Bringing Their A's Game

From San Francisco, I took the BART train to Oakland, where I would be attending the ballgame. Funny how I first knew about this city because of its baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, commonly known as the A's. I remember that '89 team that won the World Series, the first one that I ever saw, and the one that got delayed by the earthquake.

I arrived at the Oakland Coliseum, and bought a ticket at the window. I figure the games would not be sold out, since the A's are in last place, and normally don't sell out in general. And I don't want to pay those ridiculous fees when buying online or on the phone. This day, it was $2 day and dollar dog night. I had to buy the ticket for next day's game at another window in the stadium.

So I walked around the stadium, but not much to see. One of the few multi-purpose stadiums left in baseball, so I guess not much can be done. Nearby is Oracle Arena, the home of the Golden State Warriors. Funny how both the A's and Warriors started in Philly, and now both in Oakland. How ironic is that?!

I entered the stadium, and first thing I did, was to find the office, to buy for next day's game. Then being a dollar dog night, I went ahead to buy 6 hot dogs, and consumed them slowly at my seat. And I was sitting in the outfield, which was not an area I like to sit at. And it had to be in front of annoying, noisy girls, who just kept yelling nonstop, mainly at their friends.

It was a chilly night, and I noticed the tarp covering the top deck, mockingly known as Mount Davis, as an insult to Raiders owner Al Davis. Also on it, are the retired numbers of A's, but only in Oakland. Plus the championships, but this one included the ones won in both Philly and Oakland.

The Oakland A's took on the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have a slim chance at the AL Wild Card, although they have not been playing like it. The A's are in last place in the division, and well out of the playoff picture. But that would not mean this game would be dull, as it turned out to be a high-scoring affair.

The Rangers would start scoring immediately, and go up 4-0, with Hank Blalock knocking in 3 of them. But the A's scored 5 runs in the bottom 4th, giving them a 5-4 lead. But that lead was very short-lived, as the Rangers came back with 4 of their own in the 5th, retaking the lead, 8-5. The Rangers scored 1 more, and the A's slowly chipped away, but fell short by 1. The result was the Rangers beating the A's, 9-8.

After the game ended, I was so tired, and hopped on the train, without realizing for a while, it was the wrong one. When I fell asleep on the train, and when waking up and hearing I was at Berkeley, I had to get off, and get on one, taking me back to San Francisco. By the time I got back to the hostel, it was 12:30 AM.