On Tuesday night we took in a Giants-Phillies game at SBC Park. The contest was over quickly: the Giants starter was bombed for extra-base hits in the first three innings, and when the score got to 5-1 the crowd started to boo. The home team never mounted a threat, and we decided to beat the traffic after the 8th inning when the scoreboard read 9-2.
Although it was late August, it was the first game that I had attended this year. The energy in the stadium seemed to be a fraction of 2004’s. The Giants are part of what is, by consensus, the worst division in the majors. They’re 16 games under .500, yet are only 8 games behind the 63-63 Padres and still have an outside chance to win the National League West title. Injured Barry Bonds has not suited up this season, and in the back of everyone’s mind is the possibility that he’ll never play again. The Giants have neither a pennant chase nor Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Ruth or Aaron’s home run milestones to draw fans to the stands.
The attendance officially was 38,000, but the rows of empty seats visually seemed much higher than 20%. Next year it will be interesting to see if the Giants continue to maintain their high level of season ticket renewals. If they don’t, I’ll be able to get better seats than I did on Tuesday.
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