Great seeing you again

On baseball, hope, and sunny days.

I went on a walk a few days ago. I started in Mission Bay, snaking my way around the Warriors’ arena before making the slow approach to the Giants’ waterfront diamond.

I’ve been to Oracle Park so many times over the last 26 years. I know the outside and the inside, what you see and what you can’t. Yet visiting it for the first time in a long time felt like a reintroduction.

I peeked through the archways as workers set up a Super Bowl party on the field. I rolled through a highlight reel of memories as I admired the plaques along the portwalk: Pablo’s three-homer game, Jonathan Sanchez’s no-no, Brian Wilson’s save in Game 162.

The 65-degree sun filled me with warmth, yes, but so did knowing baseball would soon return. Knowing that the best time of year is almost here. Knowing that the roadmap from now to March 25 is reading stories about guys in the best shape of their life, listening to Jon Miller and Duane Kuiper as you navigate Sunday afternoon, and building hope that 2026 will live in your mind as another cherished even year.

The next walk I take around 24 Willie Mays Plaza will be with a ticket to get inside. I can’t wait.

Podcast: Kerry and I break down how Harrison Bader and Luis Arraez do (and don’t!) fit on the roster, and what a winning formula looks like for this team.