I’m back in the ballpark with Eric after three days on a camping trip with no real wifi. I missed the return of Bruce Bochy with the Texas Rangers over the weekend, but I’m told that the Giants really didn’t make a huge deal about it. I tried to check in on the MLB.TV archive, but they didn’t show any of the pregame stuff – the lineup exchange or roster announcements – so I can’t really say. Instead of Bruce Bochy, I’m getting the Tampa Bay Rays, but there is a Bruce on offer tonight – it’s Bruce Lee Tribute night. I have to confess to not ever having been a big Bruce Lee fan; his time was a little before mine.
Eric is with me again tonight, his third or fourth appearance. Eric’s always an extra-value guest – it’s like having a copy of the Baseball Encyclopedia sitting next to me. Not that I ever really need statistics, but he’s always good for adding detail to stories I want to remember – when I’m thinking about great brawls in baseball history to tell Marty about and I mention Marichal v Roseboro and Harper v Strickland, Eric reminds me of Varitek v Rodriguez, which of course put me in mind of Martinez v Zimmer, and when I’m trying to think of fan rivalries in which the home team could be outnumbered by the visitors, Eric sees Oakland/San Francisco and raises me Mets/Yankees and Angels/Dodgers.
Even though I’m not a big Bruce Lee fan, I am a fan of swag, so i have signed up for the Bruce Lee Night T-shirt, for which I have to walk up to the third deck distribution center; on the way down the arcade, Eric points out that we can hear the water cannon in the brick towers gurgling and sloshing hollowly, waiting to be let loose for a Giants homer (as it happens, they will be waiting for a while). Once we get there, it turns out that there are only two shirts left, and they’re both smalls. My time in small shirts is well over, but it was a nice walk anyway, and we stop in to take a look out over the Bay from 324 or so, which is a pleasing panorama. I never tire of noticing that there is not a bad view in the place.
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I made sure to get there before the end of the fourth, which is when they close the window down, but it turns out we could have taken a long walk and had a better time than we have watching the game, which the Giants lose handily, 10-2. A couple of SF runs are briefly exciting, but there’s never really a point where the game is in any doubt for the Rays – 5-1 by the end of the fifth is as close as it gets (the final is 10-2), and I have to content myself with good company and a temperate night – after the weekend I spent camping in 100+ heat, an evening at 65 is no small blessing.
One thing Eric does not know, but which I guessed correctly, was how to pronounce this guy’s name: Osleivis Basabe. I don’t know if this makes sense, but I think it’s Os-lei-vis, not O-slei-vis.
What Did You Think of the Evening, Eric?
“I thoroughly enjoyed being together with you at the game this evening! Some of the many highlights we shared included meeting a diehard Giants fan who lives in Southern California and was sporting a Splash Hit hat. I was under the impression that the very small number of kayakers in McCovey Cove who have snagged a Splash Hit were awarded the hat as a welcome into the fraternity. When we asked the fan where he got the cap, he incredulously said that he found it in his family’s home! That is one incredible souvenir to come across, Giants supporter… nicely done. It was a thrill to listen to you speak with a retired Air Force service member, who happened to be standing behind our seats with his daughters, about a Cold War story that Russia stunned U.S. military personnel. You are so well versed on a wide variety of topics of discussion, and I appreciate your willingness to share your vast knowledge with me and anyone who is fortunate enough to stroll by Section 152. Traversing through the ballpark to reach the View Level was another high point of the evening, quite literally. You found one of the best views in Oracle Park by happenstance as we walked by a portal along the concourse, and the last time I was up there, the Mission Rock buildings were merely blueprints on paper. Time seems to go by quicker each day, yet the three-plus hours that I had the pleasure of joining you for made me realize just how much excitement and conversations can be packed into a limited time. Until the next opportunity to see you, I thank you for indulging my myriad of questions and ideas, my friend!“