Things I learned from sitting in the Diamond Level
by Nate on Sep 22, 2009 2:33 AM PDT
90 comments
So, pondering seeing a game in this penultimate series of the season, I was perusing StubHub when I found some comparatively inexpensive diamond level tickets on sale, ($72 vs a face value of $225.) Never having sat there before, I learned a few things.
- Before the game, the grounds crew polishes home plate. I did not know that. They gave that sucker a thorough going-over.
- The crowd sounds large. Maybe it's the acoustics of being at the bottom of a concrete bowl, but even tonight's tiny crowd (10,581 may have been how many tickets were sold, but I'd be shocked if much more than half of that number was actually in attendance) sounded loud.
- The crowd might have sounded loud, but the Diamond Level wasn't. Near as I can tell, it's considered déclassé to chant "Let's go Oak-land!" Clapping is permitted, but only in a non-rhythmic fashion. Seriously, when someone, evidently not a regular, rode the ump about a call, the woman next to me said "Are we going to have to listen to that all game?"
- Sitting 70 feet or so away from home plate at a 15 degree angle gave me no clearer idea of the strike zone than I'd get from the bleachers.
- Which means I have something in common with Laz Diaz.
- The food isn't actually any better than what you get in the rest of the park. It seems like the same Aramark junk food, albeit with a couple of salads and a lobster roll (needed more butter) on the menu.
- Baseball knowledge is hit or miss in the folks seated there. The woman seated next to me knew that the woman and baby two rows behind me were Landon Powell's wife and child, but insisted that tonight was not Henry Rodriguez's ML debut, and that he'd pitched for Oakland "several times."
- They (stadium personnel) don't like it when, during the speech about not talking to or taking pictures of the players when you're in the tunnel (the tunnel to the Diamond Level is the same one the visiting team uses to get from the clubhouse to the field) you ask "What if Frank Francisco throws a chair at me?"
- Bobby Crosby didn't like it when, after Travis Buck struck out swinging at a pitch in the dirt, someone (not me, sadly. The dude that rode the umpire earlier) yelled "Bobby, stop teaching Buck how to hit!" Seriously, the glare Crosby gave the guy was priceless.
- Sitting in the closest seats in the park does not make it suck less when your team gets whooped. In fact, it sucks even worse given that you paid a lot more money to see them stink.
- Adding insult to injury, those of us still in our seats when the game ended had to wait until every last Ranger got their slow asses into the clubhouse before we were allowed to leave.
It was an interesting experience, and while I'm mocking portions of it for comedic value, there's something undeniably cool about Jack Cust swinging a bat a whopping 10 feet away from you. That said, baseball is baseball, and #10 is pretty much the sole point I have to make here. Even leaving aside the tailgate party and the company, I had a ton more fun on the last AN day sitting near the foul pole, watching a close game with a 9th inning walk-off, than I did tonight.
It's not how close you are to the plate or how much you paid for your ticket, it's the baseball that matters.
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Great tidbits. Wish there was a pic of Crosby’s glare.
by redtopcowboy on Sep 22, 2009 7:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
They (stadium personnel) don’t like it when, during the speech about not talking to or taking pictures of the players when you’re in the tunnel (the tunnel to the Diamond Level is the same one the visiting team uses to get from the clubhouse to the field) you ask “What if Frank Francisco throws a chair at me?”
I spit all over my computer, you bastard!
And I made sure to look away when I read the bit about Bobby’s glare.
Please remedy my confusion
and thrust me back to the day.
The silence of your seclusion
brings night into all you say.
by danmerqury on Sep 22, 2009 8:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
You too?
Good thing I wasn’t drinking something other than water.
Now I need to go dry off my keyboard….
There's no crying in baseball!
by gigglingone on Sep 22, 2009 9:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Even worse.
I was eating oatmeal.
Please remedy my confusion
and thrust me back to the day.
The silence of your seclusion
brings night into all you say.
by danmerqury on Sep 22, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jeez how mollycoddled are players these days,
heaven forbid fans try to engage in conversation with them.
Some motherfcukers are always trying to ice skate uphill - Blade.
by OldhamA on Sep 22, 2009 5:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
A mini rant if I may
Which means I have something in common with Laz Diaz.
Why does Diaz have a job? I swear, that guy sucks harder than a Shop Vac… He’d pass the the golf ball through a hose test no problem.
by jeffro on Sep 22, 2009 8:30 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
When I hear that name, it reminds of anatomy class.
