These pictures were taken at AT&T Park on May 12, 2006, as part of the pre-game ceremony for Willie Mays’ 75th birthday. Willie Mays is one of my all time favorite players. It was great to watch the festivities for his 75th birthday.
It is a great blessing that Willie Mays could celebrate his 88th birthday this week on May 6. Willie Mays has been retired for 46 years – after the 1973 season.
Birthdays are a reminder how fast time goes. It did not seem that long ago I was at AT&T Park watching Willie Mays stand on the field and be honored by all the fans. We need to honor those whom we respect in our lives.
Who in your life can you show respect today? Make someone’s day by showing respect.
I am fortunate to have watched the Giants at Candlestick Park, AT&T Park, Pac Bell Park, and now Oracle Park.
I went thru my photographs to compare the different Scoreboards at really the two ballparks.
Interesting to note – Candlestick Park’s scoreboard was simple. It did not display all the information that we see today. It may have been wider with the advertisements. The baseball stats were compacted into the space.
Pacific Bell Park’s scoreboard was probably the same as the AT&T’s scoreboard. The Pacific Bell Park sign is on the bottom of the scoreboard.
Did you notice there is an added structure surrounding and above the same San Francisco Giants clock where the signage for AT&T Park was displayed? There are a bunch flags waving on the top also.
Oracle Park’s new scoreboard is bigger. It looks like they added to the top structure for advertisements and got rid of the old name. The flags are still waving on top. They also added more advertisement on the side light posts. By moving the advertisement to peripherals, it provides more space in the center to nicely display the stats.
So which scoreboard do you prefer comparing the scoreboards thru the years? Hopefully the SF Giants will dominate in their scoring this season.
This might be a preview of Triples Alley at Oracle Park. This photograph was taken on April 21, 2015, at AT&T Park. This was during batting practice when Triples Alley was fenced off for fans to hang out in this area before a SF Giants game.
The SF Giants are considering fencing off Triples Alley and putting the bullpen there. When a batter hits a ball toward this corner which is very difficult, it usually results in a triple. The deep right field corner is 421 feet. Any decisions about Oracle Park’s configuration will take at least a few years.
Bruce Bochy’s opinion is open minded about the change feeling if someone can hit a ball 400 feet, it should be a home run.
Is it wise to recognize when goals are out of reach and need to be adjusted to be more realistic? Analyzing what can be fairly achieved in the game of life is hard to comprehend. Goals can be assumed to be unattainable until the attempts are performed. Reaching a goal thought as unattainable can also be a wonderful surprise and achievement.
For the SF Giants, will removing Triples Alley make the game of baseball a more even playing ground at Oracle Park?
I shot this photo on 5/4/2015 at AT&T Park. It is interesting to see how these professionals are marking the foul line and batter’s box. Precision is important in drawing the 2 batter’s boxes. We know if the batter is not in the correct position in the box, he will be out.
In life, there are lessons we can learn about staying within the boundaries of our batter’s box. Our desire to hit a home run should overrule our rebellious spirit to step out of the box.
Do we have a clear picture of the goals in our life? Do we want to hit a series of home runs in life to succeed? If we have honorable goals, let’s live according to the batter’s box regulations to hit a series of home runs.
Welcome to the upper deck down the left field line at AT&T Park. This photograph was taken in April 2016. The ballpark’s name has been changed to Oracle Park.
There is nothing like standing on the top and looking at the view of the whole ballpark! I do have a fear of heights, so I have to be careful walking around and looking down.
Looking down, we get a perfect view of the entire field and stadium. We can see the San Francisco Bay. We get a good view of the bulk of the seats in the ballpark. So there is an advantage to being up high to see the panoramic view below. Being high (physically) is always a good location for photography.
Finding the ideal location to take good photos can be like hunting for treasure. A good photographer’s goal is to showcase a scene at it’s best. The scene can look better in a photo, than when you actually look at the scene in reality.
My goal will be to see how I can show off AT&T Park now known as Oracle Park at it’s best! I am excited to be going to the San Francisco Giants Home Opening game. So stay tuned to see the stadium art at Oracle Park.
