AT&T Park
Encyclopedia
AT&T Park is a ballpark
located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California
. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third
and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants
of Major League Baseball
since 2000.
Originally named Pacific Bell Park, then renamed SBC Park in 2003 after SBC
's acquisition of Pacific Bell
, the stadium was ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006 following SBC's merger with AT&T
.
The park also hosts the annual Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a college football
bowl game
, and other occasional sporting and musical events. For the 2011 season, the park will serve as the home of California Golden Bears football team
.
Groundbreaking on the ballpark began on December 11, 1997, in the industrial waterfront area
of San Francisco known as China Basin in the up and coming neighborhoods of South Beach and Mission Bay
. The stadium cost $
357 million to build and supplanted the Giants' former home, Candlestick Park, a multi-use stadium in southeastern San Francisco. A team of engineers from UC Davis
was consulted in the design process of the park resulting in wind levels that are approximately half those at Candlestick. Fans had shivered through 40 seasons at "The 'Stick" and looked forward to warmer temperatures at the new ballpark. But because AT&T Park, like its predecessor, is built right on San Francisco Bay
, cold summer fog and winter jackets in July are still not unusual at Giants games, despite the higher average temperature.
When it opened on March 31, 2000, the ballpark was the first Major League
ballpark built without public funds since the completion of Dodger Stadium
in 1962. However, the Giants did receive a $10 million tax abatement from The City and $80 million for upgrades to the local infrastructure (including a connection to the Muni Metro
). The Giants have a 66-year lease on the 12.5 acres (50,585.8 m²) ballpark site, paying $1.2 million in rent annually to the San Francisco Port Commission. The park opened with a seating capacity
of 40,800, but this has increased over time as seats have been added.
against the Los Angeles Dodgers
(the team the Giants faced in their final series at Candlestick Park), and the Giants
were swept in three games. In the first game of that series, the Giants lost 6-5, highlighted by three home run
s from the Dodgers' Kevin Elster
.
In just its first few years of existence, the ballpark has seen its share of historic events primarily due to veteran Giants outfielder Barry Bonds
. On April 17, 2001
, Bonds hit his 500th career home run at then-Pacific Bell Park. Later that year, he set the single season home run record when he hit home runs number 71, 72, and 73 over the weekend of October 5 to close the season. On August 9, 2002
, Bonds hit his 600th career home run at the park. On April 12, 2004
, Bonds hit career home run 660 at SBC Park to tie Willie Mays for third on the all-time list and on the next night, he hit number 661 to move into sole possession of third place. On September 17, 2004, Bonds hit his 700th career home run at the park to become just the third member of baseball's 700 club. On May 28, 2006
, Bonds hit his 715th home run at the park to pass Babe Ruth
for second place on the all-time list. On August 7, 2007
, Bonds hit his 756th home run, breaking Hank Aaron's record.
The park hosted games three through five of the 2002 World Series
against the Anaheim Angels
, which the Giants lost four games to three. It also hosted the 2007 MLB All-Star Game
, which the American League
won 5-4 over the National League
.
On July 10, 2009, the Giants' Jonathan Sánchez
pitched the first no-hitter at AT&T Park.
On October 27 & 28, 2010, the Giants hosted the first two World Series games of the series, beating the Texas Rangers
in both games and ultimately went on to win the World Series and become 2010 World Series Champions.
The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company
, a local telephone company in the San Francisco Bay Area
, purchased the naming rights
for the park for $50 million over 24 years in the Winter of 1996. Pacific Bell had been recently purchased by SBC Communications when the naming rights deal was agreed upon. SBC eventually dropped the Pacific Bell name and reached an agreement with the Giants to change the stadium's name on January 1, 2004.
After SBC bought AT&T Corporation
on November 18, 2005, the name of the merged company became AT&T, Inc.
. As a result, the stadium was given its third name in six years: "AT&T Park." Fans still refer to the stadium as "Pac Bell Park", as it was the first name given to the stadium. Others have named the stadium "The Phone Booth" or "Telephone Park", for the constant name changes, as well as "Mays Field" in honor of Giants great Willie Mays or simply "The Bell". Many also refer to the stadium as "China Basin" or "McCovey Cove" after its location, which would be immune to changes in sponsorship naming.
