Category Archives: A2 Ballparks

There’s a new kid on the block, the result of a terrific website that literally outgrew itself. Jam-packed with over 400 audio clips and several thousand photo’s its popularity as an online baseball library continues to grow.

“Sounds of Baseball” is the dream of Steve Contursi, a teacher and non-apologetic baseball aficionado from Catskill, New York, and is the culmination of years of work on an archaic system of programming known as “coding”. It involved the ideas around what it could, should, and would be, and eventually ended up as an informative website that was like no other.

Most of the data on the website could be found somewhere else in the blogosphere, but it would have been a real challenge to find a website that contained all of this specific type of data in the same place.

This was and this is exactly what he did. Over time and with much patience, “Sounds” reached the level of top-rated baseball websites by the top search engines.

However, change was occurring fast in the internet world and with that came many challenges. A call was put out to the baseball community for someone to help with a transition to a more user-friendly website.

Along came Ronni Redmond of Santa Cruz, CA, a baseball blogger with a small amount of baseball knowledge, and not a lot of computer experience. But she wrote a decent blog, had an insatiable appetite for anything baseball and lots of chutzpah and opinions.

This is the new “Sounds of Baseball”. Its foundation is the original “Sounds” with a few little ditties thrown in and published in a Word Press format that’s much easier to maintain. The Site will be evolving as new material becomes available. Goodbye to coding and hello to the formation of an unlikely pairing of a fan of the New York Yankees and a fan of the SF Giants and all teams in-between.

We hope you’ll visit the site. So please grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and turn up the volume.

This one’s for you!

“SOUNDSOFBASEBALL.COM“

Sounds of Baseball, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Non Profit Corporation.

T

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Posted in A1 Baseball, A2 Ballparks, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, baseball dress, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, General, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets baseballs, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, NY Mets baseball dress, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

Tagged baseball audio clips, baseball photos, catskill ny, harry carey, joe diaggio, lou gehrig, lou pinella, ronni redmond, santa cruz ca, steve contursi, TED WILLIAMS

Baltimore Follies Forgiven ….. For Now

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

An Empty Oriole Stadium

It took a Seamheads.Com post by Terry Keshner this morning to get me back in the saddle. I really miss posting, but have a lot on my plate for at least another week and my favorite thing to do has had to take a backseat.

Seamheads is a great baseball site, one of my favorites, so I sat up and took notice when the Baltimore Orioles/Chicago White Sox games took center stage when the games were closed to the fans these past few days. “It had to be that way” the article said.

“It had to be that way”? When the Europeans closed their stadiums it was directly related to the players and the fans. They were getting killed on game day at those stadiums.

This didn’t have to be that way. What did the attempt of some high school kids and community organizers trying to usurp the authority of legally empowered law enforcement officers have to do with closing the stadium? Does the system need to be overhauled? Probably. But by closing the stadium they denied workers, vendors, and fans their legal rights so now you don’t just have the kids and their enablers affected you’re also affecting 40,000 individuals who had nothing to do with the mess.

Maybe the regular security measures that accompany most stadiums on game day, along with National Guardsmen strategically placed around the stadium, inside and out, might have been a better alternative. Just one suggestion. And I’m sure there are many others that are better than the decision to close the stadium on game day.

But this is something we’ve not had to deal with in our country before and hopefully it will be the last, but don’t count on it. The times-they-are-a-changing folks and now’s the time to get our smarts in order so that decisions for better strategies can be made in the future.

In my humble opinion, of course.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, A2 Ballparks, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox

Tagged baltimore oriolels, baseballs weirdest game, Chicago White Sox, National guardsmen, Oriole Stadium at Camden Yards, seamheads, seamheads.com, terry keshner

Atlanta and Texas get the Bird and Turner Field gets Garbage.

Posted on October 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

Congratulations to the Cardinals and Orioles for winning the Wild Card Games and advancing to Divisional Play in the postseason. As usual, I don’t comment on play-by-play. You can read about the particulars on every sports page, but I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to comment on our wonderful baseball fans. Take those at Atlanta’s Turner Field for example.

Okay let’s admit that there was a rather unorthodox call out there in the field in the 8th inning, with bases loaded no less. I mean how many times have you seen an infield fly rule called in the outfield? You can see some of the takes on it below, but in the end the play called by the umpire stood over protest and the Cardinals ended up winning the game 6-3.

