5 DAYS – 5 STADIUMS – 5 BASEBALL GAMES 5

DAY 5

The final day of my baseball tour is a Monday, taking me to the Oakland Coliseum for a game versus the Angels. Since it’s a night game, it leaves me free to explore San Francisco for the day. Not a bad way to spend a Monday, although I’m kind of doing it on the cheap. It’s not that I’m trying to save money. San Francisco is built around tourism. If you want to spend a lot of money in San Francisco head down to the waterfront; Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Boudin’s Bakery, et al. That is precisely where I was headed but I’ve been to San Francisco so many times I have kinda done everything a tourist can do there. Most of it twice.

As mentioned in my last blog, San Francisco has some of the best food on the planet. I really look forward to eating crab at Fisherman’s Wharf, exploring Chinatown, or walking along Columbus Avenue checking out some of the great Italian restaurants. I was only going to be there for two days, so I had to choose wisely. Oh, to be 24 again and able to eat anything I wanted and as much of it as I could. After enjoying an Impossible burger at Oracle Park (much more than I really expected to), I had been good about reining it in and not eating a lot of junk. But, I had been in the mood for a Chinese dinner since Friday and that gave me the freedom to take the short walk from my motel to Chinatown. There I found the Y & Z Restaurant where I enjoyed an excellent dinner of won ton soup, Kung Pao chicken, and fried rice. While the food was very good the service tended to be a bit slow. I chalked that up to the restaurant being one of the few that was open late on a Sunday evening and business was very brisk. The food was worth the wait and it’s not like I had to be anywhere.

I was looking forward to Monday morning. The game between the A’s and the Angels wasn’t scheduled to start until 6:40 PM. That allowed me the luxury of sleeping in before catching an Uber to Fisherman’s Wharf. I was hoping to grab an early lunch at Alioto’s, one of my favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I discovered Alioto’s was no longer in business, having closed its doors for good in April after 97 years in business. Also closed was Tarantino’s restaurant after 76 years in business, Castagnola’s after 106years in business, and Pompei’s Grotto after 76 years. All victims of COVID I suspect. It was disappointing to see all these great restaurants closed after having served the community for so many years. I know that, in the case of Alioto’s, they owed something in the neighborhood of $750,000 in back rent. I’m sure the stories were much the same for the other locations. I understand that the owners of the property are in business to make a profit. I don’t claim to know what else may be going on behind the scenes, but these are all well-established restaurants with long histories and are a major draw to Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s not like the property owners are going to be able to rent these buildings out to someone else in the middle of a pandemic either. You would think the landlords would try to work something out with the tenants in their own best interests, especially now that the tourists are starting to return. Although, I also heard tourism is way down in San Francisco. Mostly as a result of the problems the city is facing; homelessness, the trash (which is really bad), and other issues. Right now San Francisco is a bit of a mess and I’m not sure it will ever be the city it once was. Still, change is inevitable, and there are other dining choices at Fisherman’s Wharf. Just not as many. In the end, I ate lunch at the Crab Station. If you can’t get crab at a place with a name like that then I give up. And the crab was very good.

From the wharf I crossed the street and ducked into Boudin’s Bakery, another San Francisco staple. And one that was, thankfully, still in business. They have ONLY been around since 1849 and claim to bake their famous sourdough bread daily, using the same mother dough cultivated from a gold miners sourdough starter. All I know is they have great sandwiches, and their sourdough bread is out of this world. I would usually buy some to take home, but I really didn’t want to lug a loaf of bread around for I don’t know how long. As I sit here writing this, I am really regretting not having bought some to take home.

Next stop was pier 39, another great place to spend a lot of money. Somehow, I managed to resist the temptation, although I did break down and buy an ice cream at Dryers Grand Ice Cream. Hey, I’m only human. That got my sweet tooth going and I decided to take a walk over to Ghiradelli Square. Although the square is not strictly devoted to chocolate, there are plenty of places there that will gladly add a few inches to my waistline while emptying my pocketbook. This was the home of the original Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory, but it was repurposed to accommodate shops and restaurants, not unlike pier 39. Let’s face it, I know all the touristy areas in San Francisco. Ghiradelli Square was also one of the first buildings in the country to repurpose itself in this manner. The good news for my wallet was I never actually made it to the Square. About halfway I came to the end-of-the-line turn around for the Powell Street cable car. That would take me to within a quarter mile of my motel and I decided I should probably head back and get ready for the game.

