The Great Ballpark Chase: Oracle of Baseball

timothynrussell
Oracle Park
The view from high atop Oracle Park behind homeplate.

There is always one sad moment when you take a baseball bus trip – the last day.

You’ve spent a week or so traveling with fellow baseball fans, making new friends, and having a great time. And then … it comes to an end.

But this year, it was a little different as we completed the West Coast Swing tour with Coast 2 Coast Sports Tours in July.

Oh, it was still a little sad, but this was also a time to celebrate.

Two of our travelers, Todd and Tina, finished the quest to see all 30. San Francisco’s Oracle Park was the last one.

The couple, who live in a small community in northern Missouri, had a busy summer travel season. Before the west coast trip, they completed the Hall of Fame trip with Coast 2 Coast less than month before. After the tour ended, Todd and Tina were going to hit three minor league games in northern California before heading home.

Todd & Tina
Todd and Tina completed their quest to visit all 30 MLB stadiums at Oracle Park in July.

During a lunch stop earlier in the tour, Todd – who will be starting his 33rd season as a high school basketball referee this year – went on a chase on his own. We stopped for lunch in Surprise, AZ, which also just happened to be the spring training homes for the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. The teams have their own back fields, but share the main stadium, which was about a mile walk from the In-N-Out burger joint we stopped at.

Oracle Park is a fitting one to finish one’s chase. There are plenty of fun activities, in addition to one heck of a view along the upper levels of the stadium.

No matter which direction you walk toward the stadium, you’re going to see a statue and some Giants’ history. The Willie Mays statue and plaza is at the main home plate entrance. At the right field entrance, you have a statue of Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal. Across the China Basin, which is dubbed McCovey’s Cove, is a statue of former first baseman Willie McCovey. There is also a statue of a California seal, in honor of the minor league San Francisco Seals that played before the Giants, outside another entrance. Statues of Gaylord Perry and Orlando Cepeda round out the homages around the stadium.

At left is the Willie Mays statue and, at right, is the Willie McCovey statue with McCovey Cove and Oracle Park in the background.

During games, kayakers and boaters will float in the cove, hoping to catch a home run that clears the stadium. There have been 157 splash hits in the history of the park, 103 of them by Giants players. Of those 103, 54 were hit by former outfielder Barry Bonds.

In a corner of the right field wall is a counter, which tallies the number of “splash hits.” In order for it to be classified as a splash hit, it must be hit by a Giant. And it must hit the water on the fly, not bounce off the walkway.

On the other side of the wall, the right field wall is 24 feet high, in honor of Mays, who wore that number. The wall was designed to look like the Polo Grounds, with archways that allow people to look into the stadium from outside the stadium.

The Powell-Mason Cable Car and the giant Coke bottle and baseball glove are among the sights at Oracle Park.

As you move along the outfield concourse, you will come across a Powell-Mason Cable Car, an iconic site in San Francisco. It makes a good meeting point or photo opportunity as you sit inside the car.

In the left field concourse, you will see two of the most prominent items. A giant Coke bottle and baseball glove. The Coke bottle has two slides for kids to slide down. The glove is a replica sculpture of an old-time four-fingered baseball glove. No player has hit the glove yet, as it is more than 500 feet from home plate.

You’ll also see plenty of references to the Giants’ all-time greats, both from New York and San Francisco.

By Willie Mays Plaza is the Giants Wall of Fame. Forty-eight players are inducted on the wall, based on longevity and achievement.

Inside the park, down the left field line, are the retired numbers of Bill Terry, Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell, Monte Irvin, Will Clark, Mays, Barry Bonds, Marichal, Cepeda, Jackie Robinson, McCovey and Perry. Christy Mathewson and John McGraw, who played or managed in the non-number era, have retired uniforms with NY on them.

Retired Numbers
Some of the retired Giants’ numbers.

When I was there in early July, two of their greats had recently passed away. To signify that, both Cepeda and Mays had gold rings around their numbers in left field. The Giants also hung the two numbers in right field on gold circles as an additional honor.

When attending a game here, the weather can vary in different areas of the park. In the stands behind the dugouts, it may be a quite comfortable 75 degrees or so. But being so close to the water, the outfield seats and concourses may have temps 15-20 degrees cooler.

Food-wise, there is plenty to partake in. The garlic fries are a well-known delicacy, as well as the crab sandwich. There are also different types of lumpia, which is a type of spring roll. For those with a sweet tooth, be sure to try a Ghirardelli sundae.

  • The Game: Toronto scored nine times in the fifth and sixth innings and cruised to a 10-6 victory over the Giants. The Giants held a 2-0 lead until the fifth inning. The Blue Jays took a 3-2 lead before San Francisco tied it in the bottom of the inning. In the sixth, Justin Turner, Davis Schneider, Alejandro Kirk, and Ernie Clement all had RBI hits in the six run inning. Blue Jay pitcher Chris Bassitt allowed three runs on five hits in his five innings to take the win. Giant Michael Conforto had two RBIs to lead San Francisco.

Clockwise from upper left, the Oracle Park sign at night, giant Peanuts bobbleheads, the scoreboard in straightaway centerfield, and the Coast 2 Coast Sports Tour participants.

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