Tag / Candlestick Park

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Ballpark Tour: Padres

As pitchers and catchers start reporting across Arizona and Florida, we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we travel to southern California for the baseball homes of the San Diego Padres. Between the two stadiums that have been located in the paradise that is San Diego, I’ve seen four games. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Qualcomm Stadium and PETCO Park.

Stadium Name: Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm Stadium

Years in Service: 1969 – 2003

Visits: 1

San Diego Stadium opened on August 20, 1967, as the home of the AFL’s Chargers and opened for baseball the following spring for the final season of the minor league San Diego Padres.  The following season, San Diego’s expansion team, also named the Padres, moved in and stayed as the main tenants until the end of the 2003 season.  The stadium was renamed in 1980 for local sportswriter Jack Murphy, who had championed support for the building of the stadium, after he passed away.  That name stuck until 1997, when the naming rights were sold to technology company Qualcomm.

In 2003, I was in San Diego for what, to date, was my 3rd and final Comic Con.  On the afternoon of July 17, I skipped out on the con and took the trolley out to Mission Valley to take in the day’s contest between the Padres and the Diamondbacks.  I don’t remember much about the game, which the Diamondbacks won handedly 9-1, other than Curt Schilling taking the bump for the Dbacks.  The park, one of the last remaining cookie cutter stadiums that popped up in the late 60s and early 70s and designed to house both baseball and football teams while doing service to neither, did not really register one way or the other and holds no particular space in my memory.  I do seem to remember a giant outdoor escalator, but that might have been Candlestick.

Stadium Name: PETCO Park

Years in Service: 2004 – Present

Visits: 3

After 35 seasons at the Murph, the Padres moved downtown in 2004 with the opening of PETCO Park.  The new stadium was initially supposed to open for the 2002 season, but legal battles and political tomfoolery delayed the project for two years.  The first event held at PETCO Park was an NCAA invitational tournament hosted by San Diego State University, whose head coach was former Padres great Tony Gwynn.  The Padres themselves christened the stadium on April 8 with a 10-inning victory over the Giants.

With the Cubs, coming off their surprising run towards the NL title in 2003, scheduled for a weekend series at the newly opened PETCO Park in the middle of May in 2004, a trip out to the coast was in order.  The Cubs swept the three-game series against the Padres, and a tremendous weekend was had.  The new park was a vast improvement over the old Jack Murphy.  I had a return trip planned in the spring of 2020, but COVID had other plans.

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Ballpark Tour: Giants

With pitchers and catchers reporting within the week, is a little less than a month away as we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years.  Today we travel west to the Bay area for the baseball homes of the San Francisco Giants.  Between the two stadiums that have been located in and around San Francisco, I’ve seen three games, all against the same opponent.  So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with 3Com Park and Oracle Park.

Stadium Name: 3 Com Park

Years in Service: 1960 – 1999

Visits: 1

When the New York Giants moved west in 1958, the city of San Francisco began constructing a new ballpark for them, and Candlestick Park was born. The stadium opened in 1960 and was the home of the now-San Francisco Giants through the 1999 season. Along the way, the stadium has also played host to the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, dozens of commercials and movies, and, in 1965, the final commercial concert appearance by the Beatles.

In September of 1999, I headed out to the Bay Area to visit an old friend. One of the items on our agenda was to head out to Candlestick, which had been renamed 3Com Park by this point, to see a game before the Giants moved to their new home the following season. With only 13 home games left on the schedule, we set out to see the Giants take on the Phillies on September 2. The Giants, behind starter Joe Nathan, defeated the Phillies 3-2 on a cool autumn afternoon.

Stadium Name: AT&T Park/Oracle Park

Years in Service: 2000 – Present

Visits: 2

After flirting with a move to Tampa Bay, the Giants opened Pacific Bell Park in 2000 after 40 seasons at Candlestick Park. The ballpark was the first stadium built without public funds since the completion of Dodger Stadium in 1962. The stadium was renamed SBC Park in 2003 and then finally AT&T Park in 2006 thanks to the corporate upheaval in the telecommunications world. In April 2010, the stadium became the first MLB ballpark to receive LEED Silver Certification for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance.

In May of 2008, I made my second trip out to Bay Area, this time to attend the Java One conference. The week started with the A’s in town while the Giants returned home for a weekend series, so I adjusted my schedule so that I could attend games at both stadiums. Friday night, after most of the techies had left town, I hopped on the bus down to AT&T Park to see the Giants, once again, take on the Phillies. I dropped some major coin for the best tickets in the house, which got me in a box between home plate and the Phillie dugout and a prime spot on the evening’s telecast. The Phillies, on their way to a World Series championship, defeated the Giants 7-4.

