That's the Ball Game
May. 20th, 2009 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeFree tickets for tonight's San Jose Giants having been distributed at BASFA a couple weeks back, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dave_gallaher and dinogrl agreed to carry me along to see the Giants' A-league franchise play the Inland Empire 66. Because of traffic delays for Dave getting away from The City, we were a bit late getting to San Jose, arriving in the third inning. The free tickets were good for the outfield bleachers, where we tried to squeeze in for three seats. Dave and I left Spring to hold our place while we went to the BBQ to get dinners.
After getting my plate of ribs, I stopped to get napkins and a fork for my baked beans. A woman was asking a young boy what he wanted on his hot dog next to me. He said, "Mustard!"
She said, "But you don't like mustard!" and he agreed that he didn't.
I looked down at him, smiling, and said, "But if you don't like mustard, why did you order it?" I would have put "crottled greeps" in the sentence, but there was nobody else to get the joke. He laughed anyway and asked me what the things clipped to my glasses were. I explained what clip-on sunglasses were and demonstrated by flipping them down. I guess he'd never seen such a thing before because he acted impressed.
After returning to the seats, we found that there wasn't really enough room for all three of us and the trays of food, so I moved over a half-section to where there was a bit more room for me to set down my tray of ribs. I soon found out why the area was relatively empty: it was the screaming, loud, running-back-and-forth-and-up-and-down kids section. Amazingly, not one of them managed to put a foot on my tray and send my barbecued ribs flying.
It was a low-minor-league game, which means it was full of promotions. Throw the ball at the truck and smash for cash (hit one of the headlights for a gift certificate in the club store). Something where two people were roped together and placed between two posts, with each contestant having a ring. The rope was shorter than the distance between the posts, so the winner was whoever could get their ring around their post first, dragging the other person away. And Toilet Paper Toss -- they rolled a porta-potty onto the field, and when they opened it, the mascot was visible. The contestant had three chances to toss him a roll of toilet paper for a prize. And so forth.
The most popular promotion was the Beer Batter. One of Inland Empire's players was designated as the Beer Batter. If San Jose were to strike him out, beer would be half price for fifteen minutes; after the seventh inning, when beer sales cease, it was Martinelli's apple juice instead. Alas, while they kept getting two strikes, they never managed to strike out the Beer Batter.
San Jose was shut out for most of the game and went to the bottom of the ninth down 2-0. The leadoff hitter got aboard with a hit that should have been a triple but was ruled a ground-rule double on account of the ball having rolled under the chairs in the bullpen. The runner advanced on a fly ball, and then Giants promising prospect Buster Posey came up and drove in the run. However, that was the last run scored, and the Giants lost 2-1. By cooincidence, that ended up being the final score by which the San Francisco Giants lost to San Diego shortly thereafter.
Aside from the home team not winning, it was a nice night at a good place to watch a ball game. One of these days, I really do hope to put together a trip where BASFA rents out the VIP box located next to the third base dugout. I've been at a company outing there, and it's lots of fun with good food from the barbecue.
dave_gallaher and dinogrl agreed to carry me along to see the Giants' A-league franchise play the Inland Empire 66. Because of traffic delays for Dave getting away from The City, we were a bit late getting to San Jose, arriving in the third inning. The free tickets were good for the outfield bleachers, where we tried to squeeze in for three seats. Dave and I left Spring to hold our place while we went to the BBQ to get dinners. After getting my plate of ribs, I stopped to get napkins and a fork for my baked beans. A woman was asking a young boy what he wanted on his hot dog next to me. He said, "Mustard!"
She said, "But you don't like mustard!" and he agreed that he didn't.
I looked down at him, smiling, and said, "But if you don't like mustard, why did you order it?" I would have put "crottled greeps" in the sentence, but there was nobody else to get the joke. He laughed anyway and asked me what the things clipped to my glasses were. I explained what clip-on sunglasses were and demonstrated by flipping them down. I guess he'd never seen such a thing before because he acted impressed.
After returning to the seats, we found that there wasn't really enough room for all three of us and the trays of food, so I moved over a half-section to where there was a bit more room for me to set down my tray of ribs. I soon found out why the area was relatively empty: it was the screaming, loud, running-back-and-forth-and-up-and-down kids section. Amazingly, not one of them managed to put a foot on my tray and send my barbecued ribs flying.
It was a low-minor-league game, which means it was full of promotions. Throw the ball at the truck and smash for cash (hit one of the headlights for a gift certificate in the club store). Something where two people were roped together and placed between two posts, with each contestant having a ring. The rope was shorter than the distance between the posts, so the winner was whoever could get their ring around their post first, dragging the other person away. And Toilet Paper Toss -- they rolled a porta-potty onto the field, and when they opened it, the mascot was visible. The contestant had three chances to toss him a roll of toilet paper for a prize. And so forth.
The most popular promotion was the Beer Batter. One of Inland Empire's players was designated as the Beer Batter. If San Jose were to strike him out, beer would be half price for fifteen minutes; after the seventh inning, when beer sales cease, it was Martinelli's apple juice instead. Alas, while they kept getting two strikes, they never managed to strike out the Beer Batter.
San Jose was shut out for most of the game and went to the bottom of the ninth down 2-0. The leadoff hitter got aboard with a hit that should have been a triple but was ruled a ground-rule double on account of the ball having rolled under the chairs in the bullpen. The runner advanced on a fly ball, and then Giants promising prospect Buster Posey came up and drove in the run. However, that was the last run scored, and the Giants lost 2-1. By cooincidence, that ended up being the final score by which the San Francisco Giants lost to San Diego shortly thereafter.
Aside from the home team not winning, it was a nice night at a good place to watch a ball game. One of these days, I really do hope to put together a trip where BASFA rents out the VIP box located next to the third base dugout. I've been at a company outing there, and it's lots of fun with good food from the barbecue.