Now, there’s the prostate, and down there’s the epididymis – and over there’s the Laz Diaz.
Great post, BTW —rec’d! Buck had a very odd, almost amused expression on his face after that third strike. I wonder if that comment gets the credit?
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Sep 22, 2009 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It was loud enough that Buck probably could have heard it.
by Nate on Sep 22, 2009 9:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
And sitting here, I am developing a real, uh, affection for Calvin Klein 'Body' jeans.
Apparently they make you shiny.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Sep 22, 2009 10:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That was hilarious
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
by nevermoor on Sep 22, 2009 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Excellent post!
That lady in #3 should have been immediately escorted out, btw.
In 2008 I was watching a team that was rebuilding. In 2009 I feel like I'm watching a team that just sucks.
by UncleLeo on Sep 22, 2009 9:43 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
This amused me greatly
Also good places to sit – down the 3b line, near the bullpen. Watching the relief pitchers horse around and then turn serious when it’s their turn to get ready is great.
by bobnothing on Sep 22, 2009 9:50 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
The Crosby glare is priceless
was he in the on deck circle or something?
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
by micdog2001 on Sep 22, 2009 10:38 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
He was two batters after Buck
He was coming up to the on-deck circle as Buck headed back to the dugout.
by Nate on Sep 22, 2009 10:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
he SO wants out of Oakland
Maybe he can sign with the Nationals or Pirates, they have fancy new ballparks were fans won’t know him except for the ROY part.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
by micdog2001 on Sep 22, 2009 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hope he has a nice year next year,
hitting .230 and making 650 grand.
"Flea Markets aren't just for blind dates anymore!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Sep 22, 2009 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hell, I'd take 650 grand to hit .230
Then again, I truly suck at baseball.
"If Vin Mazzaro comes anywhere near me with shaving cream he’s gonna be coming away with a bloody stump" – Dallas Braden
by doctorK on Sep 22, 2009 3:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
doctorK's dad won't come yell at us and tell us how awesome he is afterward.
Maybe you can find one made by Go F**k Yourself San Jose... -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Sep 22, 2009 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, my dad also knows I suck at baseball
"If Vin Mazzaro comes anywhere near me with shaving cream he’s gonna be coming away with a bloody stump" – Dallas Braden
by doctorK on Sep 22, 2009 5:53 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I laughed really hard at that entire exchange.
Batting 4th for the 2014 San Jose A's: 26-year-old RF Justin Upton, in the 1st season of a nine year, $250M deal.
by notsellingjeans on Sep 24, 2009 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sitting in the Diamond Level seats...
is one of my greatest Coliseum memories (mainly because I got the tickets for FREE – four of ‘em!). We were in Row 1 and it was awesome. The view of the game is not necessarily that great… but just being that close to professional baseball players (hey, we’re all still little kids when we go to the ballpark, right?) was so cool! I got a picture with Wash, had a nice little conversation with Orlando Hudson (it was when he was a Blue Jay), and my wife got to stare at Chavy (mainly his backside) as he walked by. It was a great night for all of us (especially because Eric hit a walk-off HR)…
Oh, yeah… Did I mention the free Gordon Biersch? That was a bonus.
By the way, great post, Nate. I almost spit my coffee on one of my students…
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Sep 22, 2009 10:56 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Best beer options I had
were Sierra Nevada and a red ale from Pyramid (went with the SN).
by Nate on Sep 22, 2009 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You missed it, the Red Ale is really really good.
I'll have a sandwich and a draft(sic). - Bill King (RIP)
by BleedGreen on Sep 22, 2009 4:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I tend to like more bitter beers than sweet ones
hence my occasional shilling of Pliny the Elder in gamethreads.
by Nate on Sep 22, 2009 6:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
YES.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
by mikev on Sep 23, 2009 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
does the “just got back from Santa Rosa with a freshly-refilled growler” dance
by Nate on Sep 23, 2009 3:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
+eleventy billion
The best day in recent memory is when my local Whole Foods started carrying Pliny. Pliny the Younger is also awesome.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
by jeepers on Sep 24, 2009 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Numbers Three and Four ....
are exactly why I love sitting in the bleachers.
Great post, thanks for sharing!