In August of 2018, I made my third trip to San Francisco, this time for a trip to one of our affiliates for talks about their entry into the broader corporate umbrella.  Wouldn’t you know it, but the Phillies were in town once again at the building now known as Oracle Park.  With Madison Bumgarner on the bump, the Giants shut down the Phillies as I took in the game a mere three rows behind the Giants’ dugout.

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Travelling The 50 States – California

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we start today with the 31st state to be added to the Union: California.

State: California
Joined the Union: 1850
Visits: 11

With eleven visits between 1998 and 2019, the Golden State is the state I have visited the most, outside of those I have lived in and/or attended college.

My first visit was in 1998 to attend Comic Con International in San Diego.  I went early, spending the entire week and enjoying some pre-Con time checking out the sights, including the San Diego Zoo.

I returned the following year for Labor Day weekend, but this time up to the San Francisco Bay area, to visit my old friend Scott, who had moved out there after graduating to work at AMD.  What I remember from that trip is my first Giants/Phillies tilt at the former Candlestick Park, my first trip to the toilet that at the time was called Network Associates Coliseum, and a car trip over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I returned to San Diego for Comic Con in 2000 and 2003.  I don’t remember much of the 2000 trip, but the 2003 trip included my one visit to the former Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres face the Diamondbacks.  At the Con, I managed to see many of the stars (or, at least, bit players) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Tru Calling.

With the Cubs coming off their first division title since 1989 and a new stadium opening in San Diego, my friend Pete and I planned a trip for the Cubs mid-May road trip.  We attended all three games at PETCO Park, which the Cubs swept, while also taking in the local sights and the ambience of the Elephant and Castle bar in our hotel. Continue reading →

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By The Numbers – 12

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #12.  91 different players have donned #12 while playing in Chicago, 44 for the White Sox and 47 for the Cubs.

A.J. Pierzynski signed with the White Sox on January 6, 2005 and rewarded the organization with eight seasons of stability behind the plate that included one All-Star selection, two playoff appearances, and, of course, the 2005 World Series championship.  Over those 8 seasons, Pierzynski was involved in many key moments while wearing #12 that endeared him to the White Sox faithful, including:

  • The walk-off home run, and resulting bat flip (pictured above), against the Dodgers in 2005 while wearing 1959 throwbacks
  • The two home runs in a thrashing of the Red Sox in game one of the 2005 ALDS, the first White Sox home postseason victory since 1959
  • The controversial dropped third strike that led to a White Sox victory in game two of the 2005 ALCS against the Angels
  • The 2006 brawl against the Cubs where Michael Barrett sucker-punched him after Pierzynski enthusiastically scored a run against the crosstown rivals
  • Hanging on to the throw from Ken Griffey Jr. to preserve the shutout in the 2008 tie-breaker game that pushed the White Sox into the playoffs over the Twins
  • Being behind the plate for Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter in 2007 and Philip Humber’s perfect game in 2012

On the north side of town, a dynamic shortstop, the first player chosen in the 1982 draft, wore #12 when he made his major league debut in 1985.  Shawon Dunston quickly became a fan favorite.  In 1989, he entered the national consciousness thanks to the Shawon-O-Meter, a fan made sign that tracked Dunston’s batting average during each game.  The sign was seen in the Wrigley Field bleachers for a number of years and even made its way to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park for the 1989 NLCS.  Following the 1995 season, he left as a free agent before resigning with the team for the 1997 campaign.  He was traded to the Pirates at the end of August, ending his Cubs career for good.

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Against The Giants All Time Leaders – Through 2021

giantsIn the past, we’ve looked at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. This offseason, we will take our first ever look at those leaders against all 30 clubs. We continue today with the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants began life in 1883 in New York, before moving west to San Francisco in 1957. I’ve seen them play 23 times, first at their old home at Candlestick Park in 1999 and most recently this past September at Wrigley Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 3
Moises Alou 2
Michael Barrett 2
Javy Baez 2

Hits

Name Total
Derrek Lee 10
Ryan Theriot 7
Aramis Ramirez 7

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 5
Yolmer Sanchez 5
Derrek Lee 4
Ryan Theriot 4

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 6
Jim Edmonds 5
Yolmer Sanchez 4
Javy Baez 4
Moises Alou 4

Doubles

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 3
Jim Edmonds 2
Kris Bryant 2
Albert Almora 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Giants All Time Leaders – Through 2019

giantsWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look back at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants began life in 1883 in New York, before moving west to San Francisco in 1957. I’ve seen them play 22 times, first at their old home at Candlestick Park in 1999 and most recently last August at their current home, Oracle Park.  Prior to the world shutting down, I had planned another trip west next month to see the White Sox for a three game series