Umpire Joyce & Galarraga “after the call”.

No doubt this was a huge disappointment for the Braves fans, but this has happened before and guaranteed it will happen again ~ questionable calls by the umpires I mean. One call in particular that comes to mind was the Jim Joyce call on an otherwise perfect Armando Galarraga game in Detroit. If ever fans had reason to throw something, anything, it would have been during that game. But they didn’t. Those Tiger fans had class.

Turner Field Trash

I always enjoyed watching the fans at Turner Field, especially during those 2010 playoffs. That tomahawk “chop” was an awesome display of fan support and the constant chant from the stadium was like a war dance or something and it was deafening. And that’s what fans do in support of their team and that’s what they did tonight at Turner Field in Atlanta. But that’s when the nice Atlanta Braves fans story takes a different turn. They started throwing things. I mean bottles and things onto the field. It was so bad that the St Louis Cardinals, who had every right and reason to celebrate, for safety reasons, had to take their celebration off the field and into the clubhouse.

Chipper Jones Final At-Bat

All season long during every game I watched the Braves play in, it was all about Chipper Jones. Chipper’s last season, Chipper’s last at-home game, Chipper’s last hit. Well this was sure a grand way to send Chipper out the door. Good job Braves fans. I somehow wonder if Chipper isn’t just a little bit glad to be going. I know I would be.

Riled Braves Fans Protest Call By Throwing Garbage During Wild Card Game (atlanta.cbslocal.com)
You: Atlanta Braves Fans Litter Turner Field After Terrible Infield Fly Rule Call (bleacherreport.com)
Braves vs. Cardinals: infield fly rule call causes Turner Field chaos (stlouis.sbnation.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers

Tagged Armando Galarraga. umpire calls, DETROIT TIGER FANS, DETROIT TIGERS, questionable calls

Rating the Best Baseball Ballparks.

Posted on September 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Here’s a great read courtesy of Dan Lindsey’s “Diamond Baseball Tours” Facebook page and reprinted from the New York Times “Five Thirty Eight” Column by Nate Silver. My home park is AT&T in San Francisco and it’s without a doubt one of the very best.

“Classic Primanti Bros Sandwich” includes salad and french fries piled inside”

However, I can understand the PNC Pittsburgh #1 ranking. I was there in 2010 and the first clue was the accessible parking. We were on a tour bus and the bus parked less than a 5 minute walk away from the main entrance. Ordinary tour buses dropped us off and then we walked a marathon to get back to the bus, if we could even find it! Second great thing about the park was the food. “Primanti Bros.” may sound familiar. They’re on a “100 Things To Do Before you die” list. It’s a beautiful park with friendly staff.

“Fenway’s Wooden Scoreboard”

The #2 Ranking to Boston’s Fenway Park is also understandable. I’ve been there twice and both times it was an emotional experience. Probably the park’s history, and I don’t know why, but the “Sweet Caroline” and “MTA” songs that were played both times brought the house down with everyone singing at the top of their lungs. I can’t explain it ~ neither song has anything to do with baseball. It’s just one of those things. It’s an old and beautiful wooden park with a lot of class and truly devoted fans, where they still post the daily baseball scores on a wooden board by hand.

So it was easy to acquiesce those two parks to my beloved AT&T. Good read and a great job Nate Silver, bringing us right up to the 2012 playoffs.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants

Tagged AT&T, Boston, dan lindsey, diamond baseball tours, Fenway Park, Five Thirty Eight, Nate Silver, New York Times, PNC Park, Primanti Bros., San Francisco, Sweet Caroline

Worst Ballpark Food? You Decide ~

Posted on July 19, 2012 | 8 comments

Last month ESPN held a contest to decide the “Best Ballpark” in the major leagues. Miller Park in Milwaukee won the contest while AT&T Park in San Francisco came in a distant second. You can read about it in the “Related Articles” section below. But when I read this I couldn’t help wonder if the ballpark food entered into this, because everyone knows AT&T Park is hands-down the winner in that category. Here’s a sampling of the food at Miller Park I found this morning at “My Boyfriend Fatty’s Blog“. I would categorize these as “Worst #1 and Worst #2. See what you think.

Worst Ballpark Food #1. This is called the “Crazy Meatloaf Sandwich” from the Comet Cafe, near the Milwaukee Brewers Miller Park. It may not be the worst, but it sure looks like it!

