With the glow still fresh from the San Francisco Giants’ recent championship, there was no question that I would attend their Fan Fest last weekend. I took both of my daughters with me, and I looked forward to seeing its attractions and avoiding the autograph lines, having spent the previous two Fan Fests standing on the field for hours over the objections of my feet and back. The Giants’ clubhouse was closed for renovations, so we started with the press box, where I got to sit in the official scorer’s chair, and went on to the exclusive club section where the one-percenters hang out. There we found an interview session with three Giants players: starting pitchers Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong and second baseman Joe Panik. We stood about 20 feet from them while they fielded questions from the audience in their new black alternate jerseys. In my search for interesting experiences to share with my daughters, this was pay dirt.
The atmosphere was relaxed, and the players made a lot of fun of each other. Someone asked Cain and Vogelsong how they got along while sharing adjoining lockers:
Cain: Sometimes, I need to tell Vogey to get his dirty underwear off my shoes.
Vogelsong: That is so not true!
Panik, who may be the smallest member of the Giants, has a face for magazine covers, a fact more evident with his good head of hair free of its usual baseball cap. He drew a lot of attention from the females in the audience, one of whom asked if he’d go to her high school prom. When he hesitated on this question, Vogelsong interjected, “If he can’t make it, I’ll go!” This got a laugh, possibly because Vogelsong delivered his comment while sporting a dyed black beard that would have done Brian Wilson proud. This was a different look from the clean-cut fashion that Vogelsong had previously favored, and I wondered if this meant that he expected to pitch more out of the bullpen this season instead of starting. Relief pitchers tended to be more distinctive in their grooming, hoping to intimidate hitters by their presence.
The contrast in age was evident between Panik, with barely a half-season to his credit, and the pitchers, both of whom have been in the majors for over a decade. Panik was deferential to his elders during the interview, but I wondered if it would be his locker that attracted more attention after games in 2015 than those of Cain and Vogelsong. Vogelsong, who recently escaped baseball purgatory by re-signing with the Giants instead of the bottom-feeder Houston Astros, was hanging onto the remains of his career by his fingertips, while Cain was recovering from his recent elbow surgery and still questionable for the coming season. Panik’s future seemed bright, but though his double-play glove flip in the 2014 Series ensured that he would never have to pay for a drink in San Francisco again, his spot in the Giants lineup was not necessarily assured. His batting average of .311 in 2014 exceeded his career average in the minors, and while this kind of performance was not unprecedented, it suggested that he was due for a decline, especially if the league figured him out and pitched more to his weaknesses. The second year in the majors could be the hardest; I hoped he would make it.
After the interview, there didn’t seem to be anything we needed to do other than go to the Dugout Store nearby and allow the girls to shop a little with my money; I always tell them on these occasions that theirs is no good when they are with me. After picking up a few things, including a hat for me off the clearance rack (yes, there is one), we left the park for the next stop on the itinerary: Willie McCovey’s Restaurant across the bay in Walnut Creek. We found a grave disappointment; the restaurant had closed for business just days before. According to online articles I found later, there were plans to reopen in San Francisco near the ballpark, but not for a couple of years. I would miss going there in Walnut Creek; it was a relaxing refuge after escaping from the traffic of downtown San Francisco. I also hoped they would find a way to replicate in the new restaurant the old circular ceiling with the big 44. It was a marvel of interior design, and I never got tired of looking at it. It would be a shame to think that I have seen it for the last time.
San Francisco Giants Fan Fest 2014: Success This Time, and Worth the Wait, by Chuck Strom
If You Really Want an Autograph, Just Go Buy One (2013 Fan Fest), By Chuck Strom