One of the great things I have always enjoed about the Bay Area, it is exceptionally easy to get around. Between the BART, which stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit, cable cars, and buses I’ve never had a problem. Even if I wanted to go way out to Haight Ashbury and Golden Gate Park it’s an easy bus ride. I read an article written by a so called “Travel Guru” who said he hated San Francisco and the poor public transit system. He whined that he could never get around the city. Obviously, he has never spent any time in San Francisco. When I went to the game at Oracle Park, it was a little over a mile walk and, with three hours to kill, I was able to take my time. I took an Uber down to Fisherman’s Wharf the following morning simply because I hadn’t realized that the Powell Street Cable Car Station was so close. The cable cars are a little expensive at $8 each way, but still cheaper than Uber. And you can buy a multi-day pass. The first time I went to San Francisco, in 1979, the cost of the cable car was two bits. That’s $0.25 in old person speak. When I went to the game in Oakland, I walked to the Powell Street BART station, 10 minutes. From there I bought a ticket to the Oakland Coliseum. You must buy a card to use with the system. That cost $3, and you can reload this as often as you want. Another $9.30 to take the train round trip under the Bay, which is very cool, and it dropped me off across the street from the Coliseum parking lot. Ten minutes to get my card and walk to the platform. A fifteen-minute wait for the train. And another 15 minutes to the Colosseum. Altogether I got from my hotel to the Colosseum in less than an hour at a cost of $9.30.

I had been to the Oakland Coliseum once before, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect, and I was not particularly looking forward to it. The stadium is the 5th oldest in Major League Baseball and the third oldest in California. I have been to the other four stadiums; Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Unlike those four, the Coliseum looks like the 5th oldest stadium in the major leagues. I remember thinking it felt like walking into a prison. I have to say, upon my second visit, not much has changed. From the BART station, I ascended a concrete causeway that took me over the highway, dropping me off in front of the Coliseum. The causeway is surrounded by a high chain link fence. I’m not sure if they’re trying to keep me in or the bad people out. It passes over some industrial shipping area with a slow flowing stream meandering along the far edge. A concrete wall facing the stream is cluttered with graffiti. The stadium is surrounded by a large parking lot, much like Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium. Having arrived by BART, I’m not sure how much parking cost or how difficult/easy it is to get in and out. Nor am I aware of what the surrounding neighborhood may provide in the way of after-game “fun”. Judging by the neighborhood I don’t expect much.

But it was here that I was in for my first surprise. I exited the causeway and found myself standing before the gaping maw of the Oakland Coliseum. I knew my seats were behind home plate, slightly on the first base side but, from this perspective, I had no idea where that was nor where I was in relation to the playing field. I must have appeared lost because suddenly a woman in an electric golf cart pulled up in front of me. “What are you looking for sweetie,” she asked politely? I showed her the electronic ticket pictured on my phone. She glanced at it and said “Oh, this is clear on the other side of the stadium! Hop on.” she then drove me completely around to the other side of the stadium. A trip that included what would have been an arduous climb up a steep hill. Dropping me off in front of the entrance she said “When the game is over, if you need a ride back to the causeway, just look for one of these golf carts and flag us down. We’ll be glad to take you back.” When I attended games at Wrigley and Coors Field earlier this season, I compared those two stadiums. One of the things I compared was the friendliness and courtesy of the staff. I decided not to do that here simply because it’s a given that these people are trained in guest service. Of course they are going to be friendly and courteous and I should expect any interaction with them to always be excellent in any stadium I might visit. So, unless I had a truly horrible encounter, there’s really no point talking about it. Or, as in this case, finding someone that I felt went above and beyond to help me out. And it got better later.

