2007 Giants versus Diamondbacks

Sharon and I have talked for some time about all of us going to a Giants game. I wanted to go to a game on a more leisurely schedule; I did not want to have to fight our way to the ball park and then fight our way home afterwards. When I was in the city for a meeting in May, I noticed a hotel on Mission near the Ferry Building. It seemed like it might be a good base of operations for a short trip to the city to see the Giants.

We took off Friday afternoon, drove to San Francisco and checked into the Hotel Vitale. This is a very modern hotel; the style is very different from anywhere we have stayed recently. Overall, Sharon and I were both very pleased with the hotel and the room (more on the room tomorrow). After checking in, we wandered over to the Ferry Building and had some appetizers at the Marketbar.

From the Ferry Building, we walked down Embarcadero under the Bay Bridge to AT&T Park. I know from my run in May that it is just about a mile walk. As we were walking along the outside of the ballpark, we ran into David Tomasin. He was meeting some friends at the game. We met one of Jack's classmates and his dad at the Willie Mays statue.

AT&T (as in AT&T Park) has the opportunity a couple of times a year to have someone throw out the first pitch for the game. They asked me if I would be interested in doing it for this game. Sharon, Jack, Jack's classmate and I all got to go out on the field before the game. After the national anthem, Jack, his friend and I went to the mound so that I could throw out the first pitch.

Standing on the mound, the only thing that I could think was that the catcher (Guillermo Rodriguez) squatting behind the plate looked a long ways away. I know I made a face and kind of shook my head. I could see the catcher smile like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

I ended up bouncing the ball in the dirt in front of the plate. The ball got to the catcher on one bounce. I was a neat experience and Jack and his friend had a great time getting to go out on to the field before the game. I should be getting a number of pictures to post in the next few days.

We had some great seats for the game, Section 122, Row F. The seats were about 5 rows behind the Giants dugout on the third base side.

Although the Giants ended up losing by a score of 4 to 3, it was fun. Bonds hit his 750 home run in the 8th inning to tie the score. Bonds also had an RBI single in the first, drew his 79th walk in the third and popped out in the sixth. In the top of the 10th, the Diamondbacks scored on a solo home run. In the bottom of the 10th, Bonds grounded out to end the game.

After the game, we took a trolley to Embarcadero Center and walked to your hotel. It was almost midnight by the time we got everyone settled and down the night.