. First of all, the regular fare of hot dogs and nachos are larger and more appetizing looking than almost any park in baseball. But that is just the beginning, there is Clam Chowder (in real San Francisco sourdgough bread bowls), garden burgers, turkey dogs, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. And, on top of all of that is a wide range of garlic coated treats.
Since I am a huge fan of garlic, I decided to try my hand at the "Stinking Rose" (a chicken sandwich claiming the use of 40 garlic cloves per) and the garlic coated pretzel. The sandwich was divine -- chock full of vampire repellent -- and very popular among people at the park (you could pick them out easily, they were all sitting alone). And, the pretzel was soft, chewy, tasty, and also very popular (even though it got cold quickly because of the frigid winds). Those sitting with me had the clam chowder (also got cold) and raved about the fresh sourdough, and the hot dogs (speaking highly of the buns especially). We all ran out of room before the Ben & Jerry's ice cream man came around to our section -- thank goodness since I couldn't have eaten another bite).
First of all, it was cold. The wind was blowing into the stadium from before the first pitch and never let up until after I reached me car after the game. I don't know if that is what kept the fans away from Candlestick on this night -- only 12,360 purchased tickets and fewer took their seats -- but it was certainly what kept the crowd dormant throughout.
For the most part, the fans at "the stick" were knowledgeable of the game. You could overhear them talking about batting averages and pennant races in the concourses and bathrooms. But, there were also a considerable number of fans who were completely disinterested in the game on the field -- some brought books and catalogs to read during the game -- and who obviously didn't fit into the baseball park scene (more than one glass of white wine was identified). Even though the die-hards outnumbered the tag-alongs, it was awfully hard to hear their excitement for the success of the field.
And there was plenty of success for the Giants on this night. The game started off a little shaky with the Phillies scoring early on a long double and some aggressive base running. Mike Lieberthal tacked on a homerun which put the Giants in quite a hole by the fifth inning. But, Barry Bonds blasted a mammoth 400+ foot homerun into the upper deck in right field and Jeff Kent followed him with a monster shot to left field and the Giants took the lead. The Phillies never gave up, adding runs in the sixth thanks to a monster homerun by Gregg Jeffries but they couldn't keep up with the bats of the Giants. Jeff Kent homered again in the seventh and the Giants tacked on an insurance homerun and went on to an 8-4 victory.
The most excited of all the fans in the ballpark appeared to be Mitch Canter, who once again joined me for the ballgame along with is father Bob. Mitch is a huge Giants fan who rarely makes it to Candlestick and relished the opportunity to watch "his" Giants pull out the exciting game. Also joining me at the game was Sean Fabre, a friend of a friend who I met last Thanksgiving. He lives just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, attends college at MIT is Boston, and despite not being a huge baseball fan seemed to enjoy himself at the game. It was a weird combination of fans in our row with myself -- a die hard -- Bob and Mitch, two stat masters (Bob happened to know all the stats including starting pitchers for the longest games in history) and Sean who is extremely bright but not really knowledgeable of the game of baseball itself. It was a nice diverse group.
So, we all sat in our seats behind home plate, watched the game while talking about baseball history, and tried desperately not to slip into unconsciousness from the overwhelmingly unpleasant weather. It was windy, cold and damp so as to make your joints ache and hands unable to move. We were all smart enough to wear warm clothes, but obviously were the only ones smart enough not to bring a parka or blanket to block out the fierce winds. It didn't diminish our excitement as the Giants came back and won. Another wonderful evening at the ballpark -- enjoying the National Pastime.
This is the guide from my driving tour of San Francisco. Ray knew all about
Connecticut and Seattle and referenced many of the stops to things in both places. The
tour itself was very interesting and fun.
Here's the view of Candlestick Park from my seats. You can't see very well, but there
is a lot of fog around the top of the stadium and the wind was blowing quite
briskly.
Bob, Mitch and Sean freezing their butts off in the seats at Candlestick.
