San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's fans gear up for opening day
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants are both in action Monday night. The defending World Series champions are in Arizona, taking on the Diamondbacks and the Oakland A's begin their season at home against the Texas Rangers.
This is a bittersweet opening night for Bay Area baseball fans after broadcast announcer Lon Simmons died on Sunday.
The World Champion Giants updated their Facebook profile photo in honor of him.
Giants staffers tweeted reaction to the death of the famed broadcaster.
And the San Francisco Giants organization said Simmons was the voice, the soul, and the emotional connection of the San Francisco Giants.
Simmons died at the age of 91 following a long play-by-play career with not only the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's, but also the San Francisco 49ers.
AT&T Park will be open to fans so they can watch the first game of the season for free as the San Francisco Giants take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, with first pitch happening at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Oakland A's pitcher Sean Doolittle couldn't hold in his excitement for opening day.
Some fans started tailgating at 7 a.m. on Monday and the have gotten even more excited as game time draws near.
Back when bleacher seats cost a $1, Jerry Rogers sat in the stands. "When they were wood bleachers, before all this was built," he said.
As an Oakland A's fan for the last 50 years, this is the first time he's seeing a season opener in person. Rogers said it feels good and hopes the Oakland A's make the playoffs and win the World Series.
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For the Adams family, the game is a family affair. Their 8-month-old Silas is even decked out in green and gold.
Further down the parking lot, the focus is food. "Hot links, hamburgers hotdogs, we got some carne asada going on you know, bring it all down traditional style," Ernesto's Montieo said.
He says it's all about the meat until the first pitch that is. "Hopefully it's a good season for us again and hopefully we go to the playoffs again," Montieo said.
Although the Oakland A's have struggled in recent opening day games, losing the past 10 in a row team devotees know it's a new year, new ballgame, and mainly new team.
"I'll take a loss opening day and a win at the final end of the year, World Series ring, that's all that matters," Jorge Leon said.
He knows anything's possible, especially before the first pitch is thrown.
