Baseball is officially back in the Bay Area as the Giants played their sold-out home opener against the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
Offseason moves, including the addition of veteran ace Justin Verlander and All-Star shortstop Willy Adames, gave fans a reason to be excited for the new season. Returners such as second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald and centerfielder Jung Hoo Lee hope to develop into bigger roles as the vibrant young blood of the team. The hiring of Buster Posey, the new president of baseball operations, was a sign of a new era in Giants baseball.
With the Giants winning the Cactus League in spring training and beginning with an impressive 5-1 start, the environment at Oracle Park on opening day was electric. The Giants went on to win 10-9 with an 11th inning two-run walk-off RBI single from Willy Adames sealing the victory.
This was the 25th year Oracle Park hosted an opening day and supporters, both young and old, crowded Willie Mays Plaza, creating a sea of orange and black. One fan, Pamela Dunn, sported a hat full of enamel pins, honoring the opening day tradition. She also handed out free commemorative pins to passersby.
“I’m always hopeful on opening day,” Dunn said. “I have 57 hats and they all have different themes.”
The emotions of Giants fans can be summed up as realistic optimism. They know the team is competitive, but when compared to division powerhouses such as the Dodgers and Padres, the Giants still have a lot of work to do. Clinching a wild-card spot is achievable but a World Series sounds like a pipe dream.
Whether team expectations were high or low, fans were just happy that they got to return to one of the league’s premier ballparks. Friday’s opening day was the perfect environment for a ball game: a sunny afternoon with blue skies and a slight breeze. New upgrades such as the LED screen installed on the Coca-Cola slide debuted, adding further to the park’s immersion.
One fan, Ralene Page, said that Oracle Park is “a ballpark that you could go to 100 times and never get sick of.”
A characteristic unique to Oracle Park’s geography is McCovey Cove, named after Giants Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. It’s where kayakers attempt to retrieve stray foul balls or home runs out of the bay. Steve Garrison, known as Splash Hit Steve, is one of these people.
“It’s a tradition… I spend a lot of my time kayaking in McCovey Cove as one of the regulars waiting for the home run balls to come down,” he said. “I feel like [opening day] should be a recognized holiday like how they recognize it in Cincinnati.”
Garrison isn’t only the person who camps out in McCovey Cove; other kayaks and boats cruise there to either snag home runs or enjoy the game from the comfort of a yacht. Other bystanders watch the game on a monitor mounted behind the wall of Triples Alley.
As the season progresses, the only thing fans can ask for is a chance to compete in the postseason.
“It doesn’t matter how you get into the playoffs, just get in,” Garrison said.
