Every year I try to take a major trip where the main purpose is to see ballgames, preferably at parks I haven't seen before. Somehow I find the vacation time to squeeze this in with visits to family, and winter ski trips. Sometimes I drive to minor league parks, sometimes I fly somewhere and see the parks in that area.
This Labor Day I found myself in Northern California for the first time in almost ten years. I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for four years at the end of the '80s, and became an A's fan. It was a lot of fun watching the great Bash Brothers teams come together and eventually dominate. It was also great to be back in the middle of some of the most dramatic and beautiful urban scenery in the world.
I did three games in three days- San Francisco on Saturday, San Diego on Sunday, and Oakland Monday night. I "commuted" down and back to San Diego the same day on Southwest Airlines. Staying in Downtown Oakland, I was able to take public transit to each ballgame.
I did discover after I arrived in California that if I had switched my Giants and Padres games, I could have seen both Tony Gwynn's number retirement, and Randy Johnson's start against the Giants. I did get to watch Barry Zito snap off some curveballs in a losing effort against the Red Sox, and had two fantastic day games before that.
The quick impressions from the trip? I fell in love with SBC Park, really enjoyed Petco Park, and while I mourned the defacing of a nice ballpark with the monstrosity called Mount Davis, everything else about the Oakland baseball experience was just as I remembered from fifteen years ago. More to follow!
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