Worst Ballpark Food #2. This didn’t actually look too bad until I realized what’s in it. It’s called a “Pulled Pork Parfait” and I can only begin to wonder what the cream-colored filling is made of. This little gem is available at a concession stand at the Brewers Miller Park.

Peanuts and crackerjacks anyone?

Ballpark guide: Best eats and seats (espn.go.com)
Fenway Park Better Ballpark Than Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Despite ESPN Vote (nesn.com)
Miller Park wins ballpark contest (jsonline.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, A3 Ballpark Food, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants

Tagged AT&T Park, Baseball park, crazy meatloaf sandwich, espn, Fenway Park, Food, Miller Park, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Brewers, my boyfriend fattys blog, peanuts and crackerjacks, pulled pork parfait, San Francisco, Sports

“Giants Garlic Fest” or Garlic Fries and Baseball at AT&T Park!

Posted on June 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

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“First Annual Giants Garlic Fest”

What a hoot! When I first found out about the Garlic Festival to be held at AT&T Park I knew I had to be there. I mean how many blogs are out there about this very subject? And a book entitled “Garlic Fries and Baseball” no less. To be perfectly honest it wasn’t about the garlic fries so much ~ I’ve eaten plates full.

“Herbie at home on my bookshelf”!

I’ve been to the Gilroy Garlic Festival many times and to tell you the truth, when I found out they were going to have “Herbie” the bobble head, I had to have one. So I dragged my dear husband to the ballpark today and we got in line at the Will Call, and again at the Main Gate and the food court and finally at the bobble head give-away table. And I got my bobble head.

Special Pungent Garlic Fries!

There’s something really special about being out in the warm sunshine, on the waterfront at AT&T Park, well any ballpark really, but especially at AT&T. We met some really nice people, talked a little baseball and talked a lot of garlic. Smiles were abundant and today the smell of that yummy garlic was everywhere. Garlic fries were the best of course, but the garlic bread and incredible sauce slathered all over the tender tasty pieces of calamari was to die for. I knew my husband would share his calamari with me (he thinks it tastes like rubber bands) and that I’d have to give up a little bread and fries in the trade, but it was okay. It was all good. I love this stuff.

2012 Gilroy Garlic Festival, July 27, 28, 29th

I understand they’re planning on making this an annual event. I sure hope so. We’ll definitely be back next year. We didn’t stay for the game; instead headed back on Caltrain around 5:30 and arrived home just in time for the first pitch on the telly.

The first pitch this time turned out to be a home run for Cincinnati. I was rather relieved for Matt Cain. The way I look at it ~ the prospect of a no-hitter, one-hitter, and perfect game were no longer issues and he could relax and enjoy the game with the rest of us. Final score was Cincinnati 5, Giants 1, but you know what? It was okay. After these past few weeks, the Giants have treated us to some really special moments and right now, at least for today, they’re standing alone in 1st place in the National League West.

Life is really, really good. Don’t you just love it? Garlic fries and baseball I mean.

Garlic Festival 2012 in Gilroy California (vinoconvistablog.me)
Win A Free Copy of “Garlic Fries and Baseball: The Book”! (garlicfriesandbaseball.wordpress.com)
Miller Park in the finals of ESPN’s “Battle of the Ballparks” (fox6now.com)
Police: 5 suspected of stealing 9.5 tons of garlic (sfgate.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, A3 Ballpark Food, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants

Tagged 1st Annual Giants Garlic Fest, 2012 Gilroy Garlic Festival, AT&T Park, Caltrain, Cincinnati, Doug Stewart, Food, Garlic, Garlic Queen and Court, Gilroy Garlic Festival, Herbie the Bobblehead, Hugh Davis, Matt Cain, Megan from Gilroy, National League West

“Safeco Field” ~ Who Does the Mow Job?

Posted on June 2, 2012 | 4 comments

I just returned from an Alaska cruise and was perusing the photos I took. One of those special shots that really stood out had nothing to do with the cruise. In fact, it was a photo of Safeco Field, taken on Friday night, May 25, 2012, before the cruise and during a game between the Mariners and the Angels.

The Seattle Mariners Safeco Field

Take a look at this picture. What prompted me to even take this shot was the unusual designs all over the field. In just this one picture, you can count over seven different diagonal directions the field was mowed. What I really want to know is how long does it take the groundskeeper to mow the darn field, all of it, and what kind of equipment does he use to mow it with?

