The crowd surges on a cool spring night in San Jose. For the uninitiated, one could wonder why this crowd is beginning to lose their mind as an opposing player comes up to bat. “Now batting for the visitors…” booms a deep voice over the PA system. “Your beer batter, number 27, Andrew Miller!” Carnage. Pandemonium. Arguably a louder cheer than the home team got when they scored 3 runs in the 3rd inning. If this designated beer batter strikes out, everyone gets half priced beer for the next 15 minutes. It was loud when said beer batter came up, but it was deafening when they finally got him to two strikes. This may seem unusual, but this is just what the folks have come to know and love as San Jose Giants baseball. 

The Bay Area and baseball have long been united. Since 1903, there’s been a team associated with the region. In San Jose’s 61 year history, the team has won the league championship 19 times, cementing themselves as one of the most successful teams in California history. But although the product on the field continues to be extremely successful, the charm of this team and ballpark comes from the people that love it so much.

Everyone is just getting settled into their seats on a Saturday when the aforementioned beer batter comes to the dish. This re-energizes the crowd, and connects those with differing levels of interest in the on field product. It’s not a secret that baseball, almost unlike any other sports, is a divisive watch even for those attending. With the sheer amount of families and young kids, there’s bound to be a parent that is not entirely interested in these 18-21 year old kids trying to hit a ball with a stick. Yet, when they get the promise of 50% off beer, that locks them into the action on the field. This is only one of the many between-inning events that happens. While the mascot Gigante, a large furry orange creature, was being absolutely dusted by a couple 6 year olds in a race, a fan exclaimed to their partner, “I love minor league baseball”.

These genius marketing tactics are reflected in the butts in seats, as attendance has increased 14 of the last 17 years. Not to mention the proximity to fans, as the big league affiliate SF Giants often serve fans from all over the peninsula. These fans have to either fight the devil’s traffic to make it to Oracle Park or take a 1-2 hour train ride that operates on its own schedule and doesn’t care whether you make it to the game or not. The home of the SJ Giants, Excite Ballpark, is located in an extremely convenient location right in the middle of San Jose. 

On top of all of this fun and excitement, the team is still very  impressive. Liam Simon took the hill for the Giants, a 22 year old out of Notre Dame. The lads battled. The score fluctuated back and forth with both teams taking multiple run leads, before 21 year old Dilan Rosario knocked in the go ahead run, and then went around to score himself on a sacrifice fly to secure the win for San Jose. This is baseball at its purest. No 100 million dollar contracts. No national TV. Just the good old fashioned bat and ball game. And, of course, the fans that made it all possible. Who may happen to be losing their minds at the prospect of half priced beer.