The facts as I knew them before I arrived at AT&T Park last night:
1.) There was to be a group media session with Kurt Busch and David Ragan an hour before the game started.
2.) Kurt and David were going to take a lap around the field at some point in between innings with the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota showcar rumbling behind them.
3.) David and Kurt were going to lead the crowd in “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch.
4.) It was NASCAR Night at the San Francisco Giants vs Baltimore Orioles game
I parked at one of the piers just down from the ballpark and walked superfast to the place where my credentials were waiting. This was my first time attending a Major League Baseball game as a credentialed member of the media. I got to go because of Infineon Raceway and the fact that it was “NASCAR Night.”
I got the credential, followed the signs to the field and was able to be out there while the Baltimore Orioles took batting practice.
This was enough for me to be all “Holy crap! This is awesome.” Watching the players hit balls all over the place I was starting to wonder if I should become a baseball blogger. 🙂 I have no idea who anyone is on the Orioles ‘cause I don’t follow them, but I was wishing I had ‘cause some of those dude were major hotties.
Anyway. I was out there for like 5 minutes when I saw “him,” Mr. Barry Zito. I have loved Barry Zito ever since he joined the A’s and I decided to remain loving him even when he went to the Giants. (I’m an A’s fan, always have been, always will be) I tolerate the Giants. So I see him and I’m freaking the eff out. I wanted to run up to him and make him take a photo with me (one that I’d use for Christmas cards forever) and be all “I looooove yooooooou” but you can’t do that as a member of the media, something to do with professionalism and objectivity or some such.
Even if it was from a short distance I was glad to have had that mini-moment. Moving on, I was under the impression that the group media session with Kurt and David would be on the field. I guess I was wrong because they didn’t show up on the field until much later when I was already in the press box and they wouldn’t let me back onto the field (not because I did something wrong, just because the game was about to start). I asked people if they knew where it was happening but they didn’t know.
I realized I had left my cell phone in my car, so I had to walk back to get it because Twitter is important! 🙂
So it was when I got back that I found out I couldn’t go back to the field, so I ventured up to the press box.
It was interesting being in the press room for a different sport. I’d love to say that it was completely different than a NASCAR media center but it’s not. A bunch of (mostly men) people in a room with laptops. I stuck out big time because I wasn’t a dude and I didn’t have a laptop. It was a great seat to watch the game from, right behind home plate.
I watched as the PA announcer introduced (and the big screen flashed) LDS Family Night. Wait, what? I though it was supposed to be NASCAR Night. I waited for the screen to flash a big sign saying it was NASCAR Night too but that never happened. The Mormons stole the show!
🙂
Kurt and David did give the players the command to “play ball!” and they did ride around the track in some buggy with the Giant’s mascot Lou Seal while the No. 18 M&Ms show car drove behind them in between innings. I saw David while he was interviewed on TV for CSN Bay Area.
And then I waited for the 7th-inning stretch when Kurt and David were going to lead the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” Well, that didn’t happen. Nope, Brooke White, one of my favorite former American Idol contestants, had the honor. She did a great job, obviously, but I thought it was NASCAR Night!?!
🙂
The Giants ended up losing the game, 4 to 1, to the Orioles. I had fun though, it was cool to experience the game from another perspective.
My view from the press box at AT&T Park for the SF Giants game versus the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (photo credit: The Fast and the Fabulous)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kurt Busch and David Ragan ‘give the command’ –‘Play Ball!’ — to start the San Francisco Giants baseball game Tuesday in San Francisco. (photo credit: NASCAR Public Relations)
Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch and San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal pose for a quick picture in the ‘pace car’ before their victory lap in San Francisco on Tuesday (photo credit: NASCAR Public Relations)
