Fifty Shades of Grace: #8

My last baseball game at Candlestick Park

September 15, 1999, San Francisco Giants vs. Florida Marlins, day game, late in a season when the Giants would come in second place in the Western Division. The Giants won 4-3; Barry Bonds went 0 for 4; Jeff Kent hit his 20^th homerun off of losing pitcher Dennis Springer in the fourth inning; JT Snow was hit by a pitch right after Kent hit his homerun in the 4^th, and Snow hit his own homerun off of Springer in the 6^th … justice! Russ Ortiz got his 17th win, Rob Nen got his 34th save, and Marvin Benard played centerfield. Benard was with the Giants for nine seasons and was one of the greatest Major League Baseball players to come out of Nicaragua, where he remains a hero today.

Other than that, I don’t remember much about that game. Benard was caught stealing second base in the first inning, and there were only 11,996 people at the game, which included Bonnie and me, our best friends Nick and Robin, and their two girls and our two boys, all about the same age. Going to baseball games had been a long tradition with our families, and I can’t count how many one-day round trips we made between 1982 and 1998 from Reno or Fresno to see a game at Candlestick. By 1999, we were living in Los Altos and Nick and Robin were in Walnut Creek, so the commute to Candlestick was much easier.

It was important to be there when the gates opened two and a half hours before first pitch. The kids would chase foul balls and ask for autographs during batting practice. We adults would read or talk. Once the game started, we would move to open seats in our favorite upper reserve section. One of my fondest memories is sitting with each of my sons on either side of me, watching a ball game at Candlestick.

Except for 1987 and 1989, (division winning and playoff years) attendance was really poor at Candlestick. Twenty-five thousand in attendance for a Saturday game was considered a big crowd. To think that AT&T Park is in its third year of consecutive sold-out games is amazing.

Our kids would often run around the stadium during the games if things were boring. It felt safe then. Almost like home. I recently learned from my oldest son, Dan, that on that day – our last baseball game at Candlestick – he, my son Matt, Nicole and Susie scurried around the stadium to the highest seats to leave their graffiti names on Seats 1-2, section 64, top row. They wanted to leave their mark on Candlestick because it had left its mark on them. 

I don’t know if those signatures are still there or not. It doesn’t really matter, though, as the memories will only become more important as they take down that cold, dank, obsolete stadium. I won’t miss those freezing cold, extra-inning night games. 

Our “baseball family” continues to gather for the sacred sanctuary of home plate, infield, and outfield. We continue to cheer for our Giants, screaming out “Beat LA! Beat LA!” And Candlestick will be a part – a large part – of our cherished “family” memory.