Giants or Gigantes, your choice, May 5

The game was on Cinco de Mayo (not Sink over the Mayo as some peeps think) and thus, the Giants wore jerseys that said Gigantes.  A perfect tribute to the Hispanic - Mexican - Latino crew that all baseball teams are made of.

We had some special pass, we (a group of 12) went in a discreet side door, we got to stand on the field and watch batting practice. It wasn't what I thought it would be.  Not so serious as one would think. Guys hitting balls, fielding them, but in a rather languorous manner which is  not what I would have imagined.  Batters seriously hitting the balls (which they were, but almost all were triples or home runs) and fielders chasing them down (umm... not so much.) Seems batting practice is simply warm-up, get those muscles moving, get in the mind-set of a game.  But it was nice, when we got there the entire stadium was empty. Not a body in a seat.  That is impressive. Just looking out on a flat plain of very green grass with some guys dicking around with baseballs and mitts, some simply having a game of catch, and no one in the stands.... that was a fine moment for me.

Then we got to go to the Gotham Bar, a private club sort of bar. You can only go there if you are a season ticket holder and pay a can of money to belong. You pay $2500 to join and half of that every year to stay a member. It was a very cool bar (and we got a private tequila tasting, how nice was that?) and a great view of the field and you know when you are at a Giants game, and you look down that right field line and you see the scores of all the other games in the league?  We were there, I now know how to change those scores.  A good thing to know.

And did any of you know that there is a bowling alley in the stadium?  (Not a blowing alley, come on, get your head out of someone's pants!)  But a real bowling alley!  And a billiards room!  And amazing photos of the old days of baseball and a library.  We were escorted to all of those places, hidden behind secret doors.  It was so much fun and such a one-time treat.

The best part was the game..... our seats were about 20 rows up from the Giants dugout and people caught foul balls in our section and the Giants won!  And because Jenn didn't go to the game, Gabe and Annie were there and they came down and sat in Row 19, so we got to hang out with them, too!  A little tequila, a beer and a dog, a winning game, G & A and all the friends who let me come with them. A really nice evening. Hard to beat that.

OK, that's the report for  now.

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