Home Runs

Name Total
Pedro Feliz 2
Brandon Crawford 2
12 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Pedro Feliz 8
Buster Posey 8
Rich Aurilia 6
Bengie Molina 6
Evan Longoria 6
Brandon Crawford 6

Runs

Name Total
Brandon Crawford 5
Rich Aurilia 4
Pedro Feliz 4

RBI

Name Total
Pablo Sandoval 6
Ray Durham 4
Bengie Molina 4
Pedro Feliz 4

Doubles

Name Total
8 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Ballpark Tour: Padres

Spring training is right around the corner as we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. Today we travel to southern California for the baseball homes of the San Diego Padres. Between the two stadiums that have been located in the paradise that is San Diego, I’ve seen 4 games. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Qualcomm Stadium and PETCO Park.

Stadium Name: Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm Stadium

Years in Service: 1969 – 2003

Visits: 1

San Diego Stadium opened on August 20, 1967 as the home of the AFL’s Chargers and opened for baseball the following spring for the final season of the minor league San Diego Padres.  The following season, San Diego’s expansion team, also named the Padres, moved in and stayed as the main tenants until the end of the 2003 season.  The stadium was renamed in 1980 for local sportswriter Jack Murphy, who had championed support for the building of the stadium, after he passed away.  That name stuck until 1997, when the naming rights were sold to technology company Qualcomm.

In 2003, I was in San Diego for what, to date, was my 3rd and final Comic Con.  On the afternoon of July 17, I skipped out on the con and took the trolley out to Mission Valley to take in the day’s contest between the Padres and the Diamondbacks.  I don’t remember much about the game, which the Diamondbacks won handidly 9-1, other than Curt Schilling taking the bump for the Dbacks.  The park, one of the last remaining cookie cutter stadiums that popped up in the late 60s and early 70s and designed to house both baseball and football teams while doing service to neither, did not really register one way or the other and hold’s no particular space in my memory.  I do seem to remember a giant outdoor escalator, but that might have been Candlestick.

Stadium Name: PETCO Park

Years in Service: 2004 – Present

Visits: 3

After 35 seasons at the Murph, the Padres moved downtown in 2004 with the opening of PETCO Park.  The new stadium was initially supposed to open for the 2002 season, but legal battles and political tomfoolery delayed the project for two years.  The first event held at PETCO Park was an NCAA invitational tournament hosted by San Diego State University, whose head coach was former Padres great Tony Gwynn.  The Padres themselves christened the stadium on April 8 with a 10 inning victory over the Giants.

With the Cubs, coming off their surprising run towards the NL title in 2003, scheduled for a weekend series at the newly opened PETCO Park in the middle of May in 2004, a trip out to the coast was in order.  The Cubs swept the three game series against the Padres, and a tremendous weekend was had.  The new park was a vast improvement over the old Jack Murphy.  One of these days, I’ll need to take a return trip.

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Ballpark Tour: Giants

Spring training is a little less than a month away as we continue our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. Today we travel west to the Bay area for the baseball homes of the San Francisco Giants.  Between the two stadiums that have been located in and around San Francisco, I’ve seen 2 games. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Candlestick Park and AT&T Park.

Stadium Name: 3 Com Park

Years in Service: 1960 – 1999

Visits: 1

When the New York Giants moved west in 1958, the city of San Francisco began constructing a new ballpark for them, and Candlestick Park was born. The stadium opened in 1960 and was the home of the now-San Francisco Giants through the 1999 season. Along the way, the stadium has also played host to the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, dozens of commercials and movies, and, in 1965, the final commercial concert appearance by the Beatles.

In September of 1999, I headed out to the Bay Area to visit an old friend. One of the items on our agenda was to head out to Candlestick, which had been renamed 3Com Park by this point, to see a game before the Giants moved to their new home the following season. With only 13 home games left on the schedule, we set out to see the Giants take on the Phillies on September 2. The Giants, behind starter Joe Nathan, defeated the Phillies 3-2 on a cool autumn afternoon.

Stadium Name: AT&T Park/Oracle Park

Years in Service: 2000 – Present

Visits: 2

After flirting with a move to Tampa Bay, the Giants opened Pacific Bell Park in 2000 after 40 seasons at Candlestick Park. The ballpark was the first stadium built without public funds since the completion of Dodger Stadium in 1962. The stadium was renamed SBC Park in 2003 and then finally AT&T Park in 2006 thanks to the corporate upheaval in the telecommunications world. In April 2010, the stadium became the first MLB ballpark to receive LEED Silver Certification for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance.

