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March 19, 2013

Punk Hits

Not Just Another Night at the Yard

by Ian Miller

I’ve become slightly obsessed with the World Baseball Classic. When I learned the semifinals and finals of the 2013 Classic would be played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, I made sure to purchase our regular-season seats for all three games. I’m regretting that decision a little now that they’re flogging $5 bleacher seats for the second semifinal game, but the buyer’s remorse is minimal; after all, it’s not every day that an international baseball event is held in one’s own backyard.

The first semifinal game took place on Sunday night and pitted Japan, the two-time defending WBC champ, against a plucky Puerto Rico team that really had no business making it out of pool play. They faced elimination twice and beat Italy and the United States to guarantee a semifinal berth, ultimately losing to the Dominican Republic in what amounted to a seeding game. Had they won, they would have had an additional day off in which to travel to San Francisco from Miami, and they’d face the Netherlands. But they lost to the D.R., meaning they had to fly west immediately after their Saturday game in order to face Japan on Sunday on a short turnaround and as a heavy underdog.

That meant I began Sunday night as a Puerto Rico fan. I didn’t have a dog in the fight—I recently adopted the Netherlands as my official WBC rooting interest—so I figured I’d cheer for the little guy. Ultimately I just wanted to see a good game and to have the opportunity to see players and a brand of baseball I wouldn’t normally get a chance to see up close.

When we arrived at AT&T Park, it was clear that this was no regular season Giants game. There was a live band performing in Willie Mays Plaza, which was decked out in WBC-specific bunting and streamers. Auxiliary merchandise booths flogged WBC gear as fast as their credit-card machines would allow, and revelers filled the plaza and spilled out into the Third and King streets, much to the chagrin of the local constabulary.

Once inside, we made our way to our seats alongside the home (Japan) bullpen. We watched Japan’s starting pitcher, Kenta Maeda of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, begin his long bullpen warm-up routine and prepare to take the hill against Puerto Rico.

But fi