September 1, 2024: Miami Marlins 7, San Francisco Giants 5

September 2, 2024: Oakland Athletics 5, Seattle Mariners 4

Craig said something to me in the fifth or sixth inning of the ballgame that struck a chord. We sat high above the field at the Oakland Coliseum, in our own “private section” of sorts (see: the last row of the barren 300-level). Amongst the foul odor of trash and fading California sunlight, Craig mentioned how lucky he was to have friends all over the country to go to ballgames with. 

Couldn’t agree more, bud. 

In fact, I never anticipated traveling over 42,000 miles on my hockey journey with friends and family joining me every step of the way. I wholly expected to solo travel to at least a few games because nobody would be in their right mind to pay money to travel with me to the likes of Detroit and St Louis and Winnipeg and wherever else. 

It never happened. I always brought a friend along for the ride and the game. Many times, multiple friends too. That camaraderie and company meant the most to me on my hockey tour. And Craig’s seemingly innocent comment proved to me it matters to him on his journey, too. 

You’ve met Craig before on my journey before, of course. My “best good friend”, as Forrest Gump would call him. Dating all the way back to Makefield Elementary School in 1998, we’ve been best friends. He and I have been through it all: Pokemon games, summer vacations down the Jersey Shore, screaming at football games on the TV, even lamenting our lost loved ones at a local pub. Of course, he was also the one to introduce me to hockey in the first place, for which I will forever owe him a debt of gratitude. 

He has always been a loyal friend and supporter of mine, and he joined me in six different cities for hockey games on my Tour de NHL. We had a blast along the way, everywhere from the totem poles of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, to the celebrations with the Blue and Orange Army on Long Island, and the “Hey, you suck!” chants in New Jersey. 

Now it was my turn to have his back, to support him on his own journey. 

As big of a hockey fan as I am, Craig might be a bigger baseball fan. The Yankees are his primary team, and we’ve shared a few games at Yankee Stadiums old and new. And in our native Philadelphia, of course. But this trip was different. A new horizon for him: California’s Bay Area. 

San Francisco and Oakland were Craig’s 19th and 20th baseball stadiums on his lifelong quest to see all 30 Major League ballparks. And we recruited some familiar faces: our friends Sam and Alex, who previously joined us on Episode 28 in Seattle, flew in from Albuquerque to meet us for a fun weekend by the bay!

I had a half day to kill on Saturday before Sam and Alex arrived, so I wandered around the city. I watched cars traverse the winding switchback turns of Lombard Street. I gazed off in the distance at Alcatraz Island on the horizon. Marveled at the beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge’s orange towers contrasting the cloudless blue skies. I enjoyed a pint at the San Francisco Brewing Company and yes, of course, got my fill at the Ghirardelli chocolate factory. 

But then I just sat back for two days and observed. I’d been to San Francisco, but my three friends had not. I sat back and watched them take in all the sights and sounds and smells of this wonderfully charming Pacific city. Everything from the cable car bells to the sea lions barking on Pier 39 to the majestic silence of the redwood trees in Marin County. We enjoyed delectable dinners and delicious drinks, even celebrating Sam’s birthday along the way!

And of course, we attended two very exciting baseball games. Oracle Park in San Francisco was a true gem: a sparkling palace on the edge of San Francisco Bay. Thousands upon thousands of Giants fans dressed in jerseys of black and orange. Great energy in the stadium, tons of wonderful smells from the various food vendors. Boats parked in McCovey Cove in right field, and the best vistas you can find in sports on the horizon. 

Oakland Coliseum was basically just like Oracle Park, but under the guise of that “Opposite Day” episode of SpongeBob where SpongeBob and Patrick do the opposite of everything. It was barren, desolate, and depressing. Craig said it quite plainly of Oakland:

“This is so sad!”

I shan’t bore you with the minutiae of the baseball; that’s not the point. The Giants lost, but the A’s won on a walk-off home run. A fitting end to both our trip, and the Coliseum itself. The A’s are leaving Oakland for Sacramento in 2025, then onto Vegas a few years down the road. 

I think my point is this: friendship is one of the greatest gifts we could be blessed with. Friends bring out the best in each other: laughter, generosity, adventure. Sam and Alex and Craig and I had all that and more in California. We had our spirited NFL debates, our carpool singalongs, our free Cracker Jacks thanks to the discombobulated vendors at the Coliseum. 

How lucky are we to have great friends to share these experiences with? I hope you too can share in a fun, new adventure with your friends. Go someplace new. Go try some new restaurant in town. Or walk through a park you’ve never been through. Maybe even catch a ballgame!

I found myself thinking quite a bit high atop the Oakland Coliseum during the A’s game. Go figure, it turns out that sitting in self-imposed isolation in the 300 level watching baseball affords you ample thinking time. 

Craig attended his 19th and 20th games on his stadium journey on back-to-back days under the sunny skies of California. Just like I did in Anaheim and Los Angeles four years prior. 

Craig attended a game at one of his top-3 ballparks on the first day, followed by one of his bottom-3 ballparks the following day. Just like I did in Vegas and Arizona. 

Sam and Alex and Craig got to experience the many wonders of San Francisco for the first time. Just like I did so many years ago. 

And like all those friends who joined me on my Tour de NHL journey, I walked alongside my best friend on a few chapters of his baseball journey. And I watched him take in the baseball and the views and the concessions stands and take all sorts of pictures and rave about his day at the ballpark. I watched Craig take two giant (ha, get it? Giant? Like the San Francisco Giants???) steps toward accomplishing his baseball dream. 

The whole weekend was a wonderful, and yes, hilly, walk through someone else’s shoes. 

Oracle Park (San Francisco): A+ 

Oakland Coliseum (Oakland): “Not good enough, F-minus minus”