, brings non-baseball events to AT&T Park on days when the Giants do not play. Prominent among these has been the usage of the stadium for football. For example, the park was home to the XFL
's San Francisco Demons
in 2001, was the home of the East-West Shrine Game
(until 2006), and was recently the former home stadium of the California Redwoods of the UFL in 2009. Since 2002, it has also been home to college football
's Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, previously the San Francisco Bowl and most recently the Emerald Bowl. In 2011, AT&T Park will become the home football stadium for the California Golden Bears
while Cal's on-campus stadium, California Memorial Stadium
, is undergoing renovation.
AT&T Park has also hosted a range of other sporting and musical events. On February 10, 2006, the U.S. men's soccer team
defeated Japan
3-2 at AT&T in a friendly. A match of the 2011 World Football Challenge
between Manchester City and Club America
was held at AT&T, drawing a sparse crowd of 11,250. The Maverick's big-wave surfing contest
is broadcast live on the giant video display at AT&T Park when the event is held. In 2006, the park hosted ICER AIR
the first ever stadium big-air ski and snowboard competition to be held in the United States.
A virtual recreation of the park was created as a gig venue for Guitar Hero World Tour
.
The park hosted an audition stop for the 2011 (10th) season of American Idol
(held in summer 2010).
San Francisco Opera
partnered with Giants Enterprises, to do three broadcasts, most recently Tosca
, in June & September 2009.
The stadium contains 68 luxury suites, 5,200 club seats on the club level and an additional 1,500 club seats at the field level behind home plate.
On the facing of the upper deck along the left field line are the retired numbers of Bill Terry
, Mel Ott
, Carl Hubbell
, Monte Irvin
, Willie Mays
, Juan Marichal
, Orlando Cepeda
, Jackie Robinson
, Willie McCovey
, and Gaylord Perry
as well as the retired uniforms, denoted "NY", of Christy Mathewson
and John McGraw who played or managed in the pre-number era. These two pre-number era retired uniforms are among only six such retired uniforms in all of the Major Leagues.
, the right field foul pole is only 309 feet (94 m) from home plate. The wall is made of brick, with fenced off archways opening to the Cove beyond, above which are several rows of arcade seating. The fence angles quickly away from home plate; right-center field extends out to 421 feet (128 m) from home plate. Atop the fence are four pillars with fountains atop. These four pillars will burst jets of water when the Giants hit a home run, win a game, and at the end of the National Anthem.
In the past, rubber chickens put up by fans whenever a Giants player (especially Barry Bonds) was intentionally walked, would line the foul portion of the wall. The fans would do this to show that the opposing team is "chicken" for not pitching right to the Giants players. In recent seasons, as the team's strength has shifted from hitting to pitching, fans will line up "K" signs with each strikeout by a Giants pitcher. To some seniors, the right field area vaguely suggests the layout at the Polo Grounds
. This deep corner of the ballpark has been dubbed "Death Valley" and "Triples' Alley." Like its Polo Grounds counterpart, it is very difficult to hit a home run to this area, and a batted ball that finds its way into this corner often results in a triple. Triples' Alley is also infamous for bad bounces, most notably when Ichiro Suzuki
hit the first-ever inside the park home run in an All-Star Game by lining the ball off one of the archways and sideways past the outfielders. Nate Schierholtz performed the same feat in the 2009 season as a pinch hitter. Aubrey Huff did it again in the 2010 season.
Beyond right field is China Basin, a section of San Francisco Bay
, which is dubbed McCovey Cove
after famed Giants first baseman
and left-handed slugger Willie McCovey
, and into which a number of home runs have been hit on the fly. As of September 27, 2011
, 60 "splash hits" have been knocked into the Cove by Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were by Barry Bonds. Opponents have hit the water on the fly 23 times; Todd Hundley
of the Los Angeles Dodgers
was the first visitor to do so on June 30, 2000
. Luis Gonzalez
of the Arizona Diamondbacks
and Cliff Floyd
of the Chicago Cubs
are the only visiting players to do so twice, while Carlos Delgado
of the New York Mets
has performed the feat three times. Adam LaRoche
has also hit three splash hits, twice with the Arizona Diamondbacks
and once with the Pittsburgh Pirates
. Rick Ankiel
of the Atlanta Braves
most recently hit one into the water - a come-from-behind solo home run in the 11th inning of game 2 of the 2010 NLDS. Barry Bonds is the Giant who has hit the most home runs into "The Cove" as Giants fans call it.
