I took me out to the ballgame

As wrapped up in the Giants as I've been this year, I wanted to finish the season off right, so a few weeks ago I bought myself a ticket for Thursday's 12:45 p.m. game against the Diamondbacks, the Giants last home game of 2009. Left home about 9:30, made excellent connections on BART and Muni, and arrived at AT&T Park right at 11 o'clock.

It was a gorgeous day, more like a day in July than the first of October. Most of the time when I go to a game, I'm with at least one other person, and we're usually goal-oriented—get to the park, get to our seats and/or get something to eat. On my own on Thursday, my goal was to take my time, really see and enjoy every bit of being there. I walked around to the McCovey Cove side of the ballpark and looked at all of the plaques embedded in the walkway, something I'd never done. The newest one commemorates Jonathan Sanchez's July 10 no-hitter against the San Diego Padres

and there are maybe 10 or 12 more, quite a few of them celebrating a Barry Bonds milestone, others commemorating last year's All-Star Game and the opening of the park itself.

After duly admiring the plaques, it was time to shop! Went into the Dugout Store and bought a spiral-bound book of scorecards (yes, I know the season was nearly up, but there's next year to plan for), a Giants license plate frame (installed on Friday; it looks swell), a Giants magazine, a Sharpie pen, and two postcards for sending to my granddaughters. Saw an orange shirt I liked but decided not to get any more clothing items yet (maybe hold out for Spring Training . . .).

Then it was time to head into the park. My seat was in the first row of Section 323 of the View Box level, right above the Giants dugout. Great seat except for two things: a) the railing in front of the seats bisected the view, so next time I'll choose either row C or row D, and b) the seat was in the sun the entire day, and because it was so danged hot, I did a lot of sweating. Luckily, I brought a lot of sunscreen, and I used it liberally.

Time to eat. And drink! I'd considered getting my usual Cha-Cha Bowl from Orlando's, but the stand on my level was closed (usher said due to the low attendance numbers—low compared to the earlier part of the season, that is), so I decided to go ballpark traditional and got a kielbasa (sp?) with sauerkraut and washed it down with a Stella. Yum. Around the 6th inning, I fell into the hands of the Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae people, for which I am not ashamed.

The ballgame was wonderful. Lincecum on the mound, Rich Aurelia's last home game as a Giant, Randy Johnson coming in as a reliever in the 9th inning, and Timmy getting his 15th win. Plenty of fans wishing the team well, feeling a bit (but only a bit, on my part) disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs but happy and thankful for the hours and hours of entertainment we'd been given over the course of the season.

As the players came off the field after winning 7-4, ballpark staff handed them baseballs and pens. The players signed the balls, then tossed them into the crowd. I was up too high for one to reach me (though Lincecum hurled one pretty darn close), but next year, I'll remember this fun bit and maybe get closer. Didn't matter; I didn't need a souvenir baseball to remind me of a terrific day and a terrific season. I lingered at my seat, watching the players drift into the dugout, watching the grounds crew begin their post-game work, wondering if they stay on over the off-season and work the football games or if the football folks bring their own crew (a new football league will be playing in AT&T this year; hope they don't trash it!). Walked slowly out and down the ramp, checking out the stretch black limo waiting for someone (a player? front-office type? the investors?) and the team buses that were waiting to transport the Giants to the airport for their flight to San Diego. The season had ended at AT&T, but it wasn't over; there were three more games with the Padres starting the next night.

So, au revoir, AT&T; thanks for lots and lots of good times this year. See you in 2010!

(More on the end of the '09 season coming in the next post . . .)