On Saturday night, I went to San Francisco and attended the Giants and Padres game with my daughter and son-in-law. This was the second time that I've attended a game at AT&T Park. The last time I was there, was in 2003, when the ball field was called SBC Park. We arrived at the game early as we wanted to watch batting practice. We got the chance to watch the Padres batting practice. When a ball was hit into the stands, it seemed like adults were scrambling after the balls, and I believe that they would have bullied over anyone in an effort to get to a ball.
Our seats were in right field. During batting practice, as kids stood around hoping that a ball would be hit to them, no ball came close to being hit near our seats. However, one of the Padres players standing in the outfield tossed a ball to kids into the area. It was cool to see how excited these children were as the held on their treasures. The joy of these unforgettable moments were documented by photographs taken by parents. This was a reminder to me that baseball is a kids game and how important it is to share the game with them and teach them to enjoy it. The Padres player who tossed the ball into the stands was wearing a warm up jacket so I didn't know who it was. I wish that I could have thank him personally and I also wish he could have seen how happy those kids were when they held into his and her ball.
We were fortunate to attend a great game. That night Madison Bumgarner pitched a one hitter.
Bumgarner about to delivery a pitch early in the game.
Bumgarner had a perfect game going into the 8th inning as he retired the first 23 Padres batters. The Padres' first hit was a single by pinch hitter Melvin Upton coming with two outs in the 8th inning. Bumgarner retired the last four Padres batters he faced after Upton's single and he finished the night with nine strikeouts while facing only 28 batters.
The night of the game there was a Lego promotion.
The Lego Group had created a life size Buster Posey that people could pose with.
It was nice to go to the game with my daughter and son in law. My daughter likes Giant rookie infielder Kelby Tomlinson, as she and her husband had a chance to hear Tomlinson speak a few weeks ago. Tomlinson has been playing second base while subbing in for Joe Panik, who has been out with an injury. Saturday night, Tomlinson had two hits in four at bats, with a triple and an RBI, lifting his seasons batting average to .306. He also made a fine play in the field during the 7th inning to keep Bumgarner's perfecto intact.
Kelby Tomlinson looking at a pitch
Brandon Belt homered in the 7th inning. Where our seats were, in right center field, I figured that no ball would be hit near us. However, Belt "Ruthian" blast landed on a seat just behind us and was snagged by a guy who was sitting five seats from us.
Prior to the game we check out some of the statues of some all time great Giants.
Willie McCovey at McCovey Cove
Juan Marichal
Willie Mays at Willie Mays Plaza
I missed out on the Orlando Cepada statue.
We also stopped at a Baseball card shop in Rohnert Park and I acquired a few vintage cards. I paid a dollar each for a Al Lopez card and a Rocky Colavito card.
Topps 1960 Al Lopez Card #222
Topps 1965 Rocky Colavito Card #380
On the drive home, we stopped in Santa Rosa, and I got a picture of my daughter with a life size Charlie Brown. Santa Rosa was hometown of Peanuts creator, Charles Shultz.
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