As a photographer, I have a fascination with lights. Perfect lighting can provide the necessary factor for a great photo.
I went to the lower box seats down the right field line at AT&T Park (Oracle Park) to be under the LED advertisement signs. I used my wide angle zoom lens to get up close to the lights for the photos.
When we are in our seats looking at the ads, we see the entirety of the image and words projected.
The above photos shows how the individual LED lights and colors are put together for the advertisement image.
We do not usually think about how the individual lights contribute to the final outcome.
The same is true in life. How do we as individuals contribute to reach an (hopefully good) outcome? Do I have a light which contributes to a good purpose in life?
Here are some photographs of AT&T Park from 3 different games.
As is my practice, I arrived early and roamed about the stadium looking for different views of the stadium.
I love going to the top and shooting the entire stadium! It is nice to see the view down to the Bay and the entirety of the ballpark.
I also shot from the left side from the bleacher area.
You can see this is the old scoreboard at AT&T Park. I am going to the SF Giants Home Opening Day on April 5, 2019. I will be shooting the new scoreboard which is 3 times larger than this old one.
I am looking forward to seeing this new scoreboard! Bigger will be better.
The view from the top will be the same. But with the bigger scoreboard, it will be easier to see from the top of the stadium.
Stay tuned to see my photos from the new Oracle Park! Hopefully the new name will eventually grow on me.
Do you wonder where did all the Candlestick Park Chairs go after the demolition?
We know some fortunate fans who bought chairs to keep as mementos. They are available for sale from $599.99 to $689.99 for a pair.
But if you do not want to invest to purchase or you do not have space for the chairs, we found the chairs at AT&T Park (Oracle Park) last year. They were located at the back north east corner behind the center field scoreboard. Chairs from 19 to 22 from row W are available for sitting and dreaming that you are back at Candlestick Park.
These chairs show their age. But they are still strong enough to endure all the fans who still need to try out these old chairs.
I plan to go to Oracle Park for the San Francisco Giants Home Opening Day game on April 5, 2019. I will be sure to check if the chairs are still there. I hope the new park’s management did not remove the chairs.
I’m glad even though these chairs may be scratched up and aged, they are still functional and can remind us of our past sitting at Candlestick Park. We need mementos to remind us how we grew up at Candlestick Park watching the SF Giants win and lose. We spent precious moments with our families and friends. These chairs remind us to continue to make time to sit with our loved ones and watch the SF Giants or the 49ers. The games are great excuse for us to be with those who are important to us.
If you want to remember the chairs when they glowed in the sun, please hit the link below to see other photos of Candlestick Park chairs.
The answer is one of baseball’s all time great, Barry Bonds. I took this photograph at Pacific Bell Park during Fuji Photo Day.
Barry Bonds signed with the Giants in 1992. The Giants were still playing at Candlestick Park. He was playing with the Pittsburg Pirates before becoming a free agent. He was the most sought after free agent available in 1992. He signed a record 6 year $43.75 million deal. The deal was orchestrated by Peter Magowan. He became the highest-paid player in baseball history. Barry Bonds played for the Giants for 15 years.
Barry Bonds played left field at Candlestick Park. Al Michaels, the ABC broadcaster for Monday night football, stated left field at Candlestick Park was one of the most expensive piece of real estate in any sports stadium during a 49’ers game in 1992. Al was referencing the large contract paid to Barry Bonds who would play in left field (the north end zone) of Candlestick Park for the 1993 season.
Here’s another photograph I took roaming around AT&T Park before the San Francisco Giants played ball.
I was having a blast with my wide angle lens taking scenic photographs of the park. I love the almost empty stadium with the perfect diamond field.
I love being in my “Photography Zone” when shooting lots of pictures. It is my “high” as I seek to find different scenes to shoot. I love finding the perfect scene and lighting to take unique shots. I walked along the upper deck shooting different scenes.
You can find art any place. For me I have always loved “Stadium Art” starting from the classic architecture from Candlestick Park and continuing on at AT&T Park.
Find your “Art Zone” where you can be passionate about what you see. There is art all around us if we would take the time to look.
Also stay tune as I hope to show more interesting scenic shots at AT&T Park!