Okay, I know, it’s a pretty lame question, but I just thought the field looked really great and wanted to share it before I fall into bed fast asleep. It’s been a rough week, having spent a good part of it tossing around my cabin with patches on my ears, bands on my wrists, and frothing at the mouth from being sea-sick. Our poor captain had to face headwinds of 42 knots while sailing at 20 knots. I hope I got that right. Knowing about knots is not my forte. Alaska’s a beautiful state but next time I might try the Trans-Alaska Highway just to be safe.

As for Safeco Field and the Mariners ~ they played a great game and were ahead until the ninth. I don’t know, maybe they took just a little too long to admire the field instead of focusing on the game and old Albert what’s-his-name. I know that’s what I was doing.

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners

Tagged Alaska, Alaska Cruise, Albert Pujols, BASEBALL, los angeles angels, Safeco Field, Safeco Groundskeeper, seattle mariners, Sports, Trans Alaska Highway, travel, vacation

Capitalism Alive and Well in Baseball!

Posted on May 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Courtesy of Money Ball”

Last week I was perusing the San Francisco Giants website looking for tickets. I settled on two $46 tickets in the Premium Lower Box section, went through the hoops and hit the button only to find that the $46 tickets were now miraculously $150! Here’s the Disclaimer that was shown on the page:

“Market pricing applies to all tickets.
Rates can fluctuate based on factors affecting supply and demand. Lock in your price and location today!”

What the heck is that all about? I mean if you list something for a certain price shouldn’t that be the price you pay for it? I’m just as much in favor of capitalism as the next guy, probably more so, and I’m not an attorney, but shouldn’t this be considered false advertising?

I understand having different prices for different games. For example, a June 4th game between the Giants and the Dodgers is priced at $56 for a lower box seat but a game on August 3 between the Giants and the Padres is only $32 for the same seat. I get it. Nothing wrong with that. But to buy a ticket advertised at a specific price and then find out “at checkout” that it’s three times the price you agreed to pay for it 10 seconds ago? I don’t think so. I wonder if other teams are doing this. Ticket prices should be published at the beginning of the season and remain the same throughout that season, or at least until you get a chance to click the purchase button.

“AT&T Park not the only game in town” Photo Courtesy of Gerald Carpenter

Needless to say, I cancelled the order I was working on and instead I’m flying down to San Diego in June to watch the Padres and Rangers at a price we agreed upon. Okay, I realize with the air fare, hotel, meals, etc., it’s going to cost me a fortune. But this is a protest purchase you know? And it’s the principal of the thing. I mean how many times do I have to keep paying for Zito’s salary? Enough already.

One bright spot in the week. We received an email from the Oakland A’s a few weeks ago offering $12 Field Level tickets on Mother’s Day. And that’s exactly what they cost. These were great front row seats, beautiful weather, friendly fans, and extremely friendly vendors and staff, and a beautiful pink rose to boot! Needless to say, we’ll be back.

And we’re flying to Seattle and attending a Mariners game week after next. If this is perceived as being disloyal, so be it. I love my San Francisco Giants but I love baseball even more and I’m going to the games one way or another.

Like I said, it’s the principle of the thing.

Sam Kennedy Refutes Notion That Red Sox Give Away Tickets to Keep Sellout Streak Alive (Video) (nesn.com)
Money Ball 2 (swebman.com)
San Francisco Giants: Top 10 Benefits of Being a Giants Fan (bleacherreport.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners

Tagged AT&T Park, Barry Zito, baseball principles, Oakland Athletics, San Diego, San Diego Padres, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants, Seattle, seattle mariners, Tickets

Best Food at the Ballpark in 2012? ~ You Decide!

Posted on March 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

"Strasburg: Last year's version with butterflied hotdog on top"

I found a great little ditty this morning at the Washington Post. The Nationals are going to highlight special food from the visiting team’s home town each time they play in Washington. I recommend you take advantage of San Francisco’s special food “Garlic Fries” this year, especially since the Giants will be playing at Nationals Park on the 4th of July, and not just because they’re our namesake, but because they’re really, really good!

But for sure you gotta love the special food presented by the Washington Nationals this year, honoring their special pitcher, Stephen Strasburg. I hear it includes 12 pickles, representing the twelve strike-outs the Stras got in his first outing. Great article written by Dan Steinberg, from the Washington Post.