Behind the scoreboard in center field there is a pier where ferries can tie up and let off fans right at the park. On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats and even in kayak
s, often with fishing nets in the hope of collecting a home run ball. (This echoes what used to happen during McCovey's playing days. Before Candlestick Park's upper deck was extended, the area behind right field was occupied by three small bleacher sections and a lot of open space. Kids in those bleachers would gather behind the right field fence when "Stretch" would come to the plate). Just beyond the wall is a public waterfront promenade, where fans can watch three innings of a game through the wall's archways, free of charge, albeit with a somewhat obstructed view. Across the cove from the ballpark is McCovey Point and China Basin Park, featuring monuments to past Giants legends.
since the wall was sponsored by the company. Rusty was a two-dimensional robotic ballplayer that stood 14 feet (4.3 m) tall and weighed five and a half tons. The Valencia, California
firm, Technifex, engineered, fabricated and programmed Rusty to appear after major plays, during games, as a fully animated giant 1920's era tin "toy". After technical problems arose with Rusty, it was removed from the Old Navy Splash Landing, though the enclosure that housed him remained for years. In 2006 the Old Navy sponsorship of the wall was terminated and renamed "Levi's Landing". In 2008, the enclosure was removed as that area near the right field foul pole was renovated for a new luxury party suite called the "McCovey Cove Loft".
Behind the left field bleachers is "The Coca-Cola Fan Lot". The ballpark features an 80 feet (24.4 m) long Coca-Cola
bottle with playground slides that will blow bubbles and light up with every Giants home run, and a miniature version of the stadium. "The Coca-Cola Superslide" is popular with children as is with adults, and the terraced levels of the slides is a fun way to catch the game. If one were viewing the outfield promenade from home plate, directly to the bottle's right is another oversized representation of a ballpark stalwart, the "Giant 1927 Old-Time Four-Fingered Baseball Glove" — this particular one is made of steel and fiberglass. Behind and further to the left is "The Little Giants Park" - a miniature baseball diamond — sort of a minor league tryout for Pee-Wee Ball.
To the right of the glove sculpture is the elevator and large plaza area for functions and parties to be held during games. It's also the site of "Orlando's", the concessions stand of Giants great Orlando Cepeda
. The signature fare at the stand is the "Caribbean Cha Cha Bowl". Right-center field features a real San Francisco cable car
(retired cable car #4, formerly #504), with a label that states "No Dodgers Fans Allowed". The fog horn — a feature introduced at Candlestick Park by the current Giants ownership group - was transferred to AT&T and hung underneath the scoreboard. It blows when a Giants player hits a home run or at the conclusion of a Giants win. Continuing right takes one to the promenade above the Cove, so that one can make a completely uninterrupted circuit of the park at that concourse level. Both levels of the concourse, inside the stadium, feature not only concession stands of all sorts, but other attractions as well.
The ballpark features a make-your-own-mascot store for the Giants' mascot, Lou Seal.
board by Mitsubishi
, the park has enormous, manually operated boards on the right field wall, which display the scores of Major League games played elsewhere. These manual scoreboards are operated by three employees, whose work on game days starts at least two hours before the first pitch.
access points, covering all concourses and seating areas, creating one of the largest public hotspots
in the world at the time.
The Willie Mays Statue is located in front of the ballpark entrance at 24 Willie Mays Plaza and is surrounded with 24 palm trees, in honor of his number 24 uniform, retired by the Giants. It was dedicated at noon on March 31, 2000, prior to the opening of the ballpark and was commissioned by Giants Managing Partner Peter Magowan
and his wife Debby.
Another statue is located at McCovey Point across McCovey Cove
, and is dedicated to Willie McCovey
. Around the Willie McCovey Statue are a number of plaques that celebrate the winners of the Willie Mac Award
. The statue is located at China Basin Park next to The Barry Bonds Junior Giants Field, a T-ball park. Also located on the sea wall promenade are plaques showing the Opening Day Roster of every Giants team from 1958 through 1999. Giants fans who contributed funds to China Basin Park, had their own tiles with their own inscriptions set into the wall.
A third statue, dedicated in 2005
, honors former Giants pitcher Juan Marichal
, and is located outside the ballpark at the Lefty O'Doul
Gate entrance. The fourth statue is located at the park's ferry plaza behind center field, also known as Seals Plaza; a statue of a seal bobbing a baseball on its nose honors the memory of the San Francisco Seals, the minor league baseball club that played before the arrival of the Giants in 1958.
