October baseball!

I cannot describe the feeling of having the privilege to witness and partake in the magic at AT&T Park yesterday afternoon. I think just about everyone who were there knew what was at stake: the NL West title! As Mike and I drove to San Francisco, all we could talk about was how amazing this season has been for the Giants and for the fans. I must have checked my bag ten times to make sure I had our tickets, and tried to preserve the space on my memory card and the battery on my camera to the best of my ability. Yesterday was all about the Giants for me and for the forty-something thousand fans in attendance and even more at home. For a brief moment, we talked about the possible scenarios if the Giants were to not clinch... then we stopped. How dare we, or anyone, talk about such possibilities! We knew we were going to get it done on the 162nd game in a Giants-like manner -- tortuous!

After hours of waiting, which we didn't mind so much since we were able to catch glimpses of some players practicing, it was game time! My man, Jonathan Sanchez, took the mound and started the game with a strike, no less. Yes, I have gotten so many heckles about this "infatuation" I have with the 4th pitcher in the Giants rotation, but I never backed down from believing. (Ask Mike or my dad or brothers, lol!) Back on track -- scoreless innings after scoreless innings from both teams, we caught a HUGE break in the third as J. Sanchez hit a triple! Jonathan Sanchez hit a triple! :) RBIs by Freddie Sanchez and Aubrey Huff put the Giants up 2-0. We got two more scoreless innings from Sanchez before he was relieved. As we all know, the Giants bullpen have been nothing less than spectacular going lights out on opponents. Still, we needed an insurance hit. It came in the eighth from who else? Buster Posey! At that moment, everyone knew we have won the ballgame. As Brian Wilson came out in the ninth inning, the entire crowd had stood up from the seats. We needed three outs and no runs, and three outs and no runs we got! The place erupted as if we had won the World Series, and there was no turning back.

The San Francisco Giants are the 2010 National League West Champions! 

We stayed around for the interviews, which we watched on the big screen in the park, for the champaigne-popping which turned into beer-popping after running out of champagne, and more importantly... for the love of the team. :) It was so glorifying to see the entire team take a victory lap around the park high-fiving lucky fans near the edge, and the players cheering to no ends mouthing "thank yous" here and there. We've done it! The season-ender montage had me choked up deep inside, knowing that I waited in that four-hour rain delay back in April against the Braves (ha!), put off a lot just to witness as much games as I could, and stuck with the team through the roller-coaster ride not just this season but in the past as well. It was indeed gratifying. Oh & guess what? My Jonathan Sanchez Si Se Puede poster made it on the big screen. :) Yay!!

Now, we must face some more hurdles. 11 wins -- let's do it! ;) Believe in  magic. <3 It's great to be a true fan. (;

Thank you, San Francisco Giants, for an amazing season.