Bob Geren, on 8/2/07, on the success of Alan Embree as new interim closer: "What can I say,... he's been our Steady Tremendous Bullpen Man"
by popcornjames on Sep 22, 2009 11:00 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
You're a real classy broad, ain'tcha?
The crowd might have sounded loud, but the Diamond Level wasn’t. Near as I can tell, it’s considered déclassé to chant “Let’s go Oak-land!” Clapping is permitted, but only in a non-rhythmic fashion. Seriously, when someone, evidently not a regular, rode the ump about a call, the woman next to me said “Are we going to have to listen to that all game?”
This recently happened to us over in 119. My friend was heckling Cust (“Strike two Custy! Get ready to walk back to the dugout with that goofy-ass look on your face.”), and the guy in front of him says something like, “Gee, you really don’t like Cust, eh?” He and his gf/wife seemed amazed that people were yelling at the game. A few years ago, a group of us were told to shut up by this woman right in front of us. I told her, “I didn’t realize this was your living room.” Her boyfriend tried to ignore the whole interchange.
I really don’t understand why we’re now s’posed to be quiet in the ballpark. Did I miss the memo? Is it getting like this elsewhere (no need to bring up AT&T Park)?
I actually look forward to the ongoing commentary. Some of the best I ever heard was at the New Orleans Superdome for Saints-Bengals, but numerous times at the Coliseum I’ve wished I could write down some of the more LOL stuff. And I definitely learned a few things sitting in the bleachers as a little kid at Raider games in the late 70’s. As someone with lackluster career progress might say, “they don’t teach you THAT in school.”
I suppose it has something to do with the ever-increasing snobbery in the Bay Area and the size of the stick up its collective rectum. Maybe the economy will temper that a little; maybe we’ll have to burn that stick to keep warm this winter.
by Mark H on Sep 22, 2009 11:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Speaking just for me
If I am sitting near hecklers near a game, I get annoyed if they can’t do better than:
"Strike two Custy! Get ready to walk back to the dugout with that goofy-ass look on your face."
I enjoy a good heckle as much as the next fan, but come on.
"We've come a long way, and I'm not talking about Virginia Slims, either." - Art Howe
by EastCoastA on Sep 22, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't really know what the point of heckling someone on your own team is, either
Maybe at home, but at the ballpark I’d only heckle the opponent. I WANT to see everyone on my team succeed.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 22, 2009 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
A ton of people were heckling Dan Meyer at one game last year.
Very understandably. He didn’t make it out of the second inning.
Please remedy my confusion
and thrust me back to the day.
The silence of your seclusion
brings night into all you say.
by danmerqury on Sep 22, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's a little different to me, though
That’s someone having a terrible game.
I mean, at AN Day I said to 67Marquez just as a pitch was coming to Cust, “Strike three,” but that’s more a prediction and less along the lines of “Hey Cust! Guess who’s about to go back to the dugout looking stupid as usual?”
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 22, 2009 2:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's someone having a terrible career.
Maybe you can find one made by Go F**k Yourself San Jose... -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Sep 22, 2009 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
He's pitched pretty well for the Marlins
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 22, 2009 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
So will Santiago Casilla next year.
"Flea Markets aren't just for blind dates anymore!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Sep 22, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm with you, EastCoastA.
If you’re going to heckle near me, at least entertain me with something original/clever/timely…
Prithee, be not perturbed by yon third bagger.
by Poppy on Sep 22, 2009 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
CARRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSS
"If Vin Mazzaro comes anywhere near me with shaving cream he’s gonna be coming away with a bloody stump" – Dallas Braden
by doctorK on Sep 22, 2009 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Especially if it's anti-Cust
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
by nevermoor on Sep 22, 2009 3:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No, no...
I’ve actually embraced the post-hype Cust. But you’ve been away, so I understand how you missed it… ;)
Prithee, be not perturbed by yon third bagger.
by Poppy on Sep 22, 2009 3:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No no
I didn’t mean it that way. I meant if a heckler is going to be anti-cust, there is an extra burden to be original. All the basics are covered-to-death (and generally wrong).
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
by nevermoor on Sep 22, 2009 4:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well
Here in the Midwest, we heckle pretty much everything from warm-up hits to missed catches on throw arounds. From the A’s @ White Sox and Jays @ Tigers games I went to recently, people around me gave the players some nice piercing heckles for their play, most notably Tigers fans at Magglio.