On September 6, 2008, during a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates
, a fifth statue depicting former Giants great Orlando Cepeda
was dedicated at the corner of 2nd and King Streets next to the ballpark. All four statues of the Giants Hall of Fame players were created by sculptor William Behrends of North Carolina.
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third
Third Street (San Francisco)
Third Street, formerly Kentucky Street in the Dogpatch and Railroad Avenue in the Bayview, is a north-south street running through the Downtown, Mission Bay, Potrero Point, Dogpatch, and the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco, California which turns into Kearny Street north of...
and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
since 2000.
Originally named Pacific Bell Park, then renamed SBC Park in 2003 after SBC
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
's acquisition of Pacific Bell
Pacific Bell
The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company was the name of the Bell System's telephone operations in California. It gained in size by acquiring smaller telephone companies along the Pacific coast, such as Sunset Telephone & Telegraph in 1917...
, the stadium was ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006 following SBC's merger with AT&T
American Telephone & Telegraph
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
.
The park also hosts the annual Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
, and other occasional sporting and musical events. For the 2011 season, the park will serve as the home of California Golden Bears football team
2011 California Golden Bears football team
The 2011 California Golden Bears football team represents the University of California, Berkeley in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
.
Design and construction
Originally designed to be a 42,000 seat stadium, there were slight modifications before the final design was complete. When the ballpark was brought to the ballot box in the Fall of 1996 for voter approval, the stadium was 15 degrees clockwise from its current position. Also the center-field scoreboard was atop the right-field wall and the Giants Pavilion Building were two separate buildings.Groundbreaking on the ballpark began on December 11, 1997, in the industrial waterfront area
Port of San Francisco
The Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate. It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from Spain and England to find the anchorage originally called Yerba Buena...
of San Francisco known as China Basin in the up and coming neighborhoods of South Beach and Mission Bay
Mission Bay, San Francisco, California
Mission Bay is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.-Location:Mission Bay is roughly bounded by Townsend Street on the north, Third Street and San Francisco Bay on the east, Mariposa Street on the south, and 7th Street and Interstate 280 on the west.-History:It was created in 1998 by the...
. The stadium cost $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
357 million to build and supplanted the Giants' former home, Candlestick Park, a multi-use stadium in southeastern San Francisco. A team of engineers from UC Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
was consulted in the design process of the park resulting in wind levels that are approximately half those at Candlestick. Fans had shivered through 40 seasons at "The 'Stick" and looked forward to warmer temperatures at the new ballpark. But because AT&T Park, like its predecessor, is built right on San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, cold summer fog and winter jackets in July are still not unusual at Giants games, despite the higher average temperature.
When it opened on March 31, 2000, the ballpark was the first Major League
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
ballpark built without public funds since the completion of Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
in 1962. However, the Giants did receive a $10 million tax abatement from The City and $80 million for upgrades to the local infrastructure (including a connection to the Muni Metro
Muni Metro
Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway , a division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency...
). The Giants have a 66-year lease on the 12.5 acres (50,585.8 m²) ballpark site, paying $1.2 million in rent annually to the San Francisco Port Commission. The park opened with a seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 40,800, but this has increased over time as seats have been added.
Notable events
The opening series took place from April 11–13, 20002000 Major League Baseball season
The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series. An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season...
against the Los Angeles Dodgers
2000 Los Angeles Dodgers season
In 2000, the Dodgers set a club record for home runs with 211, led by Gary Sheffield, who tied Duke Snider's single-season club mark with 43. Eric Karros became the L.A. Dodger all-time leader with his 229th home run and Dave Hansen set a Major League record with seven pinch-hit home runs. Kevin...
(the team the Giants faced in their final series at Candlestick Park), and the Giants
2000 San Francisco Giants season
The San Francisco Giants, an American baseball team, won the National League West Championship. The team played their first season in newly opened Pacific Bell Park.-Offseason:...
were swept in three games. In the first game of that series, the Giants lost 6-5, highlighted by three home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s from the Dodgers' Kevin Elster
Kevin Elster
Kevin Daniel Elster is a retired Major League Baseball shortstop.Elster played for six different ballclubs during his career: the New York Mets , New York Yankees , Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers , Pittsburgh Pirates , and Los Angeles Dodgers...
