I took a break last week from blogging because I took a trip to San Diego to do some sight-seeing, to take in the warm weather, and to meet the great people of southern California. Oh, and the Yankees were playing the Padres.
That last detail was the main reason I wanted to go to San Diego. I had the Friday, May 24 game at PetCo Park circled on my calendar as soon as Juan Soto got traded from the Padres to the Yankees because I knew the game would be awesome. I had been to one game before with a similar narrative: Opening Day 2023 at Yankee Stadium hosting the San Francisco Giants, Aaron Judge’s hometown team and the team he narrowly signed with during the previous offseason. The vibes were electric for that game and Judge even homered, sending the Bronx into a frenzy. I wanted that same experience at an away stadium. I wanted to see Juan Soto return to San Diego as a visiting player. So, I bought a ticket, booked my flight and hotel, and was all set for my trip to see what would eventually turn into one of the best baseball scenes I’ve ever witnessed.
San Diego itself is a beautiful city and I genuinely enjoyed my four-day stay, but the culmination of the trip was PetCo. Opened in 2004, PetCo Park is my 17th MLB stadium on my eternal quest to hit all 30. I rank it in the top 10, right behind Citizens Bank Park and Globe Life Field. The food selection was great (I’m also a big beer fan and SD has an awesome beer scene, which was very well-represented at the ballpark) and the stadium itself is beautiful. Seeing the Western Metal Supply Co. building down the left field line was as cool as seeing the warehouse in Baltimore or the stands on the tops of buildings outside of Wrigley Field. It’s just a great way of incorporating the city into the stadium architecture. I don’t know why, but I had no recollection of the side of the building acting as the left-field foul pole, which I thought was really inventive. What I also noticed was the diversity of Padres uniforms that were represented among the fans. I guess I never really thought about it, but the Padres have some great throwback uniforms. What I’ve learned is that seeing uniforms in person really changes your perspective on the threads. The Friars have certainly moved up for me in the All-Time Uniform Power Rankings, along with my City Connect Power Rankings, which the Padres donned on the field for their Friday night game.
The game was packed, mostly because it was the Friday night of Memorial Day Weekend, but also because of the opponent, my New York Yankees. The Yanks had plenty of representation in the stands sitting with the Friar Faithful, probably for the same reason that I was there: to see Soto. And Soto we would see, as he would bat second in the usual Yankees lineup, sans a still-injured D.J. LeMahieu. On the mound, Carlos Rodon would face a red-hot Yu Darvish, who was coming into the game with a 25-inning no-run streak. That would end quickly after a first-inning Anthony Volpe triple and a Judge sac fly to make the game 1-0, Bombers. The score would stay that way until the third, when all hell broke loose for Darvish, the Yankees bats, and the New Yorkers in the stands.
The Soto home run was crazy. He crushed a pitch almost at his shoulders for a home run that went deep into the right field seats. I knew it was gone as soon as I saw the arc of the ball. When it landed, tons of Yankees fans got up and started to high-five each other, including me. The “Let’s go Yankees” chants easily drowned out the “Let’s go Padres” chants, which was especially impressive, given the sold-out crowd. Naturally, the Padres fans booed Soto, but they also booed Judge, who I had forgotten almost signed with the Padres at the last second before Hal Steinbrenner offered Judge the ninth year of his contract while the Yankees owner was vacationing in Italy in 2022. And then he homered and the Yankees fans went nuts. And then Alex Verdugo doubled and then Giancarlo Stanton homered, who loves hitting at PetCo. Stanton’s homer went into the Western Metal Supply Co. stands in left, which to me, made it the coolest homer of the bunch, even though the three homers hit in that magical third inning were all home runs in all 30 MLB stadiums. Gleyber Torres added a homer of his own the next inning, Rodon pitched great, and the Yankees won, 8-0.
I continue to see posts on Twitter talking about that third inning. I just can’t believe I was there in-person to see it all unfold, because it was one of the most electric atmospheres I’ve ever been a part of as a baseball fan. But I’ll be in Pittsburgh on July 4th weekend during AnthroCon, and if you know Andrew McCutchen’s relationship with the furry community, then you know I’m in for a show in the Steel City.
Thank you, San Diego, for a trip I will never forget.
Comments