The Great Major League Baseball Trip 2000

Game 01 | Astros, 4 — Giants, 7 | June 16

Day 1 Brief
The first game of our trip ran fairly smoothly. We arrived at the ballpark at about 2 p.m. on Friday. After the game we uploaded this page and some of these pictures via a wireless internet connection.

Ballpark Summary
For the 2000 baseball season, the Giants have found a brand new home, and it couldn’t be in a more exemplar location for San Francisco. Pacific Bell Park is located just south of the Bay Bridge, and not 20 ft. from the bay. The simplicity of the red bricks and exoskeleton of green I-beams balances out the ultra-gourmet restaurants and luxury boxes of the Park. Its relatively small footprint adds to the old school, square city block ballparks of the east.

Ballpark Perks
Three words: scenery, scenery, scenery. The 3rd baseline seats have an amazing view out over the bay towards Oakland. Those seated on the 1st baseline are treated to a panorama of the SF skyline and the immense span of the Bay Bridge. We walked 15 min. to the Gordon Biersch (shown above) to prepare, passing bars and burger joints along the way. If you go to a Giants game, you’ve got to get the Gilroy Garlic Fries, and also notice the pitch count scoreboard that even tracks ball and strike totals – a nice touch for the technically inclined.

Mike: 7
Tim: 6