.
In just its first few years of existence, the ballpark has seen its share of historic events primarily due to veteran Giants outfielder Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
. On April 17, 2001
2001 Major League Baseball season
The Major League Baseball season finished with the Arizona Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees in a Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. The attacks of September 11 pushed the end of the regular-season from September 30 to October 7. Because of that, the World Series was not completed until...
, Bonds hit his 500th career home run at then-Pacific Bell Park. Later that year, he set the single season home run record when he hit home runs number 71, 72, and 73 over the weekend of October 5 to close the season. On August 9, 2002
2002 Major League Baseball season
The Major League Baseball season finished with the Anaheim Angels defeating the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.-Major league baseball final standings:...
, Bonds hit his 600th career home run at the park. On April 12, 2004
2004 Major League Baseball season
* Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *...
, Bonds hit career home run 660 at SBC Park to tie Willie Mays for third on the all-time list and on the next night, he hit number 661 to move into sole possession of third place. On September 17, 2004, Bonds hit his 700th career home run at the park to become just the third member of baseball's 700 club. On May 28, 2006
2006 Major League Baseball season
In , the Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular season victory total in history. The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game; the A.L. has won nine...
, Bonds hit his 715th home run at the park to pass Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
for second place on the all-time list. On August 7, 2007
2007 Major League Baseball season
The 2007 Major League Baseball season, began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1...
, Bonds hit his 756th home run, breaking Hank Aaron's record.
The park hosted games three through five of the 2002 World Series
2002 World Series
The 2002 World Series was a best-of-seven playoff series to determine the champion of Major League Baseball for the 2002 season. It was the 98th such contest between the champions of the American League and National League , and featured the AL champion Anaheim Angels against the NL champion San...
against the Anaheim Angels
2002 Anaheim Angels season
The Anaheim Angels 2002 season was the franchise's 42nd, and it ended with the team's first American League pennant and World Series championship....
, which the Giants lost four games to three. It also hosted the 2007 MLB All-Star Game
2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the home of the NL's San Francisco Giants...
, which the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
won 5-4 over the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
.
On July 10, 2009, the Giants' Jonathan Sánchez
Jonathan Sanchez
Jonathan O. Sánchez is a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals....
pitched the first no-hitter at AT&T Park.
On October 27 & 28, 2010, the Giants hosted the first two World Series games of the series, beating the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
in both games and ultimately went on to win the World Series and become 2010 World Series Champions.
Naming rights
Pacific Bell
The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company was the name of the Bell System's telephone operations in California. It gained in size by acquiring smaller telephone companies along the Pacific coast, such as Sunset Telephone & Telegraph in 1917...
, a local telephone company in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, purchased the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
for the park for $50 million over 24 years in the Winter of 1996. Pacific Bell had been recently purchased by SBC Communications when the naming rights deal was agreed upon. SBC eventually dropped the Pacific Bell name and reached an agreement with the Giants to change the stadium's name on January 1, 2004.
After SBC bought AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corp., originally American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American telecommunications company that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. AT&T is the oldest telecommunications company...
on November 18, 2005, the name of the merged company became AT&T, Inc.
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
. As a result, the stadium was given its third name in six years: "AT&T Park." Fans still refer to the stadium as "Pac Bell Park", as it was the first name given to the stadium. Others have named the stadium "The Phone Booth" or "Telephone Park", for the constant name changes, as well as "Mays Field" in honor of Giants great Willie Mays or simply "The Bell". Many also refer to the stadium as "China Basin" or "McCovey Cove" after its location, which would be immune to changes in sponsorship naming.
Other uses
Giants Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of the San Francisco Giants created and headed by longtime team executive and marketing legend Pat GallagherPatrick J. Gallagher
Patrick Joseph Gallagher is the current Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the Alternative Golf Association and was the former...
, brings non-baseball events to AT&T Park on days when the Giants do not play. Prominent among these has been the usage of the stadium for football. For example, the park was home to the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
's San Francisco Demons
San Francisco Demons
The San Francisco Demons were a short-lived springtime American football team based in San Francisco, California. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States...
in 2001, was the home of the East-West Shrine Game
East-West Shrine Game
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...
