THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL THIS STORY ENDS UP IN LEFT FIELD.Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Five home runs by San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California that currently play in the National League West Division. New York Giants history Early days and the John McGraw era players were hit out of Dodger Stadium • • [ on Sunday afternoon. All of 'em went to left field. None were hit by Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24 1964 in Riverside, California) is a left fielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds, the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, and a distant cousin of Hall of Famer Reggie . And for the record, Mike Mahan is OK with it. From his bench seat in section 302 of the right-field pavilion, Mahan seemed to have had just as much fun in the sun on Fan Appreciation Day hanging out with friends, family and strangers than stressing out about whether the San Francisco Giants star could send him a lucrative home-run ball souvenir during the last contest of the regular season. ``It was all about having a good time, first and foremost,'' said Mahan, the Newbury Park native who came up with the creative plan to lay out about $25,000 back in April to secure all 3,200-plus seats in the right-field pavilion for each of the Dodgers-Giants games played Games played (most often abbreviated as G or GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Friday and Sunday, knowing there was an outside-at-best chance of catching one of Bonds' career milestone dingers. Mahan, an investment banker Investment Banker A person representing a financial institution that is in the business of raising capital for corporations and municipalities. Notes: An investment banker may not accept deposits or make commercial loans. who works in West L.A., also attended Saturday's dramatic NL West-clinching contest - watching from the high-rent Dugout dugout: see canoe. Club seats, no less. The euphoria of the Dodgers' victory hadn't worn off for the 28-year-old lifetime L.A. fan, even if there was a hangover in the stadium on a warm Sunday afternoon while the Triple-A version Dodgers sleepwalked through a 10-0 loss. ``We got to see a really big game (Friday), and we got a lot of people together, and we got some kids from the Big Brothers and Sisters out here, so it turned out to be a positive experience,'' said Mahan, who claims to have broken even on the deal after reselling many of the seats to fans through a Web site and ticket broker. After the national media picked up on Mahan's story following the Daily News column back in June, the Dodgers' front office tried to play down the purchase, fearing public backlash. While admitting it was all done above board, Dodgers vice president of communications Gary Miereanu claimed Mahan found a way to ``manipulate the system'' to get all the $6 face-value tickets at a group rate of closer to $3.50 for his own use, even though both parties knew of the intent. In fact, the real reason Mahan ended up reselling a majority of the seats for $15 apiece was because of a stipulation An agreement between attorneys that concerns business before a court and is designed to simplify or shorten litigation and save costs. During the course of a civil lawsuit, criminal proceeding, or any other type of litigation, the opposing attorneys may come to an agreement the Dodgers' made - make sure the pavilion was 80 percent full so that parking, food and souvenir sales wouldn't be lost. They also told him that no tickets could be resold on stadium property. ``I more than held up my end of the bargain,'' said Mahan. ``If the Dodgers had an issue with any sort of 'manipulation' beforehand, it would have been nice if they'd have taken it up with me instead of through the media. ``I hold no ill will. I just wanted to have a good time and I think that's what we did.'' Aside from a bunch of batting-practice balls and a ground-rule double hit by Edgardo Alfonzo Edgardo Antonio Alfonzo (born November 8, 1973 in Miranda State, Venezuela) is an Atlantic League of Professional Baseball infielder in the Long Island Ducks and a former player in Major League Baseball, most notably for the New York Mets. in the seventh inning, the beer-free right-field bleachers was a souvenir-free zone. Even the occasional security-necessitated situation between unruly fans happened in the left-field pavilion and down the right-field line in the field-box seats next to the Giants bullpen. Friday, Bonds was walked three times to go with a groundout ground·out n. Baseball A play in which a batter is put out at first base after hitting a ground ball to an infielder. . Sunday, he made just two trips to the plate - once to pop out to third, the other to take four pitches - meaning he'll sit on No. 703 through the winter, then resume his chase of Hank Aaron's 755 all over again next spring, which many project will take him into the 2006 season. Which means there'll be more potentially valuable Bonds memorabilia available at Dodger Stadium in the coming years. Which means if Mahan plans it just right ... ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if I'd do it again,'' he said about buying out a section, especially if the Dodgers change their group-sales policy. ``I doubt it.'' He could always just save his cash and wait until Steve Williams Steve Williams may refer to:
But what's the fun or risk in that? |
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