In May of 2008, I made my second trip out to Bay Area, this time to attend the Java One conference. The week started with the A’s in town while the Giants returned home for a weekend series, so I adjusted my schedule so that I could attend games at both stadiums. Friday night, after most of the techies had left town, I hopped on the bus down to AT&T Park to see the Giants, once again, take on the Phillies. I dropped some major coin for the best tickets in the house, which got me in a box between home plate and the Phillie dugout and a prime spot on the evening’s telecast. The Phillies, on their way to a World Series championship, defeated the Giants 7-4.

This past August, I mage my third trip to San Francisco, this time for a trip to one of our affiliates for talks about their entry into the broader corporate umbrella.  Wouldn’t you know it, but the Phillies were in town once again.  With Madison Bumgarner on the bump, the Giants shut down the Phillies as I took in the game a mere 3 rows behind the Giants dugout.

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#67 – Richard Dotson

dotsonName: Richard Dotson

Rank: 67

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1979-1987, 1989

Richard Dotson joined the White Sox organization, along with Bobby Bonds and Thad Bosley, in a December 5, 1977 trade that sent Brian Downing, Dave Frost, and Chris Knapp to the Angels.  He made his major league debut on September 4, 1979 against those same Angels, going 1 and 1/3 innings and giving up 5 earned runs, leaving him with a 33.75 ERA after 1 start.  He made 4 more starts over the final month of the season, giving up just 5 additional earned runs and finishing with a 2-0 record with a 3.70 ERA.

Dotson moved into the rotation full time for the White Sox in 1980.  He finished second on the team with 12 wins, finishing 12-10 with a 4.27 ERA.  He ended up placing 7th in Rookie of the Year voting, behind winner Joe Charboneau and teammate Britt Burns.

Dotson saw improvement in the strike-shortened 1981 season.  He finished with a 9-8 record and improved his ERA to 3.77 in 24 starts, leading the league with 4 shutouts.

1982 was a disappointing season for Dotson and the White Sox.  He finished with a losing record for the first time and gave up more hits than innings pitched, yet still ended the season with a 3.84 ERA.

Dotson had his breakout season in 1983, as he helped lead the White Sox to their first division title.  He finished the regular season 22-7 with a 3.23 ERA, good enough to place 4th in Cy Young Award voting and 20th in MVP consideration.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t as successful in the ALCS, giving up 6 runs in 5 innings and earning the loss in Game 3 against the Orioles.

1984 was another good year for Dotson, as he earned his first All Star Game nod, throwing 2 scoreless innings in the mid-summer classic at Candlestick Park.  He finished with a losing record for the disappointing White Sox team, going 14-15 with a 3.59 ERA in a career high 245 2/3 innings pitched.

An injury derailed Dotson’s 1985 campaign, as he started only 9 games before undergoing surgery for a career-threatening circulatory problem in his upper chest near the right shoulder.  He returned in 1986 and was the only White Sox starter to not miss a turn in the rotation.  His results, unfortunately, were not as encouraging as he went 10-17 with a 5.48 ERA.

Dotson bounced back a little in 1987.  He went 11-12 with a 4.17 ERA for a White Sox team that finished with a losing record for the second straight year.  Following the season, he was traded, along with Scott Nielson, to the Yankees for Dan Pasqua, Steve Rosenberg, and Mark Salas.

After being released by the Yankees at the end of June in 1989, Dotson rejoined the White Sox for the last 3 months of a season in which they would lose over 90 games.  Appearing in 17 games, Dotson went 3-7 with a respectable 3.88 ERA.  At the end of the season, Dotson became a free agent and left the White Sox for good.  After retiring, Dotson rejoined the White Sox organization as a coach and has spent the last 10 seasons as pitching coach for the Charlotte Knights, the team’s Triple A affiliate.

Dotson’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

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Giants All Time Leaders – Through 2015

giantsWith 5 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants began life in 1883 in New York, before moving west to San Francisco in 1957. I’ve seen them play 15 times, first at their old home at Candlestick Park in 1999 and most recently last year at Dodger Stadium during my time in LA.

Home Runs

Name Total
Pedro Feliz 2
8 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Pedro Feliz 8
Rich Aurilia 6
Bengie Molina 6

Runs

Name Total
Pedro Feliz 4
Rich Aurilia 4
5 tied with 3

RBI

Name Total
Pedro Feliz 4
Ray Durham 4
Bengie Molina 4
Pablo Sandoval 4

Doubles

Name Total
6 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →