Time flies! Only two days until the start of the Padres’ 2018 season! San Diego ended up with a record of 15-10 in spring training, the second best preseason record in the National League!
Expectations have risen greatly for the coming season. The team has a crop of young, hungry, super-skilled players, many rising from what is arguably the deepest and most talent-rich farm system in baseball. A sprinkling of outstanding veterans with great leadership skills are also in the mix, including newly acquired Eric Hosmer. Every indication is that the Padres’ offensive production should be really good. If the pitching is also good, who knows what might happen? It’s fun to dream, right?
During a walk around Petco Park last weekend, I spied 2018 Padres players on lamppost banners. And, naturally, I took photos!
Would you like to dream with me? Take a peek at what might be a very bright future!
3 Clayton Richard SP4 Wil Myers 1B7 Manuel Margot CF12 Chase Headley 3B13 Freddy Galvis SS18 Austin Hedges C52 Brad Hand RP61 Luis Perdomo SP64 Dinelson Lamet SP30 Eric Hosmer 1B
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Display inside Petco Park’s Power Alley remembers Manuel P. Hernandez of San Diego. Before the start of World War II he played for the Pacific Coast League Padres. He died in action fighting in Germany.
Exhibits that honor members of the Padres who served in the military can be found at Petco Park. Inside the Power Alley, near the large model of the USS Midway, photographs and words pay tribute to three wartime heroes in particular.
One display memorializes the only Padres player to die in combat, Manuel P. “Nay” Hernandez. Born in San Diego in 1919, he attended San Diego High School and played American Legion baseball with the San Diego Post 6 team. After becoming starting left fielder for the Pacific Coast League Padres, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, joining the 376th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division. Less than a year later he was killed in action fighting the Nazis in Germany.
Another display honors two Padres baseball legends: Ted Williams and Jerry Coleman. Both were Marine aviators during the Korean War. Ted Williams, a San Diego native who played for the PCL Padres at Lane Field, became arguably the best hitter in the history of Major League Baseball. Jerry Coleman, after playing with distinction as a New York Yankee (1949 American League Rookie of the Year and 1950 World Series MVP), became a beloved broadcaster for the San Diego Padres.
Should you ever enjoy a game or special event at Petco Park, walk through the Power Alley section behind right field and linger for a moment near this important bit of Padres history.
Manuel P. “Nay” Hernandez was born in San Diego in 1919. He graduated from San Diego High School, played semi-pro baseball, and went on to start in left field for the PCL Padres. He is the only San Diego Padres player to be killed in combat.A nearby wall in the Power Alley lists the many Major League Baseball Players Who Served Their Country.Historical photographs in Petco Park honor The Pride of San Diego. Two legendary Padres, Ted Williams and Jerry Coleman, are shown on the baseball diamond and serving as pilots during the Korean War.Captain Ted Williams, USMC, manning his Marine Corps F9F-2 Panther jet in Korea, circa 1953.Captain Jerry Coleman, USMC, on the wing of his Marine Corps F-4U Corsair in Korea, circa 1952.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
How was the Earth made? How many skin cells do we have?
Thousands of kids attended the 2018 San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering EXPO Day event today at Petco Park. The annual festival of STEM learning features all sorts of fun activities and demonstrations presented by dozens of local schools, universities, businesses and organizations.
Kids wandering from booth to booth were encouraged to ask a variety of fascinating questions. Young minds learned about physics, medical research, information technology, space exploration, environmental science . . . The number of scientific subjects seemed unlimited.
Fun experiments were performed. Conclusions resulted. More questions arose.
That’s how science works!
As I wandered about the festival I discovered some questions that curious kids might ask…
Thousands of curious kids attended EXPO Day at Petco Park during the 2018 San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering.To help support STEM learning in San Diego and the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering, read this banner.How is curiosity a driving force behind human progress and development?What is in snot? How does mucus neutralize an invading virus?How does a snake move?Why is math important? Why are puzzles so stimulating?What are amino acids?What is symmetry? Why is it found in plants and animals?Can creative people and scientists be real superheroes?Can science be entertaining? Can you invent a rap song about something scientific?What is a molecule? What is an atom? Is anything smaller than an atom?What is oobleck? What Dr. Seuss book did the word come from?How do you make a secret code? How do you decipher a code?Can little robots destroy cancer? Why do earthquakes become so strong in some cases?What is light?How does a flamingo become pink?What is static electricity?What are comets made of?How was the first cell created? How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?What is the extracellular matrix?How does your heart work? How do you keep it healthy?How do we stop pollution?Is fusion the energy for the future of mankind?How can we remember many things like language? Why are some people so tall when their parents are so short?Why does a jellyfish glow?Why is this silly guy acting like a jellyfish?How does the Earth stay in orbit? How can people help the Earth stay healthy?What does it feel like to be in outer space? How do you become an astronaut?
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
In late February, trucks haul in rolls of turf to resod the grass playing field at Petco Park!
I was walking past Petco Park this morning when I noticed a long line of trucks waiting next to the ballpark. Each of the trucks was transporting rolls of sod.
It must be that time of year–about a month before the start of the season–when the field receives its brand new turf!
Beautiful new grass fits perfectly with the promise of a brand new season. Not only do the Padres have a team full of talented, hungry young players, but they recently signed baseball phenom Eric Hosmer.
Many of the people I speak to are dreaming of a much improved year ahead. Is it possible that the Padres will contend in 2018?
I can’t wait to find out!
Rolls of sod are lifted up and brought into Petco Park. Spring can’t be far away now!I took this photo a couple weeks ago from the Park at the Park. Workers were busy preparing the baseball field for the Padres’ 2018 season.Numerous trucks were lined up all around Petco Park this morning. A promising new season is around the corner, and the ball field is getting some fresh new turf!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Tours of Petco Park include a behind-the-scenes and on-the-field look at the home of the San Diego Padres.
Today I went on a very cool guided tour of Petco Park, baseball home of the San Diego Padres. The one and a half hour tour, which is offered to the public seven days a week, provided a behind-the-scenes look at parts of the ballpark that fans usually don’t see.
I was blown away!
A super knowledgeable and friendly tour guide showed our small group why Petco Park is regarded by many as the best ballpark in Major League Baseball. People in our group who were visiting San Diego, and who were fans of other teams, seemed to enjoy themselves just as much as me!
We saw several parts of the unique Western Metal Supply Co. Building, ventured into the Press Box, and got to briefly see the exclusive Lexus Home Plate Club. We walked out onto the field, and everyone took photos while sitting in the visiting team’s dugout. Then we entered a tunnel that led to the visiting team’s locker room. After passing through a service corridor used for Petco Park deliveries and maintenance, we emerged into daylight, entered the Padres Team Store, and finally ended up at the Padres Hall of Fame.
The following photos provide just a small taste of this awesome experience. If you find yourself in San Diego, take the tour! If you love baseball, it’s a must!
People wait by a ticket window for a fascinating ballpark tour at Petco Park in San Diego.Paty, our knowledgeable and super friendly tour guide, familiarizes everyone with the history of Petco Park.Personalized bricks in the Palm Court Plaza were purchased by more than 10,000 fans when the ballpark was built. The bricks sold out in 5 minutes!The Breitbard Hall of Fame was recently relocated from Balboa Park’s old Hall of Champions to the main concourse level of Petco Park. San Diego sports legends are honored with plaques.A view of the ball field in January from inside the Western Metal Supply Co. Building. Trucks are getting the field ready for an upcoming Monster Jam event.A Padres fan on the tour checks out the left field foul pole, which is attached to a corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building. The tolling of the nearby mission bell during every game reminds fans of San Diego’s history.An amazing view of the ballpark can be enjoyed from The Rail, an exclusive seating area high up in the Western Metal Supply Co. Building.The Loft at Petco Park contains pool tables, a fun vibe and cool elements of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building’s history that have been preserved.As we continue counterclockwise around the upper level of Petco Park, we learn more Padres facts. We hear stories about the players and relive special moments.A series of photo murals along the upper level depict Padres history. This one from March 24, 1951 shows Whitey Wietelmann out at first base.As we walk along, San Diego’s South Bay comes into view.We are about to go behind-the-scenes and check out the Press Box!Inside a lounge area for the press is a glass display case full of memories from Jerry Coleman’s life as baseball player, Marine aviator, and Padres broadcaster. The folded flag was presented to him by the military upon his retirement.We get to sit inside writer’s row, where the press watches each game and composes their stories! The official scorer has a special seat in one corner.Way to the left we can glimpse the control room for the music, lights and video boards, and the spot occupied by the public address announcer.A couple months before the 2018 season begins, some workers are doing a bit of gardening at the ballpark!Here’s another fun part of the Petco Park tour. Walking out onto the field!We head to the area behind home plate. In addition to other features, we are shown how Petco Park was built to provide intimate, direct views of the action from every seat.Hanging out in the visiting team’s dugout! How cool is this?If you find yourself in San Diego, you should take a cool tour of Petco Park!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
An exhibit in Petco Park shows the History of the Ballpark Neighborhood, San Diego, California.