Personally, my friends and I yell/send jeers/heckle at any decent opportunity. We don’t just mindlessly spit out angry words, but we get our fair share in. Hands down my favorite is when I yell at a player for torpedo-ing my fantasy teams. Most of the time they just look at me like I’ve got 4 arms.
Not just athletes, Athletics.
by Wiers103 on Sep 23, 2009 12:18 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think that being put off by heckling =/ snobbery or wealth
I’m middle class, middle income, and I’m not a fan of most types of heckling, either.
I think that a lot of people feel that buying a ticket entitles you to say whatever you want to a guy, but I completely disagree. Because of their salary and our disconnect from them, I think it’s all too easy to forget that ballplayers are human beings. Most heckling I hear at the park these days is just mean-spirited and not very clever. Insulting a player on AN is one thing – he has the option to simply avoid media outlets (and for a professional athlete’s sanity and mental health, they probably should). But yelling insults in person, in an effort to be heard by the player, comes across as childish to me.*
*Most hecklers would be risking getting beat up physically by the player if they were to say things like that to him in the grocery store. So yelling it from the stands amounts to, “Naner naner, you can’t reach me from there and I can say whatever I want.” It doesn’t get much more childish than that.
I’m sure I haven’t thought this through enough, but perhaps there should be areas of the stadium that are just designated to be rowdy. This is kind of already an unwritten norm. The people who were in the area that Nate was sitting are implicity paying their money to be in an area where fan decorum will be more akin to a formal dinner party than a frat house. This doesn’t make them bad people, or snobs – it means they like to experience baseball in a different way than a heckler does. I’m kinda wierd like that too – when I watch a game at home, I keep it on mute, because I’d rather analyze the events without the broadcaster’s commentary, or that of those around me.
Now, if you’re in the bleachers? All that goes out the window. Anything short of exposing yourself is pretty much fair game out there, in my book.
Batting 4th for the 2014 San Jose A's: 26-year-old RF Justin Upton, in the 1st season of a nine year, $250M deal.
by notsellingjeans on Sep 22, 2009 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
I can see points there
Then there are people like this guy, who definitely deserves the heckling from both home and road fans:
Dumb and Dumber: Redskins rookie battles fans on Twitter
Things he said:
“All you fake half hearted Skins fan can .. I won’t go there but I dislike you very strongly, don’t come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!”
“No I didn’t play but I still made more than you in a year and you’d [gladly] switch spots with me in a second.”
“The question is who are you to say you know what’s best for the team and you work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds. "
That’s exactly the kind of superior attitude the average fan hates.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 22, 2009 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
On the other hand...
…I just read more and maybe it’s forgivable. He did apologize and say more:
Some is surely damage control but it does look like he cares.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 22, 2009 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I dislike heckling, but I also dislike prissy.
Making noise is good. My background is in classical music, and I always wished the audiences at the symphony, opera, and ballet would be less prissy. It’s like there’s a rule you have to have a stick up your ass or you’re not allowed to sit in the audience. No wonder no one wants to go to the opera any more. As a performer I hated that attitude. It’s also one of the reasons I liked Oakland better than San Francisco. I’ve seen people at the Oakland Paramount get out of their seats and dance at a “classical” concert. They’d never dare in San Francisco, and if they did someone would surely usher them out.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
by iglew on Sep 22, 2009 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
who has the sig line about that?
the BB quote about oakland fans going to ramones concerts while SF fans go to beegees concerts
BK: This guy is on fire, he is really smokin'.
KenKo: Oh yeah, Bill? What's he smokin'?
by jlanning17 on Sep 23, 2009 8:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I recall reading an article a little while back
in Newsweek maybe(?) that was talking about the history of how classical music audiences evolved into the “shut up and sit down” variety once recordings became more common. At least I think that’s what it said. This post may or may not have any valid information in it. I’ll shut up now.
Either way, I agree. Feedback, even in the form of “woooo!” seems like it would be welcome. What do you play?
by mk on Sep 24, 2009 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
That sounds accurate to me.
Opera used to be a very social event. Now everyone expects it to be as quiet as their living room. I think there may be a similar phenomenon with movies as more and more people get used to their home theaters. I rarely go to movies, but I understand people get mad at you if you laugh too loud or talk back to the screen.
