It’s been a long, long time since I've posted on here,
probably too long for anyone to particularly care, but as a newly unemployed
lawyer I figure I should probably do something aside from apply to jobs, work
out and watch stuff on Netflix. In the
last year or so I've been knee-deep in legal and compliance writing between
studying for the bar and work so I’m going to ease back into this baseball writing
thing with a not-so-analytical take on my trip to AT&T Park (with
pictures!).
I’ve been to my share of Major League parks in my time, I’d
say give or take nine including parks no longer in existence like Shea and Old
Yankee Stadium, and can say fairly confidently that of those I’ve been AT&T
is high on my list of best experiences at a game. Granted, it was only one game, a day game
between the Giants and Cubs on one of the nicest and warmest day you’ll
experience in a summer in San Francisco ,
but there was very little if anything I could really complain about. For one, as you can see in some of my
pictures, it is an absolutely gorgeous park, situated right on the water where
as you can probably see on TV there are ton of boats parked there that really
make it picturesque in every sense of the word.
But even more than the scenery the park itself is a sight to behold. Built in 2002 near the beginning of the
retro-park craze that attempted to make every field as quaint and quirky as
Fenway (which doesn’t work, there’s only one Fenway), AT&T is one of the
few parks that blend the retro and contemporary well. Indeed, the Giants added some little
old-timey touches like the brick, the odd dimensions and the bullpen mound on
the field of play and combined them with some of the advantages of modern
ballpark building like large concourses, more comfortable seats and great food
amenities that doesn’t feel fake or forced.
Unlike other “retro” stadiums like New Yankee Stadium which kind of
half-assed the retro look by putting a lot of work in the exterior and then
making most of the interior of the stadium in stucco and heavy modern looking concrete,
AT&T’s combination feels more seamless and thorough. Of course, the scale of AT&T is
considerably smaller than NYS and there’s no beautiful bay nearby in the Bronx ,
but what makes the former park more aesthetically pleasing is that it doesn’t
feel like its aping some earlier stadium while sticking in some big luxury
boxes; AT&T looks and feels like an entirely new entity onto itself.
As for the experience in the park itself, AT&T again
distinguished itself by having a little bit of everything and not feeling
overwhelming. Before I chose what I was
going to eat that day (always the most important decision of any game) I walked
the entire concourse and found a little bit of everything I could possibly
want, from your standard ballpark fare like hot dogs and fries, to Mexican,
Italian, Chinese, Japanese and a few others that escape my memory. I settled on the North Beach Stand, which
refers to the Little Italy of San Francisco, and had one of the best meatball
subs I’ve had in some time, along with some garlic fries. Garlic fries? Oh man, you have not had garlic
fries until you’ve had them at AT&T.
Not to keep dumping on NYS but I’ve had their garlic fries many times
and they really don’t even come close to these were, fresh garlic right on the fries
really made the difference. And the
drinks? Again, AT&T was unparalleled
in their variety of wines and beers available, not just your standard Bud and
Bud Light but actual craft beers like Anchor Steam, Mendocino and Speakeasy to
name a few. And the best part? The lines were manageable at every place you
wanted to go to. While the food
selection was certainly on par with say a Citi Field that has a Shake Shack and
Blue Smoke I’d favor AT&T Park New
York parks, I’d give the edge again to San
Francisco because of variety and quality.
Finally, and most importantly is the atmosphere and the game
itself, and again AT&T didn’t disappoint.
Now this game could have easily been DOA for a variety of reasons, first
that they’re playing the NL Central cellar-dwelling Cubs, or that the Giants
are pretty awful themselves despite winning the World Series least year, or the
fact that it was a stunningly beautiful day out (which as any person who’s been
to San Francisco will tell you is a rare thing indeed in the summer) but
instead it was unquestionably awesome. I’ll
admit I was nervous about this, especially because I had convinced my mom and
sister to come along who are not shy in their dislike of all the baseball I
watch, but we got to the park early and by all accounts had a great time. For one, they gave everyone a free Marco Scutaro
T-shirt when they got there, and before the game they had an impromptu concert
with some guy (can’t remember who it was) and by the time the game was ready to
begin everyone was in their seats and ready to go. The game itself ended in disappointment for
the fans with the Giants losing 2-1, but the experience was not; fans stayed
until the end (what a novel idea), cheered and were into every bat and held on
until the last batter hit a lazy fly ball to left field. I’m not going to engage in hyperbole saying
these were the best fans ever, and surely it’s much easier to be a fan when
you’ve won two of the last three World Titles, but the park very much felt
alive throughout my time there. Even in
a lost season in a relatively meaningless game Giants fans were into it, having
fun and getting loud. They didn’t need
some corny public address announcer yelling “make some noise” along with some
silly graphic with a “noise-o-meter” (looking at you, NYS), and instead rose to
the occasion when needed along with some simple organ playing from time to
time. Ultimately, a great crowd will
make any event into a very good one but it is that combination of crowd and
atmosphere that can make it into a special one.
In my estimation, AT&T Park
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my sister,
my inspiration to start blogging again, also has a blog about entirely
different things at http://mensinsta.blogspot.com/,
you should all check it out if you enjoy fashion and funny dating stories.
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