Welcome to Third and King

Easy on the wallet

2008-06-16T05:10:07Z

Just a quick reminder of a couple of ticket specials this week:

For Monday night's game, the K-Zone Offer gets you $10 off selected bleacher and view reserved tickets, thanks to the 10 strikeouts that Monday night starter Tim Lincecum and Tyler Walker racked up in Lincecum's last start. Use code GIANTSK when buying tickets online.

On Tuesday, get $11 bleacher and view reserved tickets thanks to NBC11. Use code NBC when buying tickets. The first 20,000 fans get the fourth in the Gamer poster series. This one is my personal favorite: Bengie Molina, who "stands in front of freight trains."
One final note for Tuesday: It's also Singles Night II, so if you think the perfect date would be a fellow Giants fan (and who wouldn't?), this event's for you.

Overnight sensation

2008-06-16T04:11:15Z

After the Giants wrap up their homestand Wednesday vs. the Tigers, it'll be time for an annual tradition that's one of the most special experiences the Giants offer to fans: the AT&T Park Slumber Party.

I attended the first three Slumber Parties (this year will be the sixth time they've held it), and it's hard to describe just how special the night is. While I get to go onto the field at AT&T Park on a regular basis, many fans dream about getting to just set foot on it once. At the Slumber Party, you get to spend the entire night there, and it's pretty surreal.

The Giants also make it a very entertaining night all around, especially for families. The warning track is ringed with all kinds of games, from air hockey to Playstations to speed pitch, and in recent years, AT&T has set up a WiFi tent for fans to surf the Internet and send e-mail. Some fans even bring their own laptops to take advantage of the ballpark's free wireless access; I did a live blog from the Slumber Party several years ago. Fans obviously enjoy the chance just to play catch and walk around barefoot on the lush lawn that the big leaguers tread upon. I still get a kick thinking of the two women who were thrilled to find the shells of Barry Bonds' sunflower seeds in left field.

There's plenty of food, all of the party variety (pizza, ice cream, popcorn), and a lot of fans get a kick out of eating dinner in the dugout. A couple of movies are usually shown on the ballpark's video board, even nicer since it was replaced with a giant HD screen two years ago. In the past, they've also given away mattresses, with the lucky winners getting to sleep upon their prize that very night.

The wakeup call comes early at the ballpark, but I recommend getting up even before that to catch the sun rising over the East Bay hills. It's a spectacular sight as it rises over the Coke bottle in left, before a nice buffet breakfast and the delivery of photos taken at home plate the night before (the Giants' amazing publications department stays up all night printing them). Fans leave with a cool goodie bag of Slumber Party favors.

This year, a great added bonus is an autograph session with Tim Lincecum and Brian Wilson. That alone could be worth the price, as Lincecum is an All-Star candidate this year and Wilson is leading the league in saves.

I'd call the Slumber Party a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but there are folks who have returned year after year since the inaugural event in 2003. It's not too late to sign up and see for yourself what a treat this night is.

Battle of the Bay resumes

2008-06-12T07:54:56Z

As if the annual Bay Bridge Series weren't enough reason to come to the ballpark this weekend ...

The series vs. the A's kicks off on Orange Friday with Barry Zito facing his former team, and it's also '80s Night, with the first 20,000 fans receiving a retro '80s-style jersey T-shirt.

Based on the clues on the 50th Anniversary page, I can say without a doubt that the Forever Giants Fridays guest will be beloved third baseman Matt Williams. He'll also be at the ballpark on Saturday for the first of the three big 50th Anniversary reunions, this one for Giants infielders from the past 50 years. Some of the others scheduled to attend (subject to change, of course):

Joe Amalfitano, Dave Bergman, Ernie Bowman, Ed Bressoud, Orlando Cepeda, Jim Davenport, Shawon Dunston, Darrell Evans, Tito Fuentes, David Green, Ron Hunt, Duane Kuiper, Johnnie LeMaster, Greg Litton, Bill Madlock, Willie McCovey, Willie Montanez, Rich Murray, John Patterson, Marty Perez, Mike Phillips, Ken Reitz, Steve Scarsone, J.T. Snow, Daryl Spencer, Joe Strain, Derrel Thomas and Scot Thompson.

Before Saturday's game, the A's and Giants wives will face off in their annual softball game, always an entertaining event. And the first 20,000 fans will get a neat 50th Anniversary bandana.

Sunday's giveaway is a good-looking Giants water bottle, in honor of CHW's annual Make Time for Fitness Day. One of the many cool things about AT&T Park is that there's an official CHW walking course there. It's a good workout in a beautiful setting, so there's another good reason to get to the park early.

Luck of the Irish

2008-06-02T22:53:40Z

Tonight's the first of two Irish Nights at AT&T Park, and fans with special tickets will receive Irish-themed Giants T-shirts and sit in the Irish Night section.

Even without the special ticket, fans in attendance will get to enjoy Irish-themed pregame and in-game entertainment. There will be another Irish Night, this one with a commemorative cap for those who purchase special tickets, on Aug. 19, kicking off another Heritage Week.

The first 20,000 fans in attendance tonight will receive the third in the "Gamer" poster series, this one featuring Tim Lincecum.

For Tuesday's game, by the way, there's another ticketing promotion: Courtesy of Giants broadcasting partner NBC11, view reserved and bleacher seats are only $11. Enter code NBC when purchasing tickets.

I just noticed a new promotion on the schedule for Wednesday: Planet Green Presents: Get Your Green On! Fans who wear green to the game will have a chance to win prizes, and the first 1,000 fans who show proof they took public transit to the game get a reusable fabric grocery bag.

Cheap seats

2008-05-29T08:35:05Z

It's almost time for the Giants to return to AT&T Park, and they're giving you no excuse to miss the action this weekend vs. the Padres. On Friday, when Matt Cain opposes Greg Maddux for what seems like the one billionth time, fans can get $13 off selected tickets (use the code OMAR when ordering online) as part of the Giants' night of honoring Omar Vizquel for breaking Luis Aparicio's record for most games played at shortstop.

Aparicio himself will be in attendance for the pregame ceremony honoring his fellow Venezuelan. And because it's also Until There's a Cure Night, there will be postgame fireworks. It's also Orange Friday, so dress appropriately.

More discounts come Sunday, when Tim Lincecum pitches. The Giants K Zone Offer takes $9 off selected tickets, since Lincecum, Tyler Walker and Brian Wilson combined to strike out nine batters Tuesday. Use code GIANTSK when ordering online. Fans attending Sunday's game not only get to see Lincecum pitch, the first 20,000 receive a good-looking 50th Anniversary cap.

In between, on Saturday, we get the interesting (but unrelated) combination of Marine Mammal Day (a Lou Seal favorite) and LDS Day. The first 5,000 fans who donate $5 to the Marine Mammal Center on Saturday will receive a commemorative pin.

Meet Goose

2008-05-16T02:53:03Z

Goose Gossage, who'll be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July, will be at AT&T Park on Friday as part of AutoTrader.com's "Drive to a New Start" tour to benefit the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program and other youth outreach programs.

Gossage will host a clinic for 20 Junior Giants players in the afternoon, then he'll be in Willie Mays Plaza with the AutoTrader.com 2008 Chevy Tahoe, on which they're collecting baseball celebrity signatures. Each signature means a $1,000 donation to Junior Giants, up to $75,000. The vehicle, with all the signatures collected on the tour, will later be auctioned off and the proceeds divided among RBI and youth programs in each city on the tour.

Fittingly, two of the teams for whom Gossage played are the Giants and White Sox, who meet up to begin Interleague Play on Friday night.

Another night of celebration

2008-05-15T03:35:15Z

The first Filipino Heritage Night at AT&T Park was definitely a success, with over 4,000 tickets sold, one of the largest numbers for a heritage event at the ballpark. The Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble provided pregame entertainment, and it was pretty impressive, as many of the cultural entertainment groups are. Here's a short clip of their performance; the music you hear is from a full on-field orchestra.

Coming Friday: Japanese Heritage Night, featuring Masanori Murakami bobbleheads for those who purchased the special Heritage Night ticket package. And here's a little Welcome to Third and King scoop for you: "Mashi," the first Japanese player in the Majors, will be here in person as the Forever Giants Fridays special guest, signing autographs near the home bullpen from 5:45-6:15. He's also featured on the season ticket for Friday's game. By the way, the photo to the left of Murakami enjoying his first hot dog is displayed on the Club Level of the ballpark.

Take Aaron home

2008-05-13T07:33:57Z

Time for more home decorating Tuesday, when the giveaway to the first 20,000 fans will be the second in the "Gamer" poster series, this one featuring Aaron Rowand.
Special note for Thursday: After the 12:45 game vs. the Astros, the annual San Francisco Unified School District's AAA High School Championship Game will be held at AT&T Park, pitting defending champion Lowell High School against George Washington High. Admission is free, and fans already at the Giants game are encouraged to stay to watch and cheer for these young athletes getting to play in a Major League ballpark.

League of nations

2008-05-11T21:01:54Z

Monday kicks off Asian Heritage Week at AT&T Park, with four nights devoted to celebrating different Asian cultures. Fans who buy special tickets sit in the heritage night seating section and receive a special Giants-themed gift available only to those with the special tickets.

Monday: Chinese Heritage Night (cap)
Tuesday: Korean Heritage Night (T-shirt)
Wednesday: Filipino Heritage Night (T-shirt)
Friday: Japanese Heritage Night (Masanori Murakami bobblehead, in honor of the former Giants pitcher who was the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues)

Even if you don't have tickets for the special seating section or commemorative gift, each night will include pregame and in-game cultural entertainment. Check out a couple of videos, one from last Friday's Mexican Heritage Night, featuring the Xiuhcoatl Aztec Dancers, and one of a lion dance troupe from last year's Chinese Heritage Night.

Think pink

2008-05-11T02:08:30Z

Boy, Saturday was quite an exciting day at AT&T Park, starting with the Junior Giants Glove Drive (photos to come soon), Aaron Rowand receiving his 2007 Gold Glove Award, Tim Lincecum's dazzling performance and the season debut of Omar Vizquel.

Sunday will also be a great day at the yard as the Giants and Major League Baseball mark Mother's Day with efforts to help fight breast cancer.

As part of Genentech Strike Out Cancer Day, the first 20,000 fans will receive special pink Giants caps, and as part of MLB's "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" program in association with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, players will wear pink wristbands, titanium necklaces and ribbons, pink logos will appear on bases and home plate, pink lineup cards will be in the dugout and players will use pink bats that will later be autographed and auctioned, along with the special home plates, on MLB.com to raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Badge of honor

2008-05-09T21:48:43Z

In case you need another good last-minute reason to attend tonight's game (assuming the K Zone offer for $5 off select tickets hadn't already enticed you), it's Commemorative Croix de Candlestick Night on this Orange Friday.

In 1983, the Giants launched a promotion to celebrate those hardy souls who stuck it out for an extra-innings night game at Candlestick Park, awarding a Croix de Candlestick pin. You can tell the true diehards from the Candlestick days by the rows of orange pins circling their caps. Tonight's pin is a black version, but it still boasts the motto from the original pin: Veni Vidi Vixi ("I came, I saw, I lived").

Almost forgot: It's also Forever Giants Friday, and tonight's special guest, who'll be signing autographs down the third-base line before the game, is shortstop Johnnie LeMaster. Here's a shot from the last Forever Giants Friday, with Robb Nen.

Catching up

2008-05-07T05:28:10Z

The end of the last homestand included a couple of pregame events at the ballpark that were pretty inspiring for kids (and adults): BAWSI Night and Little League Day.

The Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative held its first ballpark event on Saturday night, inviting a panel of distinguished female athletes to speak and sign autographs. These are women who have had to fight for their place in the sports world, from Anne Cribbs speaking about how after winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, she had to stop swimming because her college had no program for women, to Sharon Kelleher talking about getting involved in wheelchair sports after a car accident left her paralyzed.

Each of the women shared uplifting and challenging moments from their lives, as well as words of advice for the girls in the audience -- BAWSI ("bossy") girls. More photos from the event are at the bottom of this entry.

On Sunday, bright and early, a huge number of Little Leaguers descended on the ballpark for a pregame presentation by Mike Krukow, J.T. Snow, Brian Wilson, Matt Cain, Aaron Rowand and others. They also got to parade around the field before the game.

Snow talked about challenging moments in his baseball life, coaching his son's Little League team and his famous grab of Darren Baker in the 2002 World Series, among other topics, while Wilson got a laugh when he was asked how many homers he'd given up (he declined to answer).

More photos from BAWSI Night (apologies for the clumsy format -- we still don't have gallery capability on the new blogs):

Meet your match

2008-04-29T02:39:14Z

On Tuesday, the Giants will host the first of three Singles Nights at AT&T Park. Folks, these things work -- the number of couples to result from previous Singles Nights is impressive, including several marriages. What could be better than finding a fellow Giants fan as the love of your life?

Purchase of a special ticket gets you admission to the pregame party in the plaza behind the scoreboard, a seat in the Singles Night section and one complimentary alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage. Tickets are sold in equal numbers for men and women, so it'll be a diverse group.

Girls rule

2008-04-25T07:47:11Z

On Saturday, the Giants will host BAWSI Night, honoring Bay Area women athletes and encouraging girls and women to pursue their goals. With the purchase of a special ticket for the Reds-Giants game, fans can attend a pregame Q&A session led by soccer star Brandi Chastain, one of the co-founders of the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative.

The panel participants will be honored in a pregame ceremony at 5:30 and then will greet fans and sign autographs at the Community Clubhouse during the first two innings of the game.

Here's who's scheduled to be there:

Monica Abbott and Vicky Galindo, USA Softball members
Dawn Riley, captain of the first all-female ship in the America's Cup
Susan Armenta, U.S. women's record holder in racewalking
Sissi, Brazilian soccer star and 1999 World Cup Golden Boot winner
Sharon Kelleher, former top ranked women's paraplegic tennis player
Chelsea Spencer, National Pro Fastpitch and University of California Berkeley alumna

Orange is in

2008-04-25T01:14:51Z

The Giants return home Friday for a six-game homestand against the Reds and Rockies at AT&T Park. Friday's opener features not only the return of Dusty Baker but it's also Orange Friday and Retro Cap Night, with the first 20,000 fans getting a replica of the famous orange-billed cap worn by the Giants in the '80s.

It's also the second Forever Giants Friday, with a special Giants alumni guest slated to visit the ballpark. Whoever it is will be signing autographs near the left-field bullpen mound from 5:45-6:15 p.m. for the first 100 fans. To find out who it is, listen to Murph and Mac on KNBR 680 at 8 a.m. Friday.

The first Forever Giants Friday featured Darrell Evans, the slugging infielder who played for the Giants from 1976 to 1983. Coincidentally, he was the player featured on that game's season ticket (this year's season ticket booklet features a different Giants alum or broadcaster on each ticket). And an AT&T Park usher pointed out it was also the 28th anniversary, to the day, of the game where Evans committed three errors in one inning to tie a National League record.