Let’s Go Sacramento!

The Philadelphia Kansas City Oakland Athletics (A's) are playing in Sacremento for a couple of years, while they wait to move to their next home in Las Vegas. Ari and Greg enjoy visiting baseball stadiums, and this was the perfect opportunity since the Seattle Mariners are playing in Sacramento. Better yet, they are playing on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, so we can catch 2 games in a short 1-night trip. Unlike the boys, Amy does not have baseball fever, so she stayed home.

Greg worked with a number of people in the Reno/Tahoe area, so he invited some of them to the game. Ari, Greg and Ed Klotz have attended Mariners games together in Seattle, so he was an easy yes. Dan Jeffrey was also available and excited to be included. Greg, Dan and Ed worked together both at ILOG and Gurobi, so they have a long history together. And they all grew up in Illinois, with Ed and Greg both attending the same high school, albeit a few years apart. So we have a lot of shared history.

Ed and Dan both independently asked Greg if they were driving the Urban Assault Vehicle (their words). Greg laughed and said that flying is more convenient for a short trip. What a concept! Our flight was filled with Seattle Mariners fans; we clearly weren’t the only ones taking this trip. Same for the hotel, which is a 5-minute walk from the stadium.

Before Tuesday’s game, we went to Fanny Ann’s Saloon, an old-timey bar that fits the vibe of Old Sacramento. Ed figured it would be a better and cheaper option than the ballpark. Ari got carded, and Greg was flattered to get carded, too. The food was pretty good, and it was also a short walk to both the hotel and the stadium. And the beers were much cheaper than the $16 ones at the ballpark.

Sutter Health Park - the Sacramento baseball stadium - is normally a minor-league ballpark, so it is about 1/3 the size of a major league baseball stadium. It also has fewer fancy amenities. But the views were good, and the tickets were much cheaper, at least if you don’t count the travel costs. It seemed like there were 2 Seattle Mariners fans for each A’s fan, so it was a friendly crowd. Without boring you with baseball minutia, here’s a brief summary: the A’s are trying to exploit the Mariners weakness via left-handed starting pitchers for both games, but the Mariners managed to hit well in the first game and won 4-1.

On Wednesday morning, Greg and Ed went for a run together along the river, the first time together since Greg’s retirement. We’ve run together in Seattle, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Germany, just to name a few places. We can now add Sacramento to the list. Good times.