Listen with your eyes
A's 9, Giants 6
Things I enjoyed from a Wednesday afternoon at the yard:
Watching the most exciting play in baseball. Jung Hoo Lee’s bases-loaded triple sent runners flying, the defense scrambling, and my arm windmilling around like a maniac.
Hearing PA announcer Carolyn McArdle say Lee’s name a little faster than everyone else’s. Just right cadence to begin the JUNG-HOO-LEE chant.
Every single “Let’s go Oakland” chant. The way it ought to be.
Rafael Devers giving Ron Washington a hug before stepping onto the field.
Having a wow-I-could-never-do-that moment as Victor Bericoto uncorked a 94 mph throw to nail Tyler Soderstrom at second. Watching an outfield assist unfold always gets me juiced.
Willy Adames using a broken bat to initiate a sword fight with the A’s batboy, who sprinted onto the field to recover it.
Bericoto crushing a no-doubt home run for the second straight game—hitting it exactly as far (445 feet) and as fast (108.7 mph) as his last one.
A foul ball bouncing off the ivory tower that is the suite level, down into the hands of a young fan who caught it on the fly. Ovation earned.
Listening to the crowd’s anticipation as Adames’s fourth-inning fly ball went from can of corn to over the wall. An Oracle Park afternoon special.
Faintly hearing Dave Flemming and Duane Kuiper call the game from the KNBR booth behind me.
The chatter of season ticket holders who have sat in the same seats for nearly my entire life.
Standing with 33,000 of my closest friends as competing chants rang around the ballpark between A’s and Giants fans. There were two outs in the ninth inning, and that’s where this diary ends.
Up next: The Braves come to town after the Padres swept them out of San Diego. It’ll be Trevor McDonald against Reynaldo Lopez (3-1 3.50 ERA) at 7:15 pm. Welcome back, Mike Yastrzemski. Don’t let the brick wall hit you on the way out, Mauricio Dubon.
