San Francisco Travel Answers

LOL! Can't speak for the Giants but I've been to several mid-day, mid-week Twins games here in Minneapolis and the stadium was full!!! During the summer when the kids are out of school, people will often take a day or 1/2 day off work to go to the game. Most do not have season tickets for every game (although the diehards do) nor are all played on home turf so it's not like there's a game every single day.

Depending on the team and who they are playing, the stadium could get full, even on an afternoon game, although evening games would most likely be more full for the reasons you cited. Either way, you'll still experience the ball game - which is partly the action, the music, the food, and the fans. As goodfish said, they are on the road 1/2 the time so, while there are a lot of games, they aren't every day in the local stadium. And many stadiums do a great job of attracting the fans through give-aways and events. Sadly, I've been an Orioles fan all my life...sad...that Babe Ruth curse can't last forever...can it? On the bright side, you can ALWAYS get tickets to their games :-)

Too bad you weren't in Chicago. The Chicago Cubs were the last team to get lights and all their games were during the day. 82 home games a season and in some years when the team was going good Wrigley Field (where they play) was very full. People do take off work to go to games, sales people go, students, etc. I've been by the new ballpark in San Francisco back in 2010 the day after they won the World Series. It looks like a very nice ballpark and I think you should go especially in the daytime. It can get quite cold in the evening in San Francisco during the months of June and July because of the coolness of the air coming off the Pacific Ocean. The team they are playing, the Houston Astros, are unfortunately one of the worst teams in American baseball right now so the crowds will not be very large for either the day or night game I would think. My suggestion is to go to the day game where you will be more comfortable and even though the crowd will be smaller you will at least get a taste of American baseball. The crowds are never very loud for most baseball games anyway like they would be for other American sports.

>The crowds are never very loud for most baseball games anyway like they would be for other American sports. Well, not loud every minute but when something is happening on the field, we Twins fans are less than subdued. Learn the words to "Take me out to the ballgame" so you can join in during the 7th inning stretch!

The average attendance in AT&T Park in the last several years has been 35,000-40,000 per game (although last year was over 41,000). Of course, the actual attendance per game will vary...but you can count on the spirit of American capitalism to make sure that they wouldn't set game times that wouldn't sell very well. Yes, I know that television requirements sometimes move game times around, but for the most part, the times are set to maximize the benefit to the facility. Here in Texas, nearly all of our games from Monday through Saturday are at night, because of the heat. Only on Sunday do they play an afternoon game...and we all wonder why ;-). Anyway, go when you want to go...what you should really be concentrating on is where you want to sit...what's the expected temperature, do you want to sit in the sun or not, do you want to be behind one of the bases or down the foul lines or out in the outfield (the cheapest seats), and so on...do you want to be able to catch (or duck) a foul ball, or do you want to be behind protective netting? You know, all that stuff... Bill

I have friends in San Francisco that call in sick to go to a day game . In American they call it hooky. Fans play hooky to watch sports, believe me , you won't be the only one there. cheers tommy x

Thanks for all your replies, its another thing sorted on my list. I'll go to the mid day game so Ive got the evening free. I guess I'll sit in the main stand in reasonably cheap seats. It would be nice to catch a ball but I guess the chances are really slim so it not worth sitting out in the bleachers / outfield.

Have a great time! Say, if you want some good microbrews and pub food before the game, the 21st Amendment is only a couple blocks from the stadium. The place was crawling with Giant's fans last I was there, and they have an outdoor alley drinking area on game days. Good place - the sliders were yummy! http://21st-amendment.com/

Chances will be very slim indeed for a ball. I've been going to ball games for over 40 years and I haven't caught one yet. However my youngest son worked for a couple of years for the Chicago Cubs organization in security and we have several dozen balls now in our garage.

Catching a ball is for the moment. Just when i said it won't happen, foul ball caught bare handed....give the man a contract! People drop their kids to catch a foul ball, people die flippin over bleachers. If it happens, it happens cheers tommy x

Well, ol' Devilz, whatever you do, don't do this - A Mother's Death Stare - sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/bi... ;-) Bill

OK, I just have to add my foul ball story... For YEARS I would attend baseball games (mostly New Orleans Zephyrs games) and sit in right field with my red baseball glove, ready to catch a foul ball if the opportunity ever arose. One year, I'm there in my usual section, and sure enough - high pop fly to the right field. It was coming right toward me. Everything went into slow motion - I raised my glove to the air, and waited, and waited, and then... I freaked. I put the glove over my head and ducked down in a pseudo-crash position. The guy two rows behind me caught the ball. After that, I just left the glove at home - I knew I wasn't fooling anyone (myself included). Oh well... LOL!!

And after that didn't you wonder why people always say "heads up" instead of "duck and cover"?

reminds me of a little leaguers first catch. Pop, in the glove. wow great eye and hand cordination, that's baseball cheers tommy x

ATT Park is such a marvelous experience to be at that nearly every game does in fact sell out. I wouldn't worry about the park on June 15th, it will be nearly full I believe. The stadium is absolutely gorgeous and the envy of many baseball fans in other places of the country. I personally think you would enjoy a day game a lot more than an evening game particularly in June. The evenings in San Francisco around the park tend to be pretty cold and windy. On weekdays you can get often get some pretty good deals buying your tickets at a site like stubhub.com for tickets to games.