Getting to ATT Park from anywhere in the Bay Area is a breeze. The Muni drops you off in front of Willie Mays Plaza. If you are traveling from the East Bay, there is also a ferry that stops at McCovey Cove.
This is the new statue outside the Northwest Gate of ATT Park with the accompanying plaque.
The new Wall of Fame features many of the Giants' stars that have played for the team since they moved to San Francisco. The Plaques are self explanatory. There are two things to note. First, I have only included those players that I personally remembered from watching the Giants play. Second, to the Giants' credit, Barry Bonds is not on the Wall. Given his current legal problems and the cancer that he was in the club house, this is appropriate. When the dust settles, the Giants may reconsider.
Who would you expect to see in Willie Mays Plaza? He is the iconic player that comes to mind any time you think about the history of the Giants. And history!! The Giants have done a fantastic job documenting and celebrating the history of the organization in this great venue. Everywhere you look, there are reminders of the great players of the past.
The plaque on the Mays statue only discusses some of his accomplishments. There are so many famous quotes and statistics with which he is associated, that he will forever be considered one of the elites of the game.
Given that Willie's number was 24, it is appropriate that the Giants' corporate offices would be at this address.
And that he would have his own gate
Willie Mays was not only a great player, but he was respected by his contemporaries.
There are quotes like this throughout ATT Park from great players that discuss the game and the artistry associated with it.
There are also lines from celebrities that reference teams of the past and present.
The Division Champion Dodgers one the first game. An anemic hitting attack by the Giants doomed them.
On the second day, a beautiful sunny day in the mid 70's, we arrived at the statue of Juan Marichal. Watching replays of his pitching performances make you wonder. It is hard to believe that, given the very high leg kick, batters did not feel a bit uneasy. You know that Marichal had to pick up the catcher's glove late in the deliver, and given the speed of the incoming pitch, any error could cause a good bit of pain.
As we walked around the park, we passed McCovey Cove. This is one of the many day sailors waiting for a ball to splash down in McCovey Cove.
The Giants currently play or have played at all of the locations on this sign post, and it is just another reference to the extensive history of the club.
Part way through this game, the last of the season, these two final scores were posted ending the bid of the Mets to get into the playoffs.
Being fan appreciation day, the last game of the season, it cannot be overlooked that this was the 50th year for the Giants in San Francisco. During their time in the Bay Area, they have had many great players, they have gone to 3 World Series'. However, they have come up empty each time losing to the Yankees, A's, and Angels. In fact, they have not had a victory since 1954.
This game was won by the Giants on the back of a dominant performance by Tim Lincecum who struck out 13 batters in seven innings. This was clearly his bid for the Cy Young.
As we left ATT Park, we took this night shot of Willie Mays. This was quite appropriate as we had just finished a 62 game trek around the country (plus Canada) seeing many friends along the way and seeing many parts of our county that neither of had seen before. For those that have followed this blog, I appreciate it. I will be adding one last installment that is sort of a lessons learned for anyone who would like to do this trip or any part of it.
Finally, I would like to round out our rankings of the 30 baseball Stadiums that we visited this Summer (we had a great time doing so):
First Division:
- Wrigley Field
- PNC Park Pittsburgh
- Turner Field Atlanta
- Tiger Field Detroit
- ATT Park San Francisco
- Dodger Stadium
- Cardinals Stadium St. Louis
Second Division is:
- Arizona
- Baltimore
- Milwaukee
- Texas
- Houston
- Cincinnati
- Toronto
- Tampa Bay
- Philadelphia
- New York Yankees
- Oakland
- New York Mets
- Cleveland
- Colorado
- Seattle
- Washington
- Kansas City
- Chicago White Sox
- Los Angeles Angels
- Boston
- San Diego
- Florida
- Minnesota
Again, for everyone who has supported this trip or read this Blog, THANK YOU.
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