When I arrived, it was about 30 minutes before game time yet I still managed to get inside very quickly as there was almost no line. Of course, the fact that the stadium was less than one quarter full may have had something to do with that. It’s what happens when you lose 102 games and have the worst record in the American League. The fans kind of lose interest. After trading or letting their best players go in free agency the A’s were rebuilding…yet again. One thing about the A’s, though, is they tend to go through these frequent rebuilding periods rather quickly. Much more quickly than most teams. It seems like they build a team into a contender then, because they can’t afford to keep these young, mostly home grown stars, being in a small market and all, they let them go and start all over. It is a process they have refined and seem to have gotten rather good at. After picking up my obligatory Oakland A’s baseball cap and T-shirt, I went in search of a hot dog vendor. I had eaten a healthy diet the past couple of days and, in the immortal words of Joey Chestnut, one hot dog isn’t going to kill me. If my cardiologist or dietition is reading this, I skipped the nachos. The Coliseum hadn’t changed much since my last visit, a dozen or so years ago. More is the pity. It still feels like walking into a prison. The architect must have had a thing for chain link fencing because it is everywhere. Somehow the Coliseum just does not feel clean, unlike the two older stadiums in Los Angeles. I would say it needs a major facelift, except it’s not even a true baseball stadium. It was built in 1966 and the original tenants were the Oakland Raiders, and they don’t even play there anymore. The A’s moved there from Philadelphia in 1968 so it is more of a football stadium than a baseball stadium. They don’t even have a true bullpen as the pitchers have to warm up on the sidelines adjacent to the right field and left field foul lines. If there is a line drive down that way they better duck. No, they really should bulldoze it to the ground and build a new baseball only stadium, which is in vogue these days. A better location wouldn’t be a bad idea either. I’m not very familiar with Oakland and have not heard a lot of good, so I don’t know if there is such a thing as a ”better” location.

I did have some great seats though. Section 116, row 14, seats 3 and 4. That put me on the first base side right behind the visitors on deck circle, just to the right of home plate. I was actually seated in the 2nd row back from the rail as the first 12 rows were devoted to the diamond seats which are located directly behind home plate. The good news is they were slightly lower than our level, so I had a clear view, as opposed to a similar situation at Dodger Stadium where I had to peer through the people in front of me. As I said before, a big part of the experience is interacting with the fans, and these fans made my visit to the Coliseum a lot of fun. The young man who purchased my ticket on StubHub was a Japanese boy of about 12 or 14. He didn’t speak much English but was obviously there to support Shohei Ohtani. The man comes with his own traveling fan base. Now the three Japanese gals seated directly in front of me were also part of that fan club. I think the shirts they wore that had his picture plastered all over them were a dead giveaway. That and the fact that, every time he stood in the on deck circle, they called out to him. We were so close I’m sure he could hear every word. The gal next to them was, like me, attending the game solo. She was another Angels fan. In fact, there were probably more Angels fans at the game than A’s fans. She was a member of the Alaskan chapter of the Hell’s Angels, of all things. No relation to the Los Angeles Angels, but it explains her Angels alligence. She was in the Bay Area for a funeral and had had a fight with her boyfriend, who then headed back to Alaska while she decided to take in the game. She did everything except invite me back to her hotel room but I wanted no part of messing with the girl friend of a Hell’s Angel. But, when she wasn’t hitting on me, we had a lot of fun talking about the Angels and their history.

It was about the third inning when I got my second big surprise of the night. I had promised to limit myself to just one hot dog and no nachos. I was still hungry so I decided to go up and get some popcorn. It’s a good snack as it doesn’t have a lot of sugar or calories, just as long as I don’t have too much salt and butter on it. While I was at the concession stand, which was mostly empty, I asked the lady behind the counter if they gave refills on the sodas. The problem with the Coliseum, like Dodger Stadium, is they only offer one size soda, and it comes in a souvenir cup, whether you want the cup or not. I did not! And I certainly did not want a second souvenir cup. She replied that she was sorry but no, they don’t do refills. That was okay, the cup had a lot of ice, and I could work on that over the course of the game. After she had taken my money and given me my popcorn, she gave me a sly look and winked. She then took my cup, filled it, and handed it back to me with a big smile. Once again, the staff had gone above and beyond. The Coliseum may have a lot of detractions but customer service is not one of them. Had I been ranking staff courtesy and overall helpfulness, Oakland would have been number one by far.

The game was a lot of fun too. Being surrounded by fans who were into it obviously helps. I think these Angels fans here were better and more vociferous than the fans I encountered at Angel Stadium on Saturday. The Angels took an early 4-0 lead after five innings, only to see that lead evaporate when the bullpen (what did I say about their bullpen?) imploded, giving up two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth. The final nail in the coffin came in the 10th when they gave up another run, as Oakland came from behind to beat the Angels 5-4.

