June 28- San Jose Giants

For those of you who may have noticed that I have continually gotten a bit off track from my daily posts, I assure you that there is decent reason for my last gap in between posts. One of the things that I have been trying to make a habit of is anytime I write a specific date on any of my hats I save that date to pay a true tribute to the event that took place. As you’ll soon learn with this post, I decided to keep the date open until it arrived.

This is one of the few moments where becoming a bit burnt out in writing these posts ended up paying off in the end. Granted, I could have just posted the title and the linking words like two of my other posts (which I still need to write), but I found that, like the other two posts, it’s taking a bit longer than it should to get around to writing them. So, I decided to just wait it out and not progress until I accomplished my goal at hand. Not to sound like I’m jumping into a Delorean and going into the future, but this story actually first came to be on June 29^th when I received a text from my friend, and fellow Oakland Athletics MLB Fan Cave finalist Vanessa Demske.

On that afternoon I was sitting around on the couch as I had a rare day off from work. Being the productive person that I am, I found myself watching episode five of season four of “The Wire,” as I am still trying to get through the entire series. At this point I think it’s best to inform you that if any of you decide to spoil the second half of season four or all of season five you will have a swift kick to the gonads (even if you’re female) awaiting you. Anyway, I won’t go into detail as far as what was going down on screen (I don’t like to spoil things), but I received a text message from Vanessa while she was in the gift shop at Municipal Stadium, the home of the San Jose Giants. Like a lot of my friends out of state who go to minor league games, she sent me a photo of the hat wall which always puts me in a good mood.

She then informed me that the Giants held a Breast Cancer Awareness Night during the previous game and that they were cleaning out all the BCA hats and asked if I wanted one. As it stood at the time, I didn’t have any San Jose Giants caps in my collection, so any cap that the team wore on the field was one that I was more than happy to add to my bag. I told her yes and that my size was 7 3/8. She then responded back and let me know that they were all out of that size. Grumble!!! No big deal though, with my hair continuing to grow a 7 ½ would work just as well and feel a little bit looser on my melon. She obliged and said that she would mail it out later in the week.

At that point in time the last post I had written was my Fort Wayne Wizards piece on LaTroy Hawkins. Since the game in which this cap was used took place on the 28^th and the Hawkins piece was dated for June 15^th, I figured I had plenty of time to write 12 more posts before it arrived. So, I wrote a few stories here and there to make a strong effort to get all caught up. Unfortunately my availability to write with my intense work schedule, daily commute and additional writing I do for three other Web sites has really slowed down my process. Nonetheless, I braved on, all with the anticipation that this cap would arrive shortly; so I write and waited. Wrote and waited some more. Wrote and waited even more. And then I just waited. I’m not busting Vanessa’s chops when I say this, but the package took a little bit longer than expected. And trust me, these things happen as I am notorious for not having the time or resources to get packages out sometimes, BUT… it did arrive today.

I was at work when it showed up on the front porch, but my mother (yes, I still live at home temporarily) was nice enough to inform me that she found it when she got home from work and threw it on my bed. When I got home around 11:30 PM I grabbed my Benchmade knife (Murica!!!), popped it open and admired it for a bit before grabbing a bowl of cereal so I could have a little bit of sustenance in my tummy-tum before writing this up. I should also point out that I’m absolutely exhausted and that I’m not trying to pass out as I write this. Just as promised, the grey with pink “SJ”-logoed Giants cap was in my possession. Vanessa even made sure to leave me a little note to remind me of the date and the event and that all of the other research was on me. So nice of her.

Of all the 315 or so hats that I own this is the first one which served as a charitable promotion. This is the second year in which the Giants have teamed up with Team KRTY and Sutter Home to host the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Night. As part of the promotion anyone wearing pink was given two tickets to a future Giants game. On top of that the Giants hosted a silent auction in which patrons who had the highest bid were allowed to jump onto the field after the game and select which pink jersey they wanted off the back of the player who wore it, along with an autograph to boot.

As far as charitable promotions go, I’ve always been a huge fan of stuff like this. In the Majors teams will participate in charity-related events and host special nights; however, everything is done on the exterior of the game itself. By this I mean there is nothing really at play during the game with the exception of games which take place on Mother’s Day when all of the players use special pink bats. The great thing about the minor leagues is that special uniforms are provided for these events and usually donated, raffled off or sold to fans after the game. Even though they’re only used for one game, it’s still a very creative and joyous experience for everyone involved, especially the fans.

6/28/13- Unlike a lot of my other caps, where I get really in depth and creative with my marks, I decided to keep things simple and straight to the point this time around. The Giants hosted their Bay Area rival the Stockton Ports in the second of a four-game series which lasted over the final weekend of June. The Giants had all ready locked up the first half of the season Northern Division title, so it was on to the next challenge.

After leading the Ports by a score of 3-0 the wheels came off (so to speak) in the top of the sixth inning as the Ports rallied hard and dismantled Giants pitchers Adalberto Mejia and Luis Rojas to the tune of eight runs in the inning. This would prove to be the only offense the Ports would need behind the bats of Antonio Lamas and Max Muncy.

Despite the 6-8 loss for the Giants, winning the game on this night would have only made for a small victory in their effort to continue their contributions to help fund research and bring awareness in the fight against breast cancer. And for that, as begrudging as it may be being an Athletics fan and all, I tip my cap to you Giants. Because after all, everyone's goal in this fight is the same, to eradicate breast cancer, or any cancer for that matter, once and for all.