Yesterday I attended my first Giants baseball game of the season. It’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot in Oracle Park for baseball-related activities. The last time I was there was for the annual 10K run last, I want to say, September? Coming out of the pandemic, attending baseball games is so far down the list of favored activities that it may as well have disappeared entirely. Of course it doesn’t help the Giants hasn’t been doing well. Who wants to sit in the San Francisco cold for three hours watching a mediocre product? Not a lot of people.
But when your friend is in town from New York City and asks if you’re free at short notice to go to a game, I had to oblige. Besides, this season the league have implemented a pitch clock (and various rule changes to promote a faster game). Basically the pitcher have a limited amount of time to throw the next pitch. The batter likewise have to be ready in the box to receive. Games that used take more than three hours to play the full nine innings have now been finishing in just two and a half. We can now go to an evening game and still get home before 10:00 PM!
And indeed the game last night felt like it went by super quickly. I was actually surprised when the 7th inning stretch arrived. The game that started at 6:45 PM was over well before 9:30 PM. Say what you want about putting a clock on the game without a clock, but on first experience, I quite like the new rules. The game felt natural to watch as it did before. Hitters and pitchers have obviously adjusted to the new speedier pace. Those of us watching can no longer fit in whole conversations in between each pitch.
It was a sparse crowd for a Tuesday evening game against the St. Louis Cardinals. So sparse that they didn’t even bother announcing the attendance figure. That said, heading to the park on 280 northbound is as congested as it ever was once you get near the ballpark. I did the usual and parked near the Hall of Justice (free street parking, naturally), then walked the 10 minutes to Oracle Park on 3rd and King. That part of the Giants baseball experience has not changed in a decade plus.
Still magic inside.