A Beautiful Opening Day in San Diego!

04/05/16 / Padres360.com / @Padres360

by Rebecca Herman

By this time, I’m sure everyone knows the results of the Opening Day game so there isn’t much reason to rehash that … far too many people on social media and other bloggers have discussed it ad nauseum. Instead, I wanted to share my personal perceptions from a Pros and Cons vantage.

Pros:

1. Amazingly beautiful ballpark! The work the grounds crew did to get the field looking PERFECT is nothing short of a miracle. Every blade of grass was in place. The “SD” adorned the center field and the Opening Day Series signage was impeccable.  As reported earlier, the upgrades and improvements made throughout the ballpark have us ready to greet the WORLD for the All-Star Game in July. How wonderful that WE get to enjoy it all the time!!
2. My son and I made the video board 🙂 
3. Our military rocked it! From the Leap Frogs to the Flag Bearers to the Fly Over!    
4. Early gates allowed us to watch Padres BP 
5. Randy Jones honored and threw out the ceremonial first pitch 
      
6. Perfect weather — did you see the weather at “other” opening days??
7. My new seats. I’ve always enjoyed my season tickets in Toyota Terrace and still believe 205/207 offers some of the best views in the ballpark. However, the last two seasons were disappointing from the standpoint of “who” was sitting there. When you have full season tickets, the people in your section can make a big difference in your overall ballpark experience. But now I got to experience Premiere Club. The members next to me are terrific. My view – outstanding. The ushers and wait staff are truly on top of service levels. It was a great experience and I also look forward to enjoying the Omni Club.
8. Sell-out attendance of 44,317 … always great to have full stands … the more money in, the more we can invest in player development and depth of our overall system.

Cons:

1. We lost … rather embarrassingly … 15-0 [nuff said]
2. Of the 44,317 in attendance, it sure seemed to be a large number of Dodger fans.
3. Hate to say it – but – Hodad’s. It was our favorite place to eat at the ballpark of one of the best values. I understand the decision to no longer have it as a sit-down restaurant so more people can be served; however, opening day was not a success.  We placed our order at 2:33 and it was a 20 minute wait! Not only that, but the burger was very dry and the onion rings were so tough that they were not edible. [The picture looks much better than it tasted.] To add insult to injury, the prices have increased as well. Not saying I won’t give them another chance but Mike Hardin would be incredibly disappointed with the quality. 

Other:

1. Two first-time MLB Managers made their Opening Day debuts … Dave Roberts and Andy Green. Only one could walk away with their first MLB win … but there are 161 more opportunities. 
2. Music … interesting to have DJ behind the plate during BP. Not sure if this was a one-time thing or something we will see again. Padres also had organ music but I have personally never been a fan of Bobby Cressey’s selections. 

I remain excited about the 2016 season. I know the Padres will not be shut-out each and every game and I know we will start to win. My hope is that the players come back to the ballpark with a fire in their bellies – ready to beat the Dodgers AND that Padres fans fill the seats more than the opposing teams.

Go Padres!!!