San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Dodgers visit always gets crowd stirred up at Petco Park
Karla Yaptangco is a rabid Padres fan who says things can get intense in the stands when the Dodgers come to town.
“I used to not come to Dodgers games because of people getting into fights,” Yaptangco said.
She came up with a creative solution to avoid such situations for Friday night’s Dodgers-padres series opener at Petco Park.
Yaptangco arranged for a group of family and friends — 67 of them — to sit at “The Point,” which is located midway between the leftfield video board and the field.
“I booked the whole section for a reason ... Keep everybody mellow around me,” said Yaptangco, a San Diegan who now lives in Temecula. “And then people are not blocking my view or sitting behind me.”
She even invited those she knows who are Dodgers fans
“They’re still my friends at the end of the day,” Yaptangco said.
One of those friends was Tray Brown, a San Diego resident who was born in Los Angeles.
He was among thousands of the 44,482 fans who wore a Dodgers jersey to the game. Brown considered wearing his Cody Bellinger jersey, except “Bellinger hasn’t been Bellinger, so I went with (Mookie) Betts.”
It looked like a solid move after Betts hit a pair of solo homers in the Dodgers’ 6-1 win in the opener.
“Good luck charm,” Brown said.
As to activities among spectators in the stands, Brown pointed out that “Padres fans can get rowdy, too. It goes both ways.”
Indeed, it was believed to be a Padres fan who threw a beer can on the field in the sixth inning Friday night after Dodgers center fielder Bellinger gloved a fly ball hit by Jake Cronenworth.
The hometown fans didn’t have much to cheer about on a night when the Padres offense produced only four hits.
Brown didn’t want to rub it in, although with the Dodgers three outs from victory he did say: “There’s been some friendly banter. There’s been pretty good plays on both sides, but, obviously, the better team is prevailing.”
Ouch.
Remain calm, all is well
Jerry Thomas of Chula Vista was standing along a landing overlooking left field shortly before Friday’s first pitch.
What made Thomas stand out from the crowd was the button he wore over the left breast pocket of his jacket: “Don’t Panic.”
Good advice amid the ups and downs of a 162game baseball season.
“The worst thing a person can do in a bad situation is panic,” Thomas noted.
While the button seems appropriate for baseball, it actually was the catch phrase from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
“After every episode,” Thomas said, “some sort of catastrophe would hit (the protagonist), and he would say, ‘Don’t panic.’ ”
Thomas was at the game with his brother Sam, who was visiting from Philadelphia.
Sam’s allegiance to the Dodgers dates back to 1950, eight years before the team moved west to Los Angeles.
That explained the Brooklyn jersey he wore to the game.
“I can still name the starting lineup for the 1955 Dodgers,” Sam said. “Gil Hodges, Junior Gilliam, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella ...”
We believe you. We believe you.
Honoring the military
The Padres planned to unveil their “Viasat Military Hall of Honor” area before today’s finale.
Located in the “Power Alley” along the right-field concourse, the Hall of Honor highlights “former Padres and other Major League Baseball players around the league who served in the military” and is a tribute to veterans as well as active-duty military members.
Two touch screen video monitors give fans a chance to access content related to those recognized.
The area is bookended by photos of Ted Williams and Jerry Coleman in both military and major league uniforms.
The Padres have honored the military for most of the organization’s existence, dating to the days at San Diego Stadium when members of the Navy and Marines filled sections on opposite ends of the Loge Level at Sunday games.
The Padres created a Military Affairs Department in 1995 and became the first professional sports team to have an annual military appreciation event. The team’s tradition of wearing camouflage uniforms dates back nearly that far.
The Padres’ Sunday camouflage uniform tradition began in 2008. The players also have worn camo for games on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
The Padres honor active and former military members each game before the second inning, asking those in attendance to stand and be recognized for their service.
Coleman, the Padres’ longtime broadcast who died in 2014, was a Marine aviator who flew 120 combat missions in World War II and the Korean War. He was the only active major league player to serve in both wars.
“I can say this again and again,” Coleman said when the team unveiled its camouflage uniforms in 2000, “anytime you honor the military, it’s all right with me.”
Having a ball
Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias threw 75 pitches in Friday night’s win.
It seemed like Urias threw just as many balls into the stands — as did several of his teammates — Saturday afternoon as he shagged in left field during batting practice.
It made Urias a very popular fellow.
A couple of his throws landed in the mitts of Silas Entrekin and Drew Baker, who made the trip from Alpine with Silas’ dad, Josh Entrekin, for the pregame opportunity to get souvenirs.
They gloved four balls, bringing their total to 12 in four games this season.
“This is their favorite part,” said Josh, who is continuing a family tradition that originated in Mission Valley. “Growing up, we used to this all the time at Qualcomm Stadium.”
Keep moving along
You have to feel for the usher tasked with keeping fans off the stairs and landing that overlooks the bullpens in center field.
The stairs that lead to The Point and the Estrella Jalisco Landing end at a perfect spot for peering into both teams’ bullpens. Watch the pitchers about to enter the game warm up or observe how the others pass the time between innings.
You can feel the velocity of the pitches almost as much as hear it with the pop of the catcher’s glove.
What makes the area problematic is the stairway there provides the only access to the left-field seats located below the ballpark’s main video board, so there are constant comings and goings.
The top of the stairway is especially crowded in the moments before first pitch, when fans are rushing to their seats.
Nearly two dozen fans lingered as the Padres’ Nick Martinez and the Dodgers’ Urias warmed up before Friday night’s opener.
“You can’t stand here,” the usher said. “If you don’t move, I’m going to call security.”
Few paid mind to the warning. In fact, a couple stood in front of the sign that read: “No standing permitted on landing or stairs. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Midway through the game, the usher had been replaced by a red-jacketed security guard who also was challenged with spectators looking to loiter.
Going to the dogs
Fans exiting at Tenth Avenue after games are greeted by the intoxicating aroma of grilled hot dogs.
As if hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza and fish tacos and cheese steaks and sushi and nachos and pretzels and peanuts and Cracker Jack and any of a dozen other food items aren’t enough indulgences inside Petco Park, half a dozen street vendors manned (and womaned) hot dog carts positioned on the sidewalk just beyond the ballpark’s gates.
And fans flocked to them.
Hundreds of dogs — priced anywhere from $6 to $8 depending on which independent vendor a fan approached — were sold with all the fixings in the 20-30 minutes it took fans to disperse into the night.
“Oh, man, I needed something,” one fan said.
“That hits the spot,” said another as he wolfed down one dog and contemplated having another.
He didn’t have long to make up his mind.
A line was forming behind him.
kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com