SeeingEyeBlog

It was an afterthought. We had gone to a game at Petco Park on Tuesday (Padres/Diamondbacks) and then we realized that Barry Bonds was on HR #754, one away from breaking the all-time homerun record. And the Giants were coming to San Diego on Friday. We decided to go.

But we realized we were late to the party. My attempt at getting tickets at the Padres website was coming up fruitless, but on Thursday morning I searched for 1 ticket, instead of a pair. What I got was Section 107, row 11, seat 20. That translates to four rows behind the Padres dugout. They were only $38. I snatched them in a heartbeat. The problem was, the only other ticket available in the whole ballpark was in a vastly different section. So much for going with a friend.

Game day: I call my friend Tim whose ticket I bought. His wife wants to go too. I think that’s cool but I’m kind of groaning because that means we’re going to have to scalp my second ticket and buy a pair off a scalper. And they’re running a little late. I’m aware that Barry Bonds is going to be the fourth batter of the game, and I don’t want him to hit a homer before I get to the park.

We’re having trouble finding parking, and we’re all getting a bit frustrated. We’re on the lookout for scalpers, and just as we are making a turn, we see a guy flash some tickets. Tim yells to him and we pull over. We got a pair in section 108, row 14. Translation: 6 rows back from the Giants dugout.

So we’re guaranteed some good seats, but we’re still late. And I have to sell my extra seat. It was a $60 ticket, so I’m really feeling like no one’s gonna bite. Especially just for one seat. While walking, I am asking if any passersby need tickets. One guy who was in a bit of a hurry says he needs a ticket. He’s willing to pay anything, so I got face value. Now I’m happy, but just then, we hear the entire stadium erupt in “boo!!!”

Tim and I look at each other and we all start walking a little faster. Bonds is up, and we’re not in the park yet. We still have a couple blocks to go. We’re almost there, and there is a huge eruption again. We start running at this point. I’m hoping he struck out or at least didn’t hit a homerun. We were lucky.

Getting to my section was one almost like walking down a wedding aisle at a wedding. I was looking for row 11, and I was walking down a stairway directly towards the roof of the dugout. About halfway there, I was thinking, this would be a great row. This would be a great row. But that’s only row 25, I’m all the way down to 11. What I didn’t realize until I got to row 11, was that the first few rows are technically the dugout itself, so the rows don’t start until row 7. I’m closer than I thought I’d be.

The game takes on a different essence when you’re so close. When you’re far away, the game usually take a back seat to the conversations you have with the people you’re with. A piece of action happens and the crowd alerts you, and you realize you’ve been out of the game for a while. But when you can see the players life-sized, and when a foul ball could potentially kill you, your head stays in the game the whole time, and you can enjoy baseball as it was meant to be enjoyed.

As a game of anticipation, baseball is about being attentive, especially when there isn’t a lot of action happening. When you’re there with the players, you can appreciate baseball. People who say baseball is boring probably haven’t sat as close as I was tonight.

Baseball is also about generations. It’s a game that fathers bring their sons to see. And there were plenty of kids in my section. My seat was actually owned by a company who owns season tickets there. The family using the tickets had to release one of the seats because one of the people in their party needed to sit in the disabled seats. They told me they released the tickets about 4 hours before I bought them online. Lucky me.

That family was to my right. To my left was a row of guys in their 70s, each looking like they had a 8-figure net worth. The most gregarious one was very animated, and when he saw the cotton candy vendor, he bought cotton candy for every kid in the entire section. I muttered that I wish I was 12 years old.

Bonds didn’t hit a homerun, but the Padres ended up winning with a walk-off homerun in the 10th inning by Scott Hairston. Hairston’s 3-run homer in the 8th tied the game to get us into extra innings in the first place. He was obviously the player of the game. I was thankful that I got to see 10 innings in that seat, not just 9. And the win was as sweet as it could be.