Giant Memories! | May 2025

Dear Friends,

I recently cashed in on a “love coupon” from my husband. The coupon was for him to recreate our first date. The funny thing is, both of us couldn’t remember what that was. Likely because our relationship started out as friends, so to recall the “first date” was a challenge. That being said, Rob got us tickets to a Friday evening Giants game. As I sat in the packed stadium on a clear, brisk evening, overlooking the Bay with seagulls flying overhead and the sound of hecklers behind us, I was struck by a flood of memories.

I don’t know if going to a Giants game was our “official first date” although I can tell you that we spent A LOT of time at that Ballpark together (especially before becoming parents)!

One of the most memorable moments was when Rob planned a surprise birthday for me at the game. My family & friends greeted us at the front gate holding up a “Happy Birthday” banner and he also had my birthday “announced” on the scoreboard. It was awesome and, yes, I was completely surprised!

We’ve been at countless games where records were broken, but the most memorable was when I was 6 months pregnant and Barry Bonds hit home run #756, breaking the All-Time record!!! It was exhilarating and we all knew that we just witnessed history! I love telling Samuel that he was there with us!

We attended our fair share of regular season games with family, friends and co-workers. We’ve attended Fellowship Days where we got to listen to ballplayers who shared their faith and testimonies with all of us.

We’ve had the privilege of attending a handful of World Series games rooting on our beloved Giants! And we’ve attended the World Series celebration and parade that was held in honor of the Champions in downtown San Francisco.

We brought our son, Samuel, to his first MLB game to (then) AT&T Park! I remember the numerous Caltrain rides to the games, sliding down the Coca Cola slide, and watching Samuel hit a “home run” at the little kids ball park near the slide. We’ve enjoyed our fair share of Gilroy garlic fries, Ghirardelli sundaes and multiple cups of hot chocolate! My favorite is the crab sandwich and Rob’s favorite is the fried chicken sandwich.

Samuel was part of the Junior Giants and had the unique opportunity to get a baseball glove from Buster Posey and he actually got to play in the outfield!

In addition to all of the baseball games we’ve attended, I also ran the Giants Race half marathon that ended on the field!

Sitting at the yard the other evening reminded me of how much I still love the game of baseball and how much Oracle Park has been such a big part of our lives. Thank you San Francisco Giants for the unforgettable memories! We are forever Giants fans!

With Gigantic love & appreciation,

Rica