It was warm when I got to the ball park with my coffee and donut in hand. As the sun rose beyond the high rise rooftops to hit my place on the cement, I began to follow the shade. Most of the other gates were not fortunate enough to have any shade at all.
Early in the afternoon, the Gaslamp Gate between the new Legend condo building and the Palm Court from the parking structure across the street.
The heat pounded down relentlessly at times reaching over a hundred on the cement. Often this day there was no breeze. On the field the temperature was documented at 104. Many of our Guest Service Representatives, (GSR’s,) are not young, and this heat was especially hard on them.
The first aid station paramedics worked especially hard this hot and humid Sunday. Often while I was giving directions or talking to a fan, I heard Paramedics called to downed fans. Usually it’s only drunks….
East Village Gate before the crowds arrived.
We were all urged to bring bottles of water with us, and during the game our bosses made rounds with iced buckets of bottled water. At the Command Post, water was available to us in large orange containers with spigots at the bottom. Ice was also available to those guards working the field in the sun for six some hours. Near us, the volunteers running one of the concession stands, North County Diver’s, brought the Park Avenue Gate a bucket of ice and cups of ice to me all during the game. Despite these life savers, the gate Supervisor, Cee, went home mid-game felled a second day by the heat.
The are fans enter the gates to the “Park In The Park,” an actual city park at the back of the ballpark, to watch batting practice before the game.
The game was sold out, but with the heat crushing down relentlessly, only forty-one thousand attended the game.
Forty-one thousand fans plus or minus a few as the temperature grew.
There was little shade, and what there was could only be found under the overhangs on the Field Level and on Toyota Terrace. Ba, who is a rabid Dodger fan, and G decided come to this last Dodger game here this year. Taking into account the sunshine, they bought seats near me in the shade despite the vastly greater price of forty-five dollars a seat vs sixteen they pay for their upper level season tickets.
The main concourse viewed from a window at the Bistro.
Both G and Ba as season ticket holders take part in the “Compadres” reward system. Yesterday G won a “Toyota Terrace” ticket as his pat on the back for attending all home the games. This next homestand, he not only has his regular tickets for the 14th, 16th, 17th, and Friday the 21st, he also won a ticket for the 15th.
“It’s almost too much baseball,” he said laughing.
View from the East Ramp over the Team Gate, Power Alley, facing the exit at East Village Gate.
After the game, I had reached the shaky leg state when a Supervisor asked how I was.
“Not really very good,” I told him. Frankly….for my system quits functioning at 92 degrees. He relieved me early, and hand in hand with G, I quietly shuffled off to the relative cool of dinner at Nati’s near the ocean.
Gripping my cup of ice in one hand and holding an “I” beam with another, I’m very grateful the game is over.
G catches sight of a pile of detritus on our way out.
Me: Beyond hot at the ball park yesterday. Miserable. Many fans and employees were down and cared for by the paramedics in the various first aid stations. I got pretty shaky toward the end and was let go a whole hour early. Dinner at Nati’s with Ba and G. Bed very cool out on the balcony. Today home with a fan on.
G: Very hot, even in the shade with a breeze in the 223’s at Toyota Terrace yesterday.
Duck: He told G to go to the game, and G did. We will visit later today.
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