Nationals Park introduces 8-pound ‘StrasBurger’

By Dan Steinberg, Washington Post Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 03/12/2012

The new 8 lb. Strasburger includes fries and a coke! Courtesy "Yardbarker"

(Marvin Joseph – TWP.) As the baseball season approaches, you know what that means on this here blog: lots of updates on the concessions available at Nationals Park.

Our first update concerns the Red Porch, and a brand-new menu item that will get lots of attention from media and fans: The StrasBurger. Via my favorite friends in Nats PR:

Weighing eight pounds total (including toppings), the StrasBurger is a monstrous all beef burger (combination of ground brisket, chuck and short ribs). The burger is served on a large burger bun with our secret sauce, American cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, pickle chips and served with a cone basket of fresh cut fries and a pitcher of your choice of soft drink. This signature dish is the perfect entrée to share at this affordably-priced family restaurant.

In case you missed the key phrase, this burger WEIGHS EIGHT POUNDS TOTAL, which is a lot of pounds. Even if some of them are onion pounds. Every TV station in this market will have hosts merrily attempting to grapple with the StrasBurger next month. At least, I hope so.The Red Porch will also feature special food and beer pairings that will spotlight area brews, including those from Dogfish Head and Flying Dog. Any time I get to type “Dogfish Head,” I consider that a win.

Also, the Taste of the Majors stand — which has spotlighted a few items from other MLB cities — will now feature a special dish from the city of each visiting opponent while they’re actually in D.C. Those items will all be limited time only offers, obviously. The list:

Atlanta: Smothered Fried Chicken Platter

Baltimore: Pit Beef Sandwich Platter

Arizona: Dog Platter

Chicago: Dog Platter

Cincinnati: 5-Way Cincinnati Chili

Colorado: Mile High Burger

Houston: Houston Nacho

Los Angeles: Dog Platter

Miami: Cuban Dog

Milwaukee: Beer Brat Platter

New York (Mets and Yankees): Coney Dog Platter

Philadelphia: Philly Chicken Cheese Steak Platter

Pittsburgh: Pitts Burger Platter

St. Louis: BBQ Rib Platter

San Diego: Fish Taco Platter

San Francisco: Garlic Fries and Shrimp Platter

Tampa Bay: Salty Dog Platter

Geez, this is all making me hungry! Only 23 Days to Opening Day ~ See you at the ballpark!

Last Night’s Winner: Strasburger Entrepreneurs [Last Night’s Winner] (deadspin.com)
Garlic Fries and Baseball: The Book Review (mlbreports.com)
Baseball Food: The New Culinary Adventure (foodservicewarehouse.com)
MLB: 10 Washington Nationals Questions Going into the Season (bleacherreport.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, A3 Ballpark Food, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals

Tagged Dan Steinberg, French fries, GARLIC FRIES, Nationals Park, Red Porch, San Francisco, Stephen Strasburg, Strasburger, Strsburg hamburger, Washington National, Washington Post

Braving the Fan Fest at AT&T Park!

Posted on February 5, 2012 | 2 comments

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Photos courtesy of KNBR and Ronni Redmond

I made up my mind last year that no matter what happened, I was going to the Fan Fest this year! And I did. We, my husband and I, always take Cal-Train to Giants games at AT&T Park just to avoid the parking and we did the same today. It’s a few blocks to the ballpark from the train station and it’s the perfect way to travel stress-free to the games.

All the stories about the crowds proved true again this year. Rumor has it the crowd was around 35,000 but to tell you the truth we avoided all of that. I leave the autograph-seeking to the youngsters so we headed up to the club level and found a perfect spot, a little to the right of home plate, front row, seats 1 and 2. And we settled in for the day with our perfect seats for some perfect photo’s and perfect weather. I loved this. And we had a fantastic view of the KNBR Broadcast Stage and could hear the interviews and conversations as though we were sitting right there with them. We had a great time at the park today!

Baseball season is finally here. Almost. But it’s close enough you can reach out and touch it, feel it. Tomorrow’s Super Bowl Sunday which is probably great if you’re a football fan. Oh okay, I have to admit I did get a little taken up with the Tebowing thing this year, but honestly can you truly say there’s anything better than spring training and opening day of baseball? I’ve been waiting for this since the 7th game of the world series last year and it’s just as good as I’d hoped it would be. Thank you God. Baseball, one of the many pleasures in life.

