Home Team by Robert F. Garratt

Author:Robert F. Garratt [Garratt, Robert F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HIS036140 History / United States / State & Local / West (ak, Ca, Co, Hi, Id, Mt, Nv, Ut, Wy), SPO003030 Sports & Recreation / Baseball / History
ISBN: 9781496201232
Publisher: UNP - Nebraska
Published: 2017-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

9

The Humm Babies

“You Gotta Like These Kids!”

In early September 1985, when Bob Lurie placed a phone call to Houston Astros general manager Al Rosen, he hoped to get some advice on what had become for him a worrisome topic: the future of the Giants in San Francisco. First and foremost, he was discouraged by the performance of his team in the current NL West division race. The Giants were in the last month of what would become the first one-hundred-loss season in their storied history. While that number was staggering, it was not in itself the chief source of Lurie’s dissatisfaction; rather he was vexed by the persistent climate of losing during his ownership. With only two regular-season winning teams over the past ten years, he had grown weary of finishing at or near the bottom of the division. For once, he would like to enjoy the excitement of postseason play, something he had not experienced in all of his time as owner.

Though paramount, winning was not Lurie’s only concern. He was increasingly aggravated by his team’s venue, Candlestick Park. Although he had accepted its deficiencies as inevitable when he bought the team, especially its inhospitable weather and the lack of any charm, he grew more convinced with each succeeding year of the effect of Candlestick on both the Giants’ performance at home, and, as a consequence, the attendance. At first, he tried cosmetics, including better food choices, pregame entertainment, and some promotions invented by Pat Gallagher, the Giants’ marketing director. Fans who braved the elements and remained for extra innings of a night game received the “Croix de Candlestick” button with an iced-over SF logo and the inscription “Veni, Vedi, Vixi” (I came, I saw, I survived), worn as a badge of honor by those fans who received them. Perhaps the most outlandish promotion Gallagher introduced was the Crazy Crab, who premiered in April 1984. Intended as an anti-mascot to satirize other ball clubs’ mascots and give the fans a focus for their disaffection (the Giants lost eighty-three games in 1983 and would lose ninety-six in the ’84 season), Crazy Crab was a notorious success. The promotion encouraged the fans to project their frustrations toward the Crab and boo him. Within weeks, however, the boos turned dangerous. Fans began throwing things at the Crab, the hostility increased, and the promotion had to be dropped.1

In addition to addressing food and promotions, the Giants also attended to the building itself, making improvements where they could. Restrooms were painted and refurbished and concession stand access made more efficient. A plan for space heaters had to be rejected because of the prohibitive costs. Yet all the efforts at improving atmosphere at Candlestick could not disguise the fact that the place was at root both unsuitable for baseball and inhospitable for fans. Lurie yearned for a new facility closer to downtown.

As Lurie wrestled with his ballpark woes and considered possibilities for a new venue closer to downtown, he also fretted over his organization. Drawing

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