My friend Louie and I were really excited to get into the ballpark. My first World Series game ever. We took the escalator up to the upper deck as our seats were there, a dead center field view. We stopped so I could make a phone call to my wife in Clovis, CA. My wife had gone to the movies and said she would be looking for me in the crowd. It was a minute or so after 5 pm as I hung up and we walked through the tunnel to look for our seats. We stopped, looked out at the field, players could be seen warming up. I grabbed the railing, to assure myself, that I was actually at my first World Series game!
I heard a roar, thought it was a jet plane flying over or near the stadium. Looked up and saw nothing. As I scanned the stadium, I saw the light standards swaying, then to my horror saw the entire stadium moving as a mold of jello moves if one shakes the plate it sits on. Louie looked confused, I remember telling him to grab the rail, it’s an earthquake. It shook for what felt like minutes, the only thought was if the stadium falls, please Lord let me fall on something soft so I don’t die! Candlestick did not fall!
When the shaking stopped, we saw players from both teams scrambling to get to the center of the field. We calmly walked to our section and promptly sat in our reserved seats. We heard a loud yell and saw a young man with a piece of concrete on his shoulder, literally running down from the highest rows with his prized possession. People around with radios began talking about a possible cancelled game. One individual with a small watchman tv said the Bay Bridge had fallen. Not even asking, I grabbed the small tv and there were photos of the section of bridge that had fallen and a car hanging over the edge. We sat talking and soon after it was announced that the game was cancelled, hold on to your rain check ticket.
Walking out was a little surreal, no panic, no yelling, everyone walking out, strangely quiet. It was close to 6 pm when we got to the car. Little did we know what lay ahead. After what seemed an hour , we got on to 101 South and proceeded home. The radio was our only contact with the outside world. We learned of the Cypress Freeway collapse, the fires, and the destruction the earthquake caused in and around the Bay Area. Each time we got under an underpass, we prayed for traffic to move. There were few lights to be seen on each side of the freeway, and the traffic moved ever so slowly. Our fear was that one would fall on us as we sat there in the car. At approximately 9:30 pm we were in San Jose. We stopped for gas, and someone there said Pacheco Pass was closed. I didn’t want to think about driving to King City and cutting across the hills and into Coalinga, so on a chance that it was open, we took 152 East in Gilroy. We were fortunate, it was open and I finally got home close to 1 am.
Louie and I did return for the game 9 days later, we both held our breath when the lights flickered in the 7th inning. My Giants lost the game, and then the series, but that day in San Francisco is one that will be with me as long as I live!
By Froylan L. Ramirez