You might remember a Bill Cosby video many years ago that included a story about little Jeffrey. “Little Jeffrey” on the airplane. On the one and one-half hour ride home we had a little Jeffrey on the train. Little Jeffrey screamed all the way home finally de-training just one stop before we did. I watched him as his poor drained parents stepped off the train and carried him past our window, little Jeffrey all smiles. Our children are all grown now and gone, with children of their own. But I remember the days. Thank you again God. Retirement, one of the many pleasures in life!

Giants FanFest Takes Place Saturday (misskryzz.wordpress.com)
Giants fans in midseason form at FanFest (mlb.mlb.com)
PHOTOS: San Francisco Giants FanFest (997now.radio.com)
SF Giants Fans Show Up In Droves For FanFest (sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks

Tagged AT&T Park, AT&T Park Fan Fest 2012, Baseball field, Baseball park, Bill Cosby, KNBR, Sports, Spring training, Super Bowl

The World Champs ….. Taking a Break in 2011!

Posted on September 30, 2011 | 5 comments

Giants & Padres at AT&T Park

The 2011 postseason began today but something’s different this year. One of the most exciting times in baseball all of a sudden seems like it’s just another day. Could it be that I still haven’t recovered from the postseason play of 2010?

The media had been inundated with the 2010 San Francisco Giants Cinderella story. It was magic. But the stories of late haven’t been so much about the magic of last season as it is about the everyday mundane normalcy of this season. How could this happen or more-so why did it have to happen? I have a theory.

Historically the World Series champion has only won back-to-back championships on three separate occasions with exception of the Yankees. They don’t count. The returning 2011 Giants were basically the same team that won the 2010 World Series. That 2010 team played their heart out. When they realized in August they had a shot at the division title they went for it. They scratched and clawed and mowed down everything in sight and they won. And then they won again and again and they won the Pennant. Then they won again and again and again and they won the Championship. And then they returned to the adoration of a million fans screaming their hearts out in appreciation of what they had done. After it was all over in mid-November, they went back to their individual homes across the country and they collapsed. They were exhausted. They rested for 6 weeks and then they started all over again. And they were still exhausted.

And I believe that’s how it is for World Series Champions historically. I understand all of this because, you know, I was exhausted too. As fans we went through all of those torturous games with our teammates and we laughed and cried and shared the joy of the entire experience with each and every one of them and we were tired, worn out, and exhausted too.

I’ve been reading a lot of gibberish this week about the fall of the San Francisco Giants kingdom and it’s just that. Gibberish. It seems everyone’s placing blame somewhere, on someone, and it’s getting really personal, you know, about individual players. They’re paid too much, not paid enough, too slow, too fat, too lazy. Ugghhh!

The 2010 Giants were not an extraordinary team. They were an okay, average team with a really good pitching staff. The reason they won their division had more to do with the San Diego Padres choking than it did with the Giants winning. But they did win and found themselves in the post season and we were thrilled.

But now its over and its okay. I’ve written comments throughout this season exclaiming my euphoric state and happiness that the Giants were World Champions and if they never ended up in post season play again, ever, I could easily rest on my (well okay, “their”) laurels. It was that good.

And I think maybe the San Francisco Giants may have felt a little of that too as they began spring training, not really sure what had happened that previous season, and not really wanting it to end, still in a euphoric state of mind, just needing and subconsciously taking a little break.

At least that’s what I think probably happened and that’s how I’m going to always remember it and its cool ~ the San Francisco Giants just taking a little break in 2011.

World Series champion Giants end season with loss (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Reigning World Series champs ponder next moves (cbc.ca)
San Francisco Giants’ elimination day from playoff race is one for the record books (mercurynews.com)

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Posted in A1 Baseball, General, A2 Ballparks, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants

Tagged 2010 World Series, 2011 SF Giants, AT&T Park, San Diego Padres, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants, World Series, World Series champion, Yankees

Garlic Fries and Baseball: The Book

Posted on August 12, 2011 | 6 comments

Update: Now available at Amazon as Book and Kindle.

Finally it’s here! My book’s been in the works since February and it’s being published today. It’s available for sale here first, and will be available on Amazon.com early next week and in Kindle form soon thereafter.

The book’s a compilation of some of my favorite blogs, some in expanded form, with a few little ditties added in and formatted in such a way you’ll hardly recognize it! I have to admit ~ writing a book is a great experience, but it’s much easier writing a blog!

Let me know what you think but please be kind. This is my debut you know ♥ Ronni