I was a classically trained singer. Mostly opera. Opera fans are way way more snobbish than opera singers. The latter tend to be very earthy and open-minded, not to mention poor.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
by iglew on Sep 24, 2009 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
My personal take (and this is related more to movies than opera)
I hear everything. And when I say everything, I mean every little thing. It’s annoying. It means I miss words, dialog, etc. especially when i have some idiot behind me yipping and yapping. Now, laughing at something funny, no biggie. Funny is funny. You’re meant to laugh. A quick cheer? Well, I don’t get it, per se, but whatever, again, no biggie. But the yap fest means I’m not hearing the movie/show. It means I’m likely to miss something, possibly something important, I don’t know, because i haven’t seen it, and I’m there precisely to see it. If I’m paying to see something (and I imagine an opera to be expensive and movies are too expensive as it is) then I expect to enjoy it. And while there are definitely cultures and places in the world that movies/opera are still very social events, and if I go there, I expect to “play by the rules” if you will. But my preference is to experience the movie, not the audience. I don’t get any particular enjoyment from audience participation or the audience experience like you might at a sporting event. I’m there to experience a story. If you listen to a good opera or classical music, there’s as much subtly in the lows and lulls in the music as there are in highs. The more ambient noise in the hall/theater, the less you’re going to get. It doesn’t help that I’ve done sound recording work and know just how much something as simple as a fan or AC can really mess up a mic’s ability to pick up quality sound.
CuttheMullet, from "The Thread":
"Whenever I’m about to do something, I think "would an idiot do that?" and if they would, I do not do that thing."
by DMOAS on Sep 24, 2009 11:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree, especially in regard to movies
Sometimes I don’t mind a packed house for a new comedy or something like that because part of the fun is sharing the experience, but in most cases I’m more content with a quiet, mostly empty room because I know I’m going to be able to actually hear everything that’s being said. I don’t like missing lines because people around me have to carry on a conversation they should hold off on until they’re outside.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 25, 2009 1:35 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
hecklers are always stupid but even more stupid when they're heckling players on their own f'ing team.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones."
-BB 07/27/05
by xbhaskarx on Sep 22, 2009 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like heckling, for the most part.
Just be creative or funny about it, and leave their families out of it.
One thing that has fallen by the wayside that I wish would come back is players heckling each other from the dugout. Riding the opposing team’s pitcher or batters.
In 2008 I was watching a team that was rebuilding. In 2009 I feel like I'm watching a team that just sucks.
by UncleLeo on Sep 23, 2009 7:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
"Leave their families out of it"
Unless it’s Crosby we’re talking about here.
by Jackson23 on Sep 24, 2009 9:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I got a kick of this thread too.
pass the grey poupon
alaska A residing in northern Idaho.
by ak_A on Sep 22, 2009 4:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I sat in the Diamond seating once -- it was a great experience
did you try the hot chocolate? The night I was there it was much better than the hot chocolate sold elsewhere in the coliseum — and with real whipped cream!
The A’s lost the night I sat there too. It was 2005, Mark Kotsay bobblehead night…and Kotsay made two errors. Joe Kennedy was the starting pitcher. I must admit I absolutely loved sitting that close….actually, I wont’ be satisfied til I get to sit in the dugout!! ;-)
by OaklandSi on Sep 22, 2009 5:36 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I did
although I didn’t really have a frame of reference, since I can’t remember ever getting the hot chocolate at the stadium before. Usually I have layers and bundle up when ready, but with all the “heat wave” talk on the weather, I figured two shirts and jeans would be fine. Was friggin’ cold!
by Nate on Sep 22, 2009 6:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
8/18 vs. Yankees and Heckling
Derek Jeter’s first AB… Section 230, some fan yelled “Derek Jeter has herpes.” (Apparently he was referencing this.)
The girl behind me in Section 231 said, “That’s true. I know.”
We didn’t ask her how she knew.
A woman (who was sitting with a young, 10-ish year old girl) in front of the guy who said Jeter had herpes complained to security about him and they came and had a talk with him.
by timed exposure on Sep 22, 2009 9:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
One of the better Jeter insults....
Fan- “Hey Jeter, I heard about your fragrance endorsement. It’s just like you, overpriced, over hyped, and it smells bad”.
I liked it.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
by alox on Sep 22, 2009 10:22 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Wow, there is a lot of anger out there
All minor league players are essentially slave labor. Many major leaguers make the league minimum. A few make huge salaries. But who cares. The guys making eight figures sell gazillions of tickets. They deserve the money.
