by Todd Hawley
One of many wonderful things about the new park: their nod to traditions.
April 29, 2000
Last fall I wrote my thoughts for EEEEEE! about attending the final Giants game at 3Com (er, I mean Candlestick). One thing I said in that piece was that for all the nostalgia and tears cried that day, I bet it wouldn't take too many games at Pac Bell Park before people forgot all about the 'Stick. In fact, the shuttle I took back into The City from Candlestick that early evening wound up taking us all right past the new stadium after we had watched the 'Stick fade from view. Kind of a past blending into the future scenario, I would think.So now as Candlestick fades into distant memory, relegated to 49er gamess and the seagulls and one day becoming literally only a bad memory (we hope), we have ourselves this awesome and beautiful new park. I could say I "attended" OPENING DAY, even if it was watching a few innings through one of the "portholes." We freeloaders had lots of fun outside, Lou Seal even showed up to say hi and a fan kept yelling "He's a rat!" at him. And heck, Chris Isaak put on one hell of a show that night. But obviously I wanted more. I wanted to see an actual game in this new Mecca.
I got my chance when I bought a ticket for the April 29 game against the Expos. As I got up that morning, I found myself psyched to finally "see" a game at da Big Phone. I hopped on BART, then hopped on a MUNI train over to the park. I was eagerly anticipating the day and the game. While I'd been to the "Walk in the Park" in early April, this represented something totally different. After I got inside and wandered around, trying to dodge the multitude of fans who also seemed to be wandering around, I found my seat. My seat was in the third deck (called "View Level" -- you gotta love the names the Giants have come up with!), right behind home plate.
I took a long look around, trying to grasp the breathtaking views of the bay. Out towards left field, past the glove and Coca-Cola "bottle," you could see the port of Oakland. Out past right field and McCovey cove, you could make out the bay and the Hayward hills in the distance. I saw several boats in the bay, waiting for any home run balls to land in the water. As it turned out, none did. One boat even had a "Doggie Diner" head on it. For those of you wondering what the hell that is, "Doggie Diners" were a part of Bay Area culture in the '70s. A chain of hot dog stands that were once plentiful all over the Bay, and have now become extinct, with the exception of one lone Doggie Dinner in San Francisco. Pac Bell Park has a number of Doggie Diner hot dog stands throughout the park -- a nice nod to old tradition.
And that's one of many wonderful things about the new park: their nod to traditions. Lefty O'Doul gate, Seals Plaza, Mission Reds Deli, Candlestick cream, just to name a few. I looked at the scoreboard clock and was reminded of that old "Longines" clock they had at Candlestick in the 1960s.
As the game got started and I settled into my seat, I got used to my first experience watching a game at the new park. The game turned into a scoreless battle, 0-0 after six innings as Kirk Rueter for the Giants and Javier Vazquez for the Expos locked horns. In the seventh, the Expos got a run home, and the Giants followed suit in the bottom of the inning, putting together a couple of hits to squeeze home a run.
In the top of the eighth, I figuratively closed my eyes as John Johnstone came in to pitch. One thing about the Giants so far this early season: they're never boring. Even when they're not at bat, they somehow find ways to make the games exciting. However, Johnstone retired the side and Barry Bonds came up to bat in the bottom of the inning.
As all 40,900 of us watched, Barry lifted a ball to left field that sailed into the bleachers as we all stood and cheered. One thing about the water fountains at the new park, they are a poor replacement for the foghorn at the old park. They are set to go off after a Giants home run. Well, yes they do, but just barely. This "attraction" needs work! I also didn't see "Rusty," the other new attraction. Maybe he had the day off.
Speaking of another disappointment with the new park, it was the crowd. While it is nice to see a sellout crowd at a Giants' game, the yuppies seem to occupy a considerable amount of the expensive seats. They seem to enjoy the games; even politely applaud, but something of the Candlestick "element" appears to have been lost.
Nen came in to pitch the ninth, retiring the side to earn a save and the first win at Pac Bell Park. So if nothing else, I can tell folks I was at the first Giants' win at the new park. And we non-yuppies were whooping it up as we walked down the ramps and filed out of the stadium.
Have I forgotten Candlestick already? 'Fraid so. And I'm sure everyone else has too. It's a shame the 'Stick has been relegated to being a forlorn, abandoned landmark jutting out into the coast off U.S. 101. In fact, I drove past the 'Stick a few hours after the game on my way to a party and noted how it still stood there, another beacon to our past. But as we all know, Candlestick should have been relegated to "abandoned landmark status" years ago -- or the place shouldn't have been built to begin with. But that's another story.
Todd Hawley's wayward youth kept him off the straight and narrow -- but now this former Dodgers fan is completely recovered and an avid Giants fan. You can e-mail him at thawley@tdl.com.