So how does the Coliseum stack up? Surprisingly, a little bit better than I expected.

Average cost (family of 4) – #3 $204.24 Kind of in the middle here but, based on the quality of the product on the field and the quality of the stadium I would have thought they would be even cheaper. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Dodger Stadium is the most expensive stadium in California, and they have one of the better teams in Major League Baseball. But then, as I have pointed out, some very good teams are very high on this list. If, by high, I mean among the least expensive. I guess it comes down to finding the right balance. Something Oakland simply hasn’t achieved.

Cost of one hotdog, one soda, and an order of nachos – #3 $23.25 At least they are consistent.

Parking – Just like Oracle Park in San Francisco, I didn’t need to use any parking. The difference being that, in San Francisco, there is no parking available. Oakland does have a very large parking lot. Again, that was the way stadiums were built back in the 60s. Plop a stadium down in the middle of a giant parking lot somewhere in the suburbs, as far away from the city as possible, so everybody can drive there. Large parking lots are also conductive to tailgate parties. This is California after all, and car culture is king. More to the point, though, since I didn’t use parking, I really don’t know what it costs or how easy it is to get in and out. Since the Stadium was almost empty that night, I imagine parking was easy. More so if a lot of people took public transportation like I did. At least mine was one less car.

Cost of tickets vs. location – #1 At $201.75 this is the one spot where Oakland really shines. I mean seats right behind home plate at $100 each. You can’t touch that in any of the other stadiums. In fact, at these prices I would think more people would attend the games. I don’t care if the product is lousy. Seeing a live baseball game is just fun. The night I was there, attendance was just under 7,000. In each of the other four stadiums attendance was at least 30,000. While they weren’t as bad as Oakland, the Angels and the Giants were never really in contention after the All Star break either, and yet they are still drawing fans. In fact, they both drew four or five times as many fans as did Oakland. At 788,000 fans on the season, Oakland had the worst attendance of any team in baseball. By contrast, the Dodgers had the best attendance with 3,861,000 fans, drawing more than 3 million more fans than Oakland drew. The A’s are more than 100,000 fans behind Miami who was the second worst and 250,000 behind Tampa Bay who was third. The big surprise there is that Tampa Bay only had 1.1 million fans and yet they are in contention just about every year, were in the World Series just two years ago, and usually make the playoffs. Maybe they should be thinking about moving. I know they are looking for a new stadium deal.

Food Quality – #3 (tie) Just your everyday hot dog. Nothing special. And the only thing I ate there besides the hot dog was the popcorn. But hey, free soda always tastes better even if it is diet.

Accessibility – #3 Middle of the pack again. Coming in by BART was really a breeze and very inexpensive. They lose points though, for the neighborhood.

Stadium Ambiance – #4 Don’t get me wrong. I had a really good time here. It’s just that Oracle Park and Petco Park set the bar so high. They also lose points just for general lack of attendance. I mean 7,000 people in a stadium that seats over 40,000! That’s pitiful!

Fans – #4 Once again, lack of attendance is hurting them. Not that it matters, but during the 7th inning stretch when they sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game I heard more “Let’s root, root, root for the Angels” then I did the A’s. I was talking to one guy who pretty much acknowledged that the Oakland Coliseum is a dump. But he also said it’s the only dump we’ve got. He was a fan and I admire him for that. But I think he’s the exception to the rule in Oakland.

Girls – #4 At least they’re not last here. Sorry Dodgers.

It’s interesting to note that Oakland is mostly scoring 3s and 4s which puts them kind of in the middle. If you were to ask me to rank the stadiums from my favorite to my least favorite, I would have to say Oracle Park, Petco Park, Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium of Anaheim, and Oakland Coliseum. Even though my opinion of the Coliseum improved on this outing, the place still feels oppressive to enter. I guess they are right when they say first impressions mean a lot. Overall, though, this was a great trip. I got to see some great baseball. I got to talk to some very interesting people. I got to eat a lot of junk. There are a few things I might do different. And some things I learned for future reference. For one thing, if you’re going to go to a game at a stadium you’ve never been to before, do a Google search. It will be worth the five or 10 minutes of your time. TripAdvisor is another good place to look, although Google is easier to navigate.