The Saturday Seven: Favorite Traditions at Major League Baseball Games

After several days in NY on business I returned to Southern California by way of San Diego. I couldn’t go straight home to Palm Springs as I was previously committed to attend a San Diego Padres game for work. A few months back, my company’s charitable foundation held a fundraiser auction which included a few packages to attend a baseball game with various officers of the company. I was happy to make myself available, particularly when 100% of the auction money paid by the winning bid went to help animals (shelters, rescue organizations, spay/neuter programs, etc). So when our company foundation asked me to be one of the “prize packages” I was all to happy to participate. The timing of this game was just unfortunate in that it was last night, the same day I had flown back from a week in New York. So as soon as I collected my luggage from baggage claim I retrieved my car and drove directly to the ball park downtown. Despite being tired from a long flight, I was excited to be at the game. I’d stop short of declaring myself a major baseball fan, but I truly enjoy the sport. It goes back to my childhood, when my Italian great-grandfather Luigi would watch Boston Red Sox games all summer long. He hated the New York Yankees with a passion, and would shout at the TV set whenever the Red Sox played poorly or God forbid- those Yankees scored. To this day I have that same bias, all because of him. When I lived in Chicago I became a big Cubs fan, which is what cemented my love of baseball as an adult. Chicago is such a great sports town that it was hard to resist the tidal wave of passion for our Cubbies.

Despite having lived in Southern California now for over ten years I still have a soft spot in my heart for my Cubs. So whenever I attend a Padres game, it isn’t genuine love of the team, but rather a love of the sport and its traditions. This brings me to another scintillating edition of The Saturday Seven: Favorite Traditions of Major League Baseball Games

#1 Hot Dogs....mmmm you can't just have one.

#2 Seventh Inning Stretch- “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

#3 National Anthem

#4 Catching a baseball from the stands

#5 Cold beer

#6 Peanuts in the Shell- messy but worth the work!

#7 Loveable Mascots and Pep Rallies
Bonus Feature: Fireworks After Last Night's Game

Every Friday night after a Padres game, they have a fireworks show, right there in the ballpark. I took a short video of it. Enjoy!

-Rick Rockhill

Padres Game with Cesar Millan

Last night I went to watch the San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a great game, for two reasons: first, our Padres WON, 8-5! It's been a rough season, so this win was a welcome celebration. The second reason is because Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer was in our company suite as our guest. Cesar was in town promoting his new line of Dog Whisperer dog food and supplies. You may recall me doing a post about it this past Saturday. Last night, Cesar made an appearance before the game started, then was on TV during the game from our suite. He brought two dogs from his pack, "Daddy" and "Junior", who are such great dogs, and very well behaved. If you like Cesar Millan, then check out his special video message.

above: Cesar watched the game from the balcony in our company suite. You can see his two dogs next to him in the photo above left.

above: This was me kneeling down to pet "Junior" who is such a sweet dog with a great disposition. For what it's worth, not only does my company carry the exclusive line of Dog Whisperer products, but I am also using them myself. I am also trying to use Cesar's methods to train our puppy Sheldon. Hopefully it works! Anyway it was a fun night at the ballpark.
-Rick Rockhill

An Afternoon at the Ball Park

Yesterday I went to see the San Diego Padres take on the Florida Marlins at the ball park named after the company I work for. (you, know "where the pets go"). It was a day game, and I was in our company box, with several of our vendors. It was a beautiful day to be out watching baseball- 80 degrees, no humidity and plenty of sunshine. This has not been a great season for our Padres, they are in last place for the western division, with just 36 wins and 56 losses. It wasn't a spectacular game but we all had a fun time.

above: I took this photo while walking down the stairs of a nearby parking garage. I just like the view of the park from between the two buildings.

above: I love this photo because we have palm trees along the edge of the ball park.

above: In case you still didn't guess the name of the park, here it is on the scoreboard.

This Caught My Eye...

above: I was walking back up the stairs of the parking garage, and on the 7th floor looked out over the railing at the apartment building and saw this little puppy running around the apartment. In the photo above you can see him in the lower left hand corner, standing on his back two legs, sniffing at the plant.

above: then a moment later he ran away and came back with his teddy bear, which he shook violently in his mouth. I just had to snap these photos. It made me wonder what Sheldon was into...Anyway I had a nice afternoon downtown, it was a nice break from the hectic pace at work.

-Rick Rockhill

Take Me out to the Ball Game....

Last night I went to a San Diego Padres game at PETCO Park. The Padres were playing the San Francisco Giants. We lost 5-6. I missed most of the game because I worked late to meet a few deadlines that were looming. Most notably, dealing with the continuing saga that is the pet food recall on certain wet foods. With the exception of Easter weekend, this recall has literally consumed all of my work time and has overflowed into my personal time ever since it started on March 16th. But I'm not bitter. However, our most important objective is for the safety of animals, so it's time well spent. Anyway that's my "mini-rant" for the day.

Aside from naming it PETCO Park, we also have a suite, which is quite nice, I must say. We usually have plenty of food and beverages, and all kinds of snacks. This photo doesn't show the entire suite, but it has comfy sofas, bar tables, a kitchen, a restroom, and plenty of "private" stadium seating to watch the game. We had great weather in San Diego last night for an evening game and we all had a good time. I usually go to a lot of Padres games in the suite each year for business functions, and believe me, it's easy to get used to.

Since I'm writing about Major League Baseball, what a convenient time for me to mention that last summer I had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at PETCO Park at a Padres Game. It was very cool (see photo left). I'm quite modest about it. I only keep this photo on my blog year round and have the framed photo in my office at work. So you see I really am very low key about it. If you ever need a Major League pitcher, let me know- apparently I have quite the arm.
Below: I love being at the ball park... it's such a rush

Below left: "Red Ruff" and "Blue Mews", our mascots who stopped by the suite to say hello to the PETCO gang. Below right: PETCO Park at night...

-Rick Rockhill