In which firecat...

[firecat]

... comes into nearer than usual proximity to an interesting baseball game, without actually attending one

kwamee and I went to Stitch'n'Pitch night at Candlestick Pac Bell SBC AT&T Park to see the Giants vs. the Braves. It was Barry Bonds' 43d birthday. It was also Ethel's 98th birthday (as announced on the scoreboard—noncommercial scoreboard messages cost $125). I thought that was pretty cool.

Most of the innings I was there for were pretty uneventful, baseball-wise. There was a nice but unnecessary triple-play.

I did really enjoy watching the fog roll in with the twilight, and the starlings swooping around that I kept confusing with the baseball. Also it was fun to look along my row and see people knitting, and wearing beautiful knitted shawls.

Back when I used to go to baseball games, they didn't serve clam chowder soup in large sourdough rolls. And they brought around hot dogs and ice cream, but not Tully's coffee served out of a giant backpack.

We had taken Caltrain and wanted to be sure to get home at a reasonable hour, so we left around 9pm after the 7th inning stretch with the score Braves 4, Giants 0. At some point between that and our getting on the train at 9:45 pm, the Giants tied up the game and it went into extra innings. At 11:20 pm, I turned on the radio at home and the game was still going—it was the 13th inning. I listened for about 5 minutes, and then the Giants lost.

SWAG:

• An orange mesh tote back with the SF Giants Stitch'n'Pitch logo
• 14" long size "I" aluminum double-ended crochet hook
• 3 "I [heart] Craft:" buttons
• Size 7 metal knitting needles, 40 cm long. kwamee got size 1.
• Wood" 16" long size 19 knitting needles
• "Giants Fan" patch needlepoint kit with black silk thread and hand-dyed orange cotton thread
• 76" self-retracting tape measure with built-in level
• Pattern for a knit fringed poncho using ladder yarn. (kwamee got a poncho pattern with both knit and crochet instructions.)
• Discount coupon at a SF yarn store.
• Pattern for "Fun Fur Flip-Flops", which is a scary concept
• Card offering downloadable knitted baseball cap pattern
• 1/2 size Craft Magazine sampler
• Postcard with instructions for making crocheted hairpin lace, bead, and wire chandelier earrings
• Four-page flyer of Mosaic Knitting instructions
• List of future Giants special events. If you go to all of them, you can collect four caps, two bobblehead dolls, a Scouts patch, a T-shirt, a beer stein, and 2 free drinks.

Comments

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Excellent! My favorite AT&T Park food are (is?) the garlic fries.

ame_chan went to the the Los Angeles Dodgers Stitch'n'Pitch back in May and posted pictures, but her post about it is locked. Which is too bad because I think you'd enjoy the pictures.

[firecat]

The garlic fries smelled really good every time they went by (I was sitting on the aisle).

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of Stitch & Pitch - awesome idea! That would be an excellent combination since baseball is generally such a slow sport. I would actually consider going to see a game.

[kshandra]

Damn - that's a MUCH better swag bag than we got last year.

[firecat]

It certainly got me to go to a game for the first time in about a decade.

[firecat]

What did you get last year?

[bastette-joyce.livejournal.com]

... comes into nearer than usual proximity to an interesting baseball game, without actually attending one

It sounds as though you did attend a baseball game. <confusion>

Isn't it called Monster Park? Or were they interim owners? Caltrans hasn't fixed the freeway sign yet.

I'd rather have hot dogs than clam chowder. But Tully's coffee sounds nice.

I'm glad kwamee went with you. I'm sure he had a better time than I would have! :)

[kshandra]

Let's see...a tote bag, some bamboo needles (sized reallybig and reallysmall, as I remember), a couple of skeins of black & orange acrylic, a LYS list, and a knitting pattern for a team-logo something or other (a hat, I think) to go with the yarn. Maybe a couple of extra flyers. And then about the third inning or so, someone came up to the section with an errata sheet for the pattern. :-/

[kshandra]

Monster's the football park (which I find somehow appropriate) out along the Causeway. The Phone Booth™ is the baseball-only park in SF proper.

[firecat]

And then about the third inning or so, someone came up to the section with an errata sheet for the pattern. :-/

HAHAHAHA! Now that's service!

[firecat]

I did attend a baseball game, but not an interesting one. That is, the game wasn't interesting while I was there. It only got interesting after I left.

Monster Park is the new name for Candlestick Park. Candlestick used to be the baseball and football park but as kshandra pointed out it's now only the football park. The new baseball park was originally called Pac Bell Park.

There were lots of hot dog options (and on my way out I bought a hot dog approximately the mass of my head), but you had to leave your seat to get them. Back in the day, vendors used to bring hot dogs through the stands. But that's probably prohibited by health regulations now.

[bastette-joyce.livejournal.com]

Never heard of The Phone Booth. But I do realize now that I was mixing up the "new" park (ie, the one that opened 5 or so years ago) that is on the J line in SF-proper (initially called Pac Bell park), and Candlestick park, which as firecat explained, is now called Monster park. Didn't know that only football was played there now.

[kshandra]

gridlore and I tend to refer to the "new" park as The Phone Booth, because it's been owned by the same phone company all along, despite now being on its third name.

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

I've never been to a baseball game before, but it could definitely entice me to try it out.