What seats we had at Petco Park for the Dodgers/Padres game Tuesday night. Our host, Dave Winfield, emailed me the day of the game saying he was still in New York for a Yankees game and to have a good time and to please take care of the staff very well. I promise you I did.
We arrived at the ballpark about 5:30 and found our way to guest services where our tickets were waiting. Dave left all four tickets as he was in New York and we had two empty seats in the fourth row behind home plate. When I saw there were extras, I just couldn’t bring myself to give them to somebody I did not know or that may have been a disorderly fan.
We were first escorted into the Sony Dugout Club that is for a grand total of 210 seats and guests. I looked for somebody famous from baseball or the entertainment industry and the only celebrity I recognized was my bride. She is always a star to me. The waiter said the guests are mostly guests of senior management of the Padres but there were a smattering of Dodger fans in the VIP section as well. Maybe it is a common courtesy between teams.
The tickets included a free gourmet dinner and non stop bar service along with “in your seat” baseball fare all included. Great service for the entire game and really friendly staff.
And the seats? Well, where I usually sit, I can barely make out the face of the players, but when we walked in, Joe Torre, the Dodger manager was standing 15 feet in front of me behind the batting cage. When Manny Ramierez was in the on deck circle, I could count the curls in his dreadlocks.
And the fastballs are fast and the curve balls “break ungodly in he show”. (A line from Bull Durham with Kevin Costner…) As an old high school pitcher, I really appreciated the up close view of the stuff these guys throw. I never saw so many “jelly legs” in my life, for those of you that follow the game. The curves balls and off speed stuff really fools these batters.
So our California trip was great fun and now it is back to Hilton Head. A big week ahead as we move on Sunday into our winter place and celebrate my 59 birthday on the same day. And the blog is approaching its second birthday the end of October. Time is really starting to fly!
