Friday, June 1: GIANTS 4, PHILLIES 0

Thanks for joining me! It’ll be a long road trip, I imagine. But hopefully an interesting one as well.

This is Day One, and actually, since I haven’t even left home yet and I’m sleeping here tonight, I guess it’s technically Day Zero. At any rate, here are some interesting and less-interesting details about tonight’s Giants/Phillies game:

The Game: The Giants blanked a solid Phillies squad 4-0 to pull within three games of the division-leading Rockies. The big news was that Brandon Belt was pulled mid-game and taken to the hospital with stomach pains, later diagnosed as appendicitis. Pablo Sandoval took over at first base and appears in line for at least a couple weeks worth of work there.

The Setting: AT&T Park is, of course, gorgeous to the point where the scenery makes it fairly difficult to focus on the actual game. The tiny white sailboats dotting the horizon are hypnotic, and the illuminated Bay Bridge is a must-see from the left field concourse. This was maybe my fifth Giants game and for me, the setting is still as close to perfect as you can find in a major league park. It’s one of the best places to walk around the entire length of the stadium, because the views are so spectacular from any angle. 

THE PERSONALITY PROFILE: Richard the Left Field Usher

Richard is an usher who works the left field corner at about 80 Giants games a year. He’s so proud of his kids who “all turned out alright, I’d say.” One just graduated from the Air Force and another works for Adobe in San Jose. Richard was very cautious about clarifying who he rooted for. “You must be a fan of the Giants, right?” I asked. “Well, I’m a baseball fan,” he said, measuring his words. “I gotta be careful about that. I do like the Warriors, that’s for sure.”

One excellent feature of AT&T Park is the friendliness of the entire staff, or at least every person I’ve encountered. It makes the game so much more enjoyable when you realize that every person working there WANTS you to enjoy it.

PREVIOUS GAME: none

NEXT GAME: @Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

MILES TRAVELED TO THIS POINT: 64