Game #43: A's 2, Giants 4

May 20, 2006 | A's vs. San Francisco

This morning I read Eric Gilmore's column in the Contra Costa Times and, while I don't agree 100% with everything Gilmore said, his writing put me in the right mood to watch this afternoon's game. Gilmore argued that it's for the best that Barry Bonds meet the historic home run milestone in Oakland.

"...[I]t's also fine that Bonds hears a few cheers from orange-clad Giants fans sprinkled throughout the green and gold at McAfee Coliseum. That he be spared the over-the-top, at times ugly treatment he has received at other parks on the road."

It also helped that two weeks ago I read a John Brattain column in The Hardball Times that argued for MLB's celebrating Bonds' achievement when it should come to pass (Bud Selig said that there would be no ceremony to mark the moment and indeed there was none today).

"...[W]e’re not just celebrating Barry Bonds; we’re also celebrating Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron’s careers. We’re taking time to reflect on the greats that came before Bonds."

Brattain's essay covers a lot of other points and I highly recommend reading it, but my biggest takeaway from it is the idea that we acknowledge a historic moment when it happens.

Though Bonds' accomplishment is drenched in controversy, I've personally set aside my judgement of the man himself. History itself will even everything out. We're too close to the events themselves to understand their context properly.

I didn't want Bonds' #714 to come from an A's pitcher, but reflecting on Gilmore's column put me in a magnanimous mood when I arrived at the Coliseum today. I didn't want to root against history.

When Bonds connected with Brad Halsey's 1-1 pitch and the ball landed in the right field bleachers where someone named Tyler Snyder caught it in his mitt, I stood up and applauded for a long time. So did everyone else in the Coliseum, no matter what colors they were wearing.

After this moment, the rowdy A's fans behind me would resume trading jeers and barbs with the Giants fans the next section over. But this one time everyone did the right thing and acknowledged the milestone we'd just witnessed.

* * *

I was the guest of Dave, whose Dad has season tickets for four. Dave's dad brought Andrew, 11, son of a family friend. The boy showed off a baseball he got from Jay Witasick before the game started. On the baseball were three autographs Andrew collected only today — from Dan Haren, Kirk Saarloos, and Barry Zito.

I asked to hold the ball and get a closer look at the fresh signatures. Andrew said, "I also have Haren's autograph on my hat." And he did, there on the bill of his A's baseball cap. A scribble and the number 24 so hastily written the 4 looks like a 7.

Gosh, I want to be an 11-year-old boy, the demographic that can't be denied an autograph at the park. All cute and blue-eyed, with braces on the upper teeth, playing second base in Little League, permission to surf the web — "but only baseball sites" — and all the time in the world to read about different teams and memorize player stats.

Links:
Recap, box score, play-by-play [ESPN.com]
Wrap [MLB.com]
No better place than Oakland [Contra Costa Times]
Don't Bury Bonds... [The Hardball Times]

(Game experience: Watched all 10 innings of the sold-out SRO game with Dave, his dad, and Andrew at MacAfee Coliseum. I sat in Sec. 128 Row 32 Seat 18.)

A's record: 22-20 | streak: L-1 | well-A-meter: 3