Swing to the Fences
A few weeks ago, I renewed my Giants Flex membership. I originally thought it auto-renewed, but apparently it didn’t—until someone from the Giants called and nudged me. During the renewal process, I finally solved the mystery of the random 20% concession discount I received last season (yes, that one). Although the answer wasn’t what I wanted (at least now things are clear), I received an invitation to an off-season fan event: Swing to the Fences. It was my first Giants off-season event. And yes, I pulled my jersey out of the closet again.
The event was last Saturday. Classic San Francisco winter weather: cloudy, chilly, but no rain (lucky). My wife came with me, and when we arrived, the parking lot was almost empty—and half the regular-season price. This was an invite-only event, I guessed there were around 200–300 total attendees, and guests were assigned one-hour time slots. We chose the second-to-last slot: 3PM.
There was food—simple but surprisingly good. A small cheeseburger with an actually well-cooked patty (not an instant one), snacks, and drinks.
Several normally restricted areas were open, such as the Giants’ locker room. I’ve walked past that Field Club hallway plenty of times during the season and never realized the locker room was just a few steps away. The space felt very familiar thanks to all the post-game interviews I’ve watched on TV.
Eventually, we headed up to the field. A long line of fans waited for their turn to hit. A pitching machine delivered balls at a kid-friendly speed, and if the batter was too young, the staff tossed the balls themselves (how kind!). I got five pitches: three hits (two solid) and two misses. I honestly don’t remember the last time I swung a bat. The feeling—the connection of bat and ball—was so satisfying. (The muscle pain the next day was less satisfying—a fresh reminder of my age.)
After hitting, we stayed on the field to catch balls from other fans. I’ve been on the field before during in-season fan events, but this time the stadium lights were on, and the field felt completely different—vivid, clearer, almost cinematic.
Team photographers captured everything—swings, laughs, awkward whiffs, and plenty of establishing shots of me and my wife. We received a link to the photo gallery during the event, but it was live three days later. The images were stunning—crisp enough that they already looked like glossy prints. I heard they processed over 30,000 photos, so the delay suddenly made sense. It was worth the wait.
Walking out of Oracle Park felt different than leaving after a regular-season game. No torture, no scoreboard stress, no bullpen anxiety—just a soft reminiscence of the 81–81 season. Now the real off-season begins: the rumors, the hope, the worry, the stove-league chaos… but so far, still quiet.
I’m ready.
Come on, Giants. Let’s go!