Heckle the opposing team because you are trying to add to the home field advantage. Encourage the homies if they are playing bad. But don’t rag them just because they are well-paid pros and you’re not. That’s just childish.
by redtopcowboy on Sep 23, 2009 5:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
as several people have said
heckling can be hilarrrrrious if it is witty and creative. getting angry or truly mean-spirited ruins it.
BK: This guy is on fire, he is really smokin'.
KenKo: Oh yeah, Bill? What's he smokin'?
by jlanning17 on Sep 23, 2009 8:07 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
And swearing. That really ruins it.
If you have to drop the f-bomb to get your point across, it’s probably not a good point.
by LoneStranger on Sep 23, 2009 8:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Amen to that...
I want to be able to bring my two-year old daughter to the ballpark without the fear of her learning any new four letter words.
"The only way I'm going to get a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint." - Reggie Jackson
by the_rozeboom on Sep 23, 2009 9:40 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
yeah exactly
i haven’t listened to howard stern since he moved to satellite, but i enjoyed the creativity on the show that was necessitated by the FCC garbage. having that vocabulary constraint kind of darwinizes the jokes that come out.
BK: This guy is on fire, he is really smokin'.
KenKo: Oh yeah, Bill? What's he smokin'?
by jlanning17 on Sep 23, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
A similar limitation is why
debates in British Parliament are often so witty.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
by iglew on Sep 24, 2009 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I sat there during a Rays game last year
Weekday day games are probably better in the Diamond Level. With less people there, it had that suite feel without the suite.
All Games and Comments are Subject to Blackout
by Hit4TheCycle on Sep 23, 2009 8:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
maybe they were just upset
because nobody from their section hit Carl Everett in the head with their cell phone.
Nick Swisher is handsome.
by ChrisCEIT on Sep 23, 2009 5:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Fun post!
I have never sat in the Diamond level. Something for my bucket list I guess.
by IM4Oakgal on Sep 23, 2009 10:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I haven't either, but always wondered what it was like. Now, I'm not so sure.
I once sat in a luxury box… complete with cold stale popcorn, non-fans that were barely aware a game was even going on, and a feeling of unreal separation from the game itself. That cured me of ever wanting to sit in one of those again.
In 2008 I was watching a team that was rebuilding. In 2009 I feel like I'm watching a team that just sucks.
by UncleLeo on Sep 24, 2009 2:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's not quite like that.
The fans are watching the game, they just don’t watch it like the folks in the LF bleachers are watching it.
by Nate on Sep 24, 2009 2:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
This isn't exactly the same thing
but if you go to a good college game (e.g., Cal or Standord) you can sit as close as Diamond level, probably for less than a Coliseum bleacher ticket costs.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Sep 24, 2009 6:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The woman sat next to you sounds like a bit of a prig
The guy who rode the ump and Crosby sounds pretty cool though!
Like most people I can enjoy a bit of heckling as long as it is humorous and doesn’t go to far.
by DeJay on Sep 24, 2009 4:49 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I would've probably said something like...
“Yes, you get to listen to that all game if people don’t like a call that’s made. If that bothers you, maybe you shouldn’t be at a baseball game.”
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Sep 24, 2009 8:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
A better reply would have been
“Yes, isn’t it exciting?”
CuttheMullet, from "The Thread":
"Whenever I’m about to do something, I think "would an idiot do that?" and if they would, I do not do that thing."
by DMOAS on Sep 24, 2009 11:53 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You guys are much more polite than me.
I probably would have just thrown my beer over her, and then proceeded to pelt her with pretzels for the rest of the game.
by DeJay on Sep 25, 2009 1:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ah, an old Candlestick fan.
In 2008 I was watching a team that was rebuilding. In 2009 I feel like I'm watching a team that just sucks.
by UncleLeo on Sep 26, 2009 12:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nice writeup, Nate.
I'm here to talk about the past.
by 67MARQUEZ on Sep 24, 2009 10:43 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the write up!
I’ve got tickets in the Diamond Level seats for closing day. Can’t wait! However, the last day of the season is always bittersweet.
"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it
turns out that it was the other way around all the time." ~~~ Jim Bouton
by Sweet Spot on Sep 26, 2009 5:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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