(until 2006), and was recently the former home stadium of the California Redwoods of the UFL in 2009. Since 2002, it has also been home to college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
's Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, previously the San Francisco Bowl and most recently the Emerald Bowl. In 2011, AT&T Park will become the home football stadium for the California Golden Bears
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
while Cal's on-campus stadium, California Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium
California Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley. Commonly known as Memorial Stadium, it is the home field for the University of California Golden Bears of the Pacific-12 Conference...
, is undergoing renovation.
AT&T Park has also hosted a range of other sporting and musical events. On February 10, 2006, the U.S. men's soccer team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
defeated Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...
3-2 at AT&T in a friendly. A match of the 2011 World Football Challenge
2011 World Football Challenge
The 2011 World Football Challenge was the second World Football Challenge event, a series of friendly football matches played in the United States and Canada in July and August 2011.- Participants :...
between Manchester City and Club America
Club América
Club América is a Mexican Professional football club based in Mexico City. It competes in the Primera División, the top professional league in the country. The team's nickname is Las Águilas ....
was held at AT&T, drawing a sparse crowd of 11,250. The Maverick's big-wave surfing contest
Mavericks (location)
Maverick's or Mavericks is a surfing location in Northern California, U.S.A.. It is located approximately 2 miles from shore in Pillar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely...
is broadcast live on the giant video display at AT&T Park when the event is held. In 2006, the park hosted ICER AIR
ICER AIR
ICER AIR was an urban big-air ski and snowboard event held in 2005 on Fillmore Street in San Francisco and at or near AT&T Park from 2006 through 2008.-History:...
the first ever stadium big-air ski and snowboard competition to be held in the United States.
A virtual recreation of the park was created as a gig venue for Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
.
The park hosted an audition stop for the 2011 (10th) season of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
(held in summer 2010).
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
partnered with Giants Enterprises, to do three broadcasts, most recently Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, in June & September 2009.
Features
On the facing of the upper deck along the left field line are the retired numbers of Bill Terry
Bill Terry
William Harold Terry was a Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Terry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. In 1999, he ranked number 59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee...
, Mel Ott
Mel Ott
Melvin Thomas Ott , nicknamed "Master Melvin", was a Major League Baseball right fielder. He played his entire career for the New York Giants . Ott was born in Gretna, Louisiana. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
, Carl Hubbell
Carl Hubbell
Carl Owen Hubbell was an American baseball player. He was a member of the New York Giants in the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained on the Giants' payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell...
, Monte Irvin
Monte Irvin
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin is a former left fielder and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles , New York Giants and Chicago Cubs .-Biography:Although born in Haleburg, Alabama, Irvin grew up in Orange, New Jersey, one of five...
, Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
, Juan Marichal
Juan Marichal
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Playing for the San Francisco Giants most of his career, Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters'...
, Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
, Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
, and Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...
as well as the retired uniforms, denoted "NY", of Christy Mathewson
Christy Mathewson
Christopher "Christy" Mathewson , nicknamed "Big Six", "The Christian Gentleman", or "Matty", was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire career in what is known as the dead-ball era...
and John McGraw who played or managed in the pre-number era. These two pre-number era retired uniforms are among only six such retired uniforms in all of the Major Leagues.
Right field and McCovey Cove
The most prominent feature of the ballpark is the right field wall, which is 24 feet (7.3 m) high in honor of former Giant Willie Mays, who wore number 24. Because of the proximity to the San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, the right field foul pole is only 309 feet (94 m) from home plate. The wall is made of brick, with fenced off archways opening to the Cove beyond, above which are several rows of arcade seating. The fence angles quickly away from home plate; right-center field extends out to 421 feet (128 m) from home plate. Atop the fence are four pillars with fountains atop. These four pillars will burst jets of water when the Giants hit a home run, win a game, and at the end of the National Anthem.
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
. This deep corner of the ballpark has been dubbed "Death Valley" and "Triples' Alley." Like its Polo Grounds counterpart, it is very difficult to hit a home run to this area, and a batted ball that finds its way into this corner often results in a triple. Triples' Alley is also infamous for bad bounces, most notably when Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki
, usually known simply as is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for hits with 262...
hit the first-ever inside the park home run in an All-Star Game by lining the ball off one of the archways and sideways past the outfielders. Nate Schierholtz performed the same feat in the 2009 season as a pinch hitter. Aubrey Huff did it again in the 2010 season.
