This is the quintessential Candlestick trip from the 1990's. But first a little (okay, a lot) backstory...
As many of you may remember, in 1992 it was announced that the Giants had been bought by an ownership group in Tampa Bay and that they would move in to Tropicana Field for the 1993 season. Many Giants fans, myself included, were distraught. But, lo and behold, San Francisco fought back. They formed an ownership group led by Peter Magowan of Safeway and they challenged baseball to refuse the sale to Tampa Bay and let the San Francisco group buy the team. Baseball stepped up and the owners (including those dudes down south who's name gets trashed here rather regularly - we still owe you one) denied the sale and move to Tampa Bay and Peter Magowan, etc... found themselves owners of the San Francisco Giants.
The first thing they did was sign a left fielder from Pittsburgh by the name of Barry Bonds. As far as Giants fans were concerned, that was just a bonus. The fact was, our team was saved. In 1993 with Bonds and new skipper Dusty Baker, the Giants took off and won 103 games (ultimately losing out of the playoffs by 1 game to the Braves in the very last year without expansion and the wild card). The next year was the strike shortened year of 1994 (and who remembers that Matt Williams was on pace to break Maris's record back then before the strike ended his attempt). As I recall, 1995 was a very bad year for the team, but Magowan was already looking ahead. The announcement of a new stadium to be built downtown was greeted with great enthusiasm. We'd gone in just a few years from nearly losing our team to getting a verifiable super star and a new stadium. We were in 7th Heaven.
But Candlestick still held the Giants all the way through the 1999 season. And during that final stretch their were games that were, shall we say it, poorly attended. Talkshow Host always used to say that the worst draw in Bay Area Sports was a Monday Night game at Candlestick against the woeful Montreal Expos.
In 1995, Magowan started to make some changes to the 'Stick to put some butts in the seats. He added a new concession area and more food options. He removed the bleecher section and added a new bleecher section that literally was right on top of the action (the left field Bonds Squad). And a year later, in 1996, he added a Right Field Bleacher section as well. Andy and I were there on the first day of the Right Field Bleachers and as we sat there, Peter Magowan himself came out to the new bleecher section to see them for himself. He asked Andy and I to sit in front of him so that he could check out the leg room. We were only too happy to comply (and get an autograph as well ;).
Okay, compared to all the backstory, my actual moment isn't nearly so awe inspiring. It was 1997, early in the season, and on a Monday night, Montreal was in town. My friend Jay had yet to try out the right field bleachers, so I suggested going to the Stick early and getting some bleacher seats and watching batting practice.
We got there early, but the Giants BP was already over. However, the Expos were taking BP just as we sat down in the right field bleachers - all by ourselves. We leaned over the fence and started jawwing good naturedly with the guys catching shag flies out in deep right/center field and then... WHABOOM! A baseball landed two feet away in the bleachers, right next to us. In my entire life, I'd never gotten a free baseball at a ballgame. I'd come close before on Opening Day, 1993, but I'd never actually got a ball. It was BP, so it probably didn't count, but I was ecstatic anyway. I picked up the ball and my friend Jay was jealous for all of about two minutes. FWABOOM! The second ball caroomed off the right field bleacher seats about ten feet away. Jay ran over and picked up his own souvenir.
I was waiting for the fans in the other bleacher sections to come join us... but nobody did. Another ball landed in the bleachers and we scooped it up. It was an embarrasment of riches. THEN the guys shagging balls got into the act. They started tossing every ball that came their way up to us. By the time BP was over we had 8 balls between us. And only then did another fan finally show up in the right field bleachers.
I kept some and gave some to kids who'd never had a ball before. I have no idea who hit any of them, and I really didn't care. As for the game, it was a tight 1-1 affair that ended up in extra innings. In the end, only Jay and I were left in the Right Field Bleachers and we turned our caps around for rally time and used our mojo and magic to will the Giants to a 2-1 victory in the 11th Inning. We went home completely happy and satisfied.
I can honestly say that I've never had a more fulfilling complete game experience at a baseball game. It was just one of those games that sticks with you despite the fact that nothing really extraordinary happened. But on a cold lonely Monday night at the Stick, I had the fourth best baseball moment of my life.
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2 comments:
And as I recall, you gave me one of those balls as well, Will. This baseball now sits in Hank's room, complete with autographs, including Matt Williams, Dusty Baker, Peter Magowan, Kirk Reuter, Julian Tavarez, Shawn Estes, Bill Mueller, Atlee Hammaker, and Jack Clark.
I was also with you on Opening Day 1993 - the funniest moment occurred when Bonds got his MVP award for 1992, his final year with the Pirates, and Michael Bolton came out to give it to him, amidst a cacophany of boos.
Yes, Andy I did give you a ball from that night. Its funny, because the only ball that I can see in my room was a gift as well. It was from my friend Russ who got it at some show where there was autograph signings. It was signed by a recently deceased Negro league player who was just denied entry into the Hall of Fame (his name escapes me right now). I think the only other ball that I have that was signed is the Magowan ball.
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