Stockton Ports Game

Grandpa (Gary), Darlene, Mamie, and I went out to Stockton last night to see a minor league baseball game. The Stockton Ports are the Oakland A's Single-A level farm club in the California League. They hosted the San Jose Giants, the Single-A farm club of the San Francisco Giants. The Ports' play at Banner Island Ballpark which sits next to the deep water channel in the Port of Stockton.

We met at the office where we put in some overtime before Grandpa drove us out to Stockton. On the way out, we stopped at the Golden Corral in Tracy for dinner where Grandpa and I shamelessly gorged ourselves. Mamie and Darlene wisely exercised some moderation so they didn't feel like they were carrying twins the rest of the night.

The weather was warm and pleasant in Stockton but the Ports made two first inning errors and were down 4-0 before we could blink. It looked like it might be a long night for the home nine. Entering the bottom of the fourth, they were down 7-2 but they didn't stay down much longer.

Designated hitter Kala Ka'aihue led off the bottom of the fourth with a walk. First baseman, Christian Vitters, followed with a double to move the Hawaiian DH to third. Centerfielder, Jermaine Mitchell, singled to drive in the runner from third. Leftfielder, Todd Johnson, brought home Vitters with an infield grounder and the lead was cut to 7-4.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Ports got a leadoff single from rightfielder, Grant Desme (the A's second round draft pick in 2007). Ka'aihue followed with a single and second baseman, Frank Martinez, walked to load the bases with no outs. The Ports were poised to take the lead but the Giants' pitcher, Paul Oseguera, got a strikeout and a popup to move himself an out away from escaping the jam. However, on a full count, he walked shortstop, Dusty Coleman, to bring in a run and reduce his lead to 7-5.

The Giants' manager, Andy Skeels, disagreed with the call and came running out of the dugout to express his displeasure. The argument grew heated with Skeels screaming right in the umpire's face. The umpire's patience ran out before long and he tossed Skeels out of the game. Then Skeels really went nuts. He chased the umpire around the infield, screaming and gesturing at him. By the time they got Skeels off the field, the game had been delayed about ten minutes.

I wish I could have seen the look on Skeels's face in the Giants' clubhouse when the next batter, Jermaine Mitchell, stroked a triple down the leftfield line to clear the bases and give the Ports an 8-7 lead. How many chairs do you figure got kicked around the clubhouse after that?

The bullpens clamped down after the fifth inning. The Ports' and Giants' pitchers yielded a few hits and walks but didn't allow any runs in the sixth through ninth innings. The Ports' 8-7 lead held and they went home with a satisfying come-from-behind victory over the evil Giants.

Besides the exciting ballgame, we were treated to some fun games and contests between innings. In one, three contestants from the stands donned asparagus costumes and raced around the warning track. In another, two contestents were hooked together with bungee cords and had to run in opposite directions to pick up swimming pool noodles and drop them into a barrell stationed between them. They also had a dance contest on top of the dugouts, a baseball trivia contest, and a musical chairs game between three kids and the team's mascot, Splash.

There was also a postgame fireworks show. We had a long ride home to the East Bay so we didn't stick around for the fireworks show, though we were able to see a little bit of it as we walked out to Grandpa's Jeep. We had a real nice evening and I'd like to do something like this again. Perhaps we can arrange a team outing to a ballgame.