Beyond right field is China Basin, a section of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, which is dubbed McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, coined after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the...
after famed Giants first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
and left-handed slugger Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
, and into which a number of home runs have been hit on the fly. As of September 27, 2011
2011 Major League Baseball season
The 2011 Major League Baseball season began on Thursday, March 31, and ended on Wednesday, September 28. This marked the first time a season began on a Thursday since , and the first time a regular season ended on a Wednesday since...
, 60 "splash hits" have been knocked into the Cove by Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were by Barry Bonds. Opponents have hit the water on the fly 23 times; Todd Hundley
Todd Hundley
Todd Randolph Hundley is a former Major League Baseball catcher and outfielder. He is the son of former Chicago Cubs catcher Randy Hundley...
of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
was the first visitor to do so on June 30, 2000
2000 Major League Baseball season
The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series. An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season...
. Luis Gonzalez
Luis Gonzalez (baseball outfielder)
Luis Emilio Gonzalez , nicknamed "Gonzo", is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. A Cuban-American, Gonzalez spent his best years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the most popular players in that organization's history...
of the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
and Cliff Floyd
Cliff Floyd
Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.-Early years:Floyd was born to parents Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Sr. and Olivia Floyd. After spending 13 years as an only child, Floyd was joined by brother Julius...
of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
are the only visiting players to do so twice, while Carlos Delgado
Carlos Delgado
Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández is a retired Puerto Rican professional baseball player. With 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI, he holds the all-time home run and RBI records among Puerto Rican players....
of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
has performed the feat three times. Adam LaRoche
Adam LaRoche
David Adam LaRoche , is a Major League Baseball first baseman. In 2011, the Washington Nationals signed him to a two-year deal...
has also hit three splash hits, twice with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
and once with the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. Rick Ankiel
Rick Ankiel
Richard Alexander Ankiel is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently with the Washington Nationals. He bats and throws left-handed....
of the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
most recently hit one into the water - a come-from-behind solo home run in the 11th inning of game 2 of the 2010 NLDS. Barry Bonds is the Giant who has hit the most home runs into "The Cove" as Giants fans call it.
Behind the scoreboard in center field there is a pier where ferries can tie up and let off fans right at the park. On game days, fans take to the water of McCovey Cove in boats and even in kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
s, often with fishing nets in the hope of collecting a home run ball. (This echoes what used to happen during McCovey's playing days. Before Candlestick Park's upper deck was extended, the area behind right field was occupied by three small bleacher sections and a lot of open space. Kids in those bleachers would gather behind the right field fence when "Stretch" would come to the plate). Just beyond the wall is a public waterfront promenade, where fans can watch three innings of a game through the wall's archways, free of charge, albeit with a somewhat obstructed view. Across the cove from the ballpark is McCovey Point and China Basin Park, featuring monuments to past Giants legends.
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Rusty, the Coke bottle, and the glove
When the park opened in 2000, taking residence on the right field wall was Rusty, the Mechanical Man based on a theme of Old NavyOld Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing brand as well as a chain of stores owned by Gap, Inc., with corporate operations in San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district of San Francisco.Gap, Inc. was run by...
since the wall was sponsored by the company. Rusty was a two-dimensional robotic ballplayer that stood 14 feet (4.3 m) tall and weighed five and a half tons. The Valencia, California
Valencia, California
Valencia is an affluent planned community located in the City of Santa Clarita, California and Los Angeles County, California, U.S. in the northwestern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent to Interstate 5. In 1987, it was one of the four unincorporated communities that merged to create the...
firm, Technifex, engineered, fabricated and programmed Rusty to appear after major plays, during games, as a fully animated giant 1920's era tin "toy". After technical problems arose with Rusty, it was removed from the Old Navy Splash Landing, though the enclosure that housed him remained for years. In 2006 the Old Navy sponsorship of the wall was terminated and renamed "Levi's Landing". In 2008, the enclosure was removed as that area near the right field foul pole was renovated for a new luxury party suite called the "McCovey Cove Loft".
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
bottle with playground slides that will blow bubbles and light up with every Giants home run, and a miniature version of the stadium. "The Coca-Cola Superslide" is popular with children as is with adults, and the terraced levels of the slides is a fun way to catch the game. If one were viewing the outfield promenade from home plate, directly to the bottle's right is another oversized representation of a ballpark stalwart, the "Giant 1927 Old-Time Four-Fingered Baseball Glove" — this particular one is made of steel and fiberglass. Behind and further to the left is "The Little Giants Park" - a miniature baseball diamond — sort of a minor league tryout for Pee-Wee Ball.