There’s a small but very cool exhibit at Petco Park that depicts the early history of East Village and nearby blocks in downtown San Diego. During the baseball stadium’s construction, a number of fascinating artifacts were recovered by archaeologists. Each object was carefully recorded in order to preserve aspects of our city’s diverse history.
Here are some of the old photographs and artifacts that are on public display. You can find this exhibit near the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame, just to the right of the north entrance to the Padres Team Store. I learned this exhibit used to be on the third floor of the Western Metal Supply building, at the top of the escalators. But the area was rather dark and so it was moved to its present location.
Please read the captions to learn more about what was unearthed during the grading of the ballpark, and what everyday life was like in San Diego over a century ago.
Photo taken during construction of Petco Park baseball stadium in East Village. Archaeologists excavate a feature discovered during grading activities at the ballpark.After researching the immediate area’s history, the grading of the future ballpark was environmentally monitored. Artifacts that were recovered reveal everyday life in San Diego’s past.Excavated objects include jars, bottles, glass stoppers and a bone toothbrush handle. Names of medical remedies on bottles include Hamlin’s Wizard Oil and Dr. J.H. McLean’s Volcanic Oil.1906 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map depicting Blocks 136 and 137, part of the footprint of today’s Petco Park, home of the baseball Padres.From the late 1800s to the 1930s, most residents of East Village appear to have been of moderate to lower economic status, employed at blue collar jobs downtown.Other artifacts recovered during Petco Park’s construction include dolls, toys, marbles and keys.Old photograph shows East Village as it was in 1914, looking west from the 10th Street terminal.Looking south down 5th Street (now Fifth Avenue) from the roof of the 1st National Bank, circa 1910. The area is heart of the Gaslamp Quarter.Two historical photos. To the left: Pacific Coast Steamship warehouse, circa 1913. To the right: looking north up 5th Street circa 1910.Old photo of Western Metal Supply building and foundry sometime prior to 1919. The preserved brick building is now a unique part Petco Park’s structure.Fragments of earthenware jars and Chinese and Japanese ceramic tableware show Asian culture thrived in the neighborhood’s past.
…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Beloved, legendary sports broadcaster Dick Enberg has passed away in his La Jolla home. Many in San Diego and around the world are heartbroken.
On September 29, 2016, the final home game of that Padres baseball season, I was privileged to see retiring Dick Enberg’s public celebration at Petco Park.
If you’d like to see a few images from that day, here is that blog post.
Colorful graphics are now up at the Midnight, Texas 4D Experience for 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.
Downtown San Diego is a beehive of activity this morning! Everybody is getting ready for 2017 Comic-Con!
Check out these photos and experience a bit of the growing excitement!
