Baseball Is On The Radio!

It's that time of year again!  The first radio broadcast of a spring training game.  The familiar voice of the long time announcers are music to the ears.  I'm glad that this will last all the way through October.  Sonic therapy.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

Okay, it's old news by now, but that's what I blog about when I get busy.  For the other 29 teams, pitchers and catchers reported this last week.  Not for my team.  No.  World Series Champion pitchers and catchers reported.  A huge banner reminding them of this was hung in Scottsdale, AZ.  Of course, this means beards, shoe polish, peach fuzz 'staches and pony tails.  Go Giants!

It's Almost February

February means pitchers and catchers reporting.  It's a short winter when you win the World Series.  So I'm not itching to get the 2011 season going.  I'm fine to remember over and over what the Giants did last year.  The title of "reigning world champs" can be allowed to hold still for a longer period of time for all I'm concerned.  Still, time will march on.  Before we know it, it will be 20 years from now and I will look back on now as something grand.

Twenty years ago I used to wonder what it would be like 20 years from then.  Now I know, but, what will it be like 20 years from now knowing the Giants won 20 years ago?  I hope there are many more trophies between now and then.  A dynasty would be most welcome.  It's about time for one.

Giants Baseball Is On The Air!

At 12:05pm today, the first radio game of the year came on the air. Dave Flemming announced the starting lineups in a hurry and turned it over to Jon Miller for the first pitch. Music!

Pitchers And Catchers Mean...

Pitchers and catchers report today. And of course this means...baseball on the radio will soon be here!

Baseball On The Radio!

Today is a wonderful day on the calendar. It was the first game of the cactus league season for the Giants (spring training) and the first game broadcast on the radio. After an entire winter of silence, simply hearing a baseball game on the radio is the best music I can think of. I am a fan, and an avid fan at that.

But, my fandom does not mean that I hang on every pitch of a game and ignore all else. For me, listening to games on the radio is a daily event during baseball season, but I enjoy it at least as much as background music as I do paying attention to every pitch. It is soothing to the soul and easy upon the mind. That we are completely spoiled here in the Bay Area with wonderful announcers that communicate the game so beautifully makes me want to live here forever.

Happy New Year Means Pitchers and Catchers Report Next Month

Yes, we're just a few minutes into January, but that means pitchers and catchers report next month. That first radio broadcast does wonders for the mind, even if it is a meaningless practice between players who only play a few innings. Just the sound of the announcers makes merry. Doing wind sprints on the warning track has its place in life, just like the tiny buds on the ends of branches.

Countdown To Spring Training

Oh, I don't know. It's at about two months or so. Some blogs have timers that countdown to the second.

Baseball On The Radio!

Today marks the first radio broadcast of Giants baseball from spring training. One of the greatest joys of winter is listening to the first game. Oh, what a day. Can't wait!

Bay Bridge Series

This weekend marks what we here in the San Francisco Bay Area call "the Bay Bridge Series." The A's and Giants play each other the last few games of spring training, but here in the Bay Area, in each ballpark. This is a tradition that has lasted since 1982, and has its roots in the 1981 players strike.

In '81, when the strike was ended in mid-summer, a date was set for resuming the schedule. With quite a bit of fan dissatisfaction, the A's and Giants decided to play a pair of exhibition games against each other just prior to the season resuming, one game in each park. This was designed to get the fans back into baseball, and to offer some real game practice to the players. It was so successful that they decided to do this the weekend prior to the '82 season. It also formed a new kind of rivalry because interleague play had not entered the scene yet.

The series took the form of two games, one in each park. But unless there was a sweep, a series tie could result. So they introduced a post-game homerun derby in case of tie. Later on, sometime in the 90's I think, the series was extended to three games to guarantee a series winner. Each year the teams alternated in hosting two of the three games. The series remained a success, was drummed up in the media, and the fans enjoyed it. Some couldn't take sides because they liked both teams and created two-way hats with both logos, and the like. It was a tailgate party's paradise. It could be fun for fans of both teams, because prior to interleague play, the teams never played each other when it really counted, and playing each other in the World Series was not even thinkable. (Then 1989 happened!)

Then in '97, the series fell in importance. This was because of the introduction of interleague play, with the two teams being among the "special" metro area rivals each year, playing each other in real games. One complete three-game series would be held in each park each year, regardless of rotating divisional matchups from year to year. Bragging rights meant something different. The pre-season version of the series also suffered a few other setbacks on occasion. The Giants, acting arrogantly toward their cross-bay rivals upped and scheduled games against other teams one year ('96 I think), leaving the A's hanging. The year 2000 also brought the opening of the Giants new ballpark, PacBell Park, as the villain. The Giants scheduled games against the Brewers and Yankees to christen their new yard, leaving only one game against the A's, if I remember correctly.

This decade, the series still exists, but with two games in SF and only one in Oakland. The Giants have taken advantage of their new ballpark's favor among all fans in scheduling three home exhibition games each spring end, two against the A's. Attendance is almost guaranteed to be greater in SF, so more ticket revenue is in view. Last night, the teams played to a 2-2 tie in 10 innings before quitting (spring training doesn't allow taxing of players when it doesn't count) and at the time of this writing, they had a 4-4 tie in the 5th. Tomorrow's game is in Oakland. I don't care who wins, as it is only exhibition, but it can still be fun.

Exhibition Coersion

As a full season ticket holder, I am required to buy the three exhibition (okay, well, spring training) games the Giants play in San Fran the weekend before opening day as part of the ticket package. They're full price, too. Many teams return home just before the season to play rivals or interesting matchups in the last few games before things count.

The Giants have a 10 year tradition of playing one home game vs. rotating opponents, then two games vs. the A's in SF, then one last game in Oakland. Tonight's game was vs. Seattle. Often, this team is the A's opening day opponent if the A's open at home. They're already in the Bay Area, so travel is minimized.

But the thing that sucks about this is that we can't get rid of these tickets to save our lives. We can't sell them. Nobody wants them. Tonight, there were about 5000 people actually there. Yet we pay full regular season ticket prices to watch pitchers jog on the warning track.

Ugly St. Patty's Day Uniforms

We're watching the Cubs/Padres game on WGN, and each team is wearing kelly green hats for St. Patrick's Day. But the rest of the uniform is the usual, so it looks stupid. I like the old Cincinnati Reds uni's where every piece of red was changed to green.

I'm So Happy I Could ______

The Giants are on the radio, and it's the first inning right now. I'm so excited I can hardly think. Dave Roberts led off the top of the 1st with a hit, and he scored later in the inning. The Giants are going to win the World Series, I can just feel it. Next update.... bottom of the 1st.

Pitchers and Catchers Reporting

A newspaper spread on the A's and Giants gave each team's roster, with a few stories, and their Spring Training schedule. Pichers and catchers report for the Giants on Wednesday and A's on Friday.

Wahoo!

Baseball Is Back!

For me, the return of baseball each year is not marked by pitchers and catchers stretching out their muscles, by intra-squad games, by the first scheduled spring training game, by the first televised game, or even by the World Baseball Classic. It is marked by the first time I hear a game broadcast on the radio. This is simply the sound of baseball. This last weekend, baseball returned.