To the right of the glove sculpture is the elevator and large plaza area for functions and parties to be held during games. It's also the site of "Orlando's", the concessions stand of Giants great Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
. The signature fare at the stand is the "Caribbean Cha Cha Bowl". Right-center field features a real San Francisco cable car
Cable car
A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate, or a vehicle on these systems.-Aerial lift:Aerial lifts where the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable:...
(retired cable car #4, formerly #504), with a label that states "No Dodgers Fans Allowed". The fog horn — a feature introduced at Candlestick Park by the current Giants ownership group - was transferred to AT&T and hung underneath the scoreboard. It blows when a Giants player hits a home run or at the conclusion of a Giants win. Continuing right takes one to the promenade above the Cove, so that one can make a completely uninterrupted circuit of the park at that concourse level. Both levels of the concourse, inside the stadium, feature not only concession stands of all sorts, but other attractions as well.
"Lou Seal" store
Scoreboards
In addition to the automated scoreboards, which now include a new high-definition videoHigh-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
board by Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, the park has enormous, manually operated boards on the right field wall, which display the scores of Major League games played elsewhere. These manual scoreboards are operated by three employees, whose work on game days starts at least two hours before the first pitch.
Wireless internet
Starting in 2004, the Giants installed one hundred twenty-two 802.11b wireless internetWi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
access points, covering all concourses and seating areas, creating one of the largest public hotspots
Hotspot (Wi-Fi)
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider...
in the world at the time.
San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame
On September 23, 2008, the Giants Wall of Fame was unveiled on the King Street side of the ballpark. Eligibility requirements for players to be on the Wall are either 5 years as a Giant with an All Star Game appearance or 9 years as a Giant. Rich Aurilia and Shawn Estes were added in 2010. In 2011, the Giants announced that pitcher Jason Schmidt and outfielder Marvin Benard would be added in an August 27, 2011 ceremony.Statues
Outside the ballpark are five statues, four of which are dedicated to San Francisco Giants all-time greats.The Willie Mays Statue is located in front of the ballpark entrance at 24 Willie Mays Plaza and is surrounded with 24 palm trees, in honor of his number 24 uniform, retired by the Giants. It was dedicated at noon on March 31, 2000, prior to the opening of the ballpark and was commissioned by Giants Managing Partner Peter Magowan
Peter Magowan
Peter A. Magowan is the former managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball franchise.-Early life and career:...
and his wife Debby.
Another statue is located at McCovey Point across McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, coined after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin, which is the mouth of Mission Creek as it meets the...
, and is dedicated to Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
. Around the Willie McCovey Statue are a number of plaques that celebrate the winners of the Willie Mac Award
Willie Mac Award
The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980. It is awarded to the player on the San Francisco Giants who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership consistently shown by McCovey throughout his long career, voted upon by the players and...
. The statue is located at China Basin Park next to The Barry Bonds Junior Giants Field, a T-ball park. Also located on the sea wall promenade are plaques showing the Opening Day Roster of every Giants team from 1958 through 1999. Giants fans who contributed funds to China Basin Park, had their own tiles with their own inscriptions set into the wall.
A third statue, dedicated in 2005
2005 Major League Baseball season
Click on any series score to link to that series' page.Higher seed had home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.The American League champion had home field advantage during the World Series as a result of the AL victory in the 2005 All-Star...
, honors former Giants pitcher Juan Marichal
Juan Marichal
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Playing for the San Francisco Giants most of his career, Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters'...
, and is located outside the ballpark at the Lefty O'Doul
Lefty O'Doul
Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues, and also a vital figure in the establishment of professional baseball in Japan.-Player:Born in San Francisco, California, O'Doul began his...
Gate entrance. The fourth statue is located at the park's ferry plaza behind center field, also known as Seals Plaza; a statue of a seal bobbing a baseball on its nose honors the memory of the San Francisco Seals, the minor league baseball club that played before the arrival of the Giants in 1958.
On September 6, 2008, during a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, a fifth statue depicting former Giants great Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
was dedicated at the corner of 2nd and King Streets next to the ballpark. All four statues of the Giants Hall of Fame players were created by sculptor William Behrends of North Carolina.