A wrap is going up on Petco Park promoting History’s new series Knightfall, concerning the Knights Templar.Local businesses in the Gaslamp are also getting ready for Comic-Con, which officially begins in less than three days!It looks like a cool Archangel wrap is now going up on the Hard Rock Hotel. Skydance Interactive’s first virtual reality offering should be popular at Comic-Con.Parking will be very difficult in downtown San Diego during Comic-Con. Take the trolley!Nearby businesses are looking forward to the crowds!This will be AMC’s Deadquarters. I expect there will be zombies.Some stuff in a pile that will probably be used as props at Deadquarters.At The Tick Takeover, the superhero and Arthur are accompanied by a worker. I’m told smoke will come out of this blasted hole once everything is completed!Two huge Tick antennae will also move about!Arthur seems to be in a bad situation at The Tick Takeover site at Comic-Con.A cool convergence near Harbor Drive. Dozens of trolley cars are now wrapped and ready.The People of Earth wrap on the Marriott Marquis is approaching completion.The front of the Blade Runner 2049 Experience hasn’t changed much in the past couple days. I’m sure lots of cool stuff is jammed inside the gigantic pavilion.Workers carry stuff into the Hilton Gaslamp, where Netflix is headquartered.Everybody is getting ready, including the police. Homeless are removed from the area before Comic-Con. A tragic, extremely sad truth that many visitors won’t see.The Midnight, Texas site promoting the new NBC show is starting to look interesting.The area near the Tin Fish has a Midnight, Texas theme this year.Banners now hang along the Tin Fish.There seems to be a room with video walls inside the Midnight, Texas 4D Experience.Lots of equipment to move, and work to be done!Some more graphics are up for Kong: Skull Island near the Omni Hotel.A closeup photo of one Skull Island graphic.Guys are putting up these long banners promoting HBO’s Game of Thrones.No wraps up yet on this corner of Petco Park.Construction has just commenced in the Petco Interactive Zone, now that the Padres have left for a road trip.Lots of canopies for long lines are up at the San Diego Convention Center. Looks to me like 2017 Comic-Con is almost here!The FXhibition outdoor site near the Hilton Bayfront is still under construction.I see there will be an X-Gene Screening Station in Fox Television’s outdoor area.A reminder that Syfy will provide live coverage of Comic-Con.Exhibitors large and small are unloading behind the convention center. I bet there’s a mad scramble inside as booths are prepared. (Check out all the comic book boxes! That’s a lot of reading material!)A cool Legion wrap is going up on the Hilton for 2017 San Diego Comic-Con!
UPDATE!
Here are more photos taken in the mid-afternoon…
The Knightfall wrap is now complete at Petco.More graphics have appeared at Kong: Skull Island.And so has a skull!And more huge bones!One of various Midnight, Texas posters up now at the Gaslamp trolley station.A wrap is going up on this section of Petco Park. I believe this will promote Once Upon a Time.I now see Archer graphics in the FX area near the Hilton.And more X-Gene Screening Station stuff in the FOX area.I see Adult Swim will give away free shirts again this year.The big Legion wrap is making progress as you can see beyond the Adult Swim site.The Legion wrap not quite complete on the Hilton, as seen from Embarcadero Marina Park South.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
It’s true! I have indisputable proof of what many in San Diego will never believe. I took the shocking photograph a couple days ago at Petco Park.
For the first time ever in recorded history, that outspoken, highly opinionated San Diego Padres and SDSU Aztecs play-by-play radio announcer Ted Leitner aka Uncle Teddy . . . was left . . . wordless!
For the first time ever in San Diego history, Padres and Aztecs play-by-play announcer Ted Leitner is left wordless!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Team USA fans in line to buy merchandise at Petco Park during the World Baseball Classic in San Diego.
Team USA beat Venezuela tonight in an exciting World Baseball Classic game in San Diego! The United States won 4-2 with an amazing come-from-behind victory! Today’s baseball game was the second in a round robin between four international teams– the Second Round’s Pool F.
I’ve got an assortment of fun photos! It was a perfect San Diego evening to take in the sights, sounds, pageantry and great play of what turned out to be classic baseball game!
Fans of the four different teams in the World Baseball Classic’s Second Round Pool F could be seen all around San Diego’s Petco Park.Baseball lovers of all ages were having fun before the game began in the Park at the Park.Some outrageous costumes and lots of patriotic clothing could be seen all about the baseball stadium. And many Padