That's because this week is the last week that major league baseball plays ball in San Diego/Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium since the expansion San Diego Padres played their first season in 1969. Next year, the Padres move into their brand spanking new ballpark (don't call it a stadium!)in downtown's East Village, Petco Park. Dubious as the Padres may be in their accomplishments, there still holds a number of memories in what Jerry Coleman used to dub, "the big ballpark."
I doubt too many people will actually miss watching baseball at the Q. I personally won't, especially in the past few years. You see, the former San Diego Stadium was built in 1967, in the years when multi-purpose stadiums were cropping up all over the landscape, and as far as multi-purpose stadiums go, it was one of the better desgined ones. In fact, many said the Q was one of the nicest looking stadiums of its time, especially compared to its contemporaries like Riverfront, Three Rivers and Veterans Stadiums. Of course, those three cookie cutter bowls no longer exist, which I guess says something.
The original design had an open end on the east side, with views of eastern Mission Valley. Then the city ruined the design several years ago when it closed the open end to accommodate more seats for football. Thus the end of baseball ambiance. But we still have the memories. At least I do.
Early memories go back to the expansion season in 1969, when I went to a few games as a kid. Horrible team, but it was major league baseball. One cool thing I remember: there used to be vendors in the stands selling hot chocolate with these weird contraptions strapped on their backs with vacuum hoses dispensing the beverage. No, reallly. Yep, the memories.
Before the team moved the fences in and placed those bogus palm trees in the outfield, players had to hit a home run over a 17-foot high wall. One year, I nearly caught a home run ball by Nate Colbert, the Pads' power hitter in the early years. That was pretty cool.
Through the years, there was much ineptness and some bright spots: Clay Kirby, Dave Winfield, Randy Jones, Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, the 1984 World Series, Ozzie Smith, Ken Caminiti, Kevin Brown, Steve Finley, the 1998 World Series, Ray Kroc, the Chicken. Baseball memories. Not always good, but memories. Heck, at least we've hosted two World Series (1984, 1998), two more than the Cubs or the Red Sox have during the same time span. So, there.
But I think my favorite memory was the 1998 NLCS series with the St. Louis Cardinals. I somehow was blessed with seats right on the playing field, and the house was rocking. The Padres had a fine team, with the inimitable Ken Caminiti and Kevin Brown carrying the team that season. It was late in the game, the game was close, and the home team was trying to put the series to bed. Suddenly, Brown was seen warming up in the bullpen...to come in as a relief pitcher, though he had started only a few days earlier.
When manager Bruce Bochy waved for him to come in and he strode to the mound from the bullpen, the packed house of 65,000+ went absolutely into a roar. It sounded as if a 747 was taking off. It was amazing.
In the end, Brown wasn't able to do the job, and the series continued one more game. But it was a magical moment nonetheless. I still get chills thinking of it.
So we say goodbye to baseball in Mission Valley. But I'm not too sad, because I've been to Coors Field, Pac Bell Park and Safeco Field for games. If Petco is done half as well as those, we'll be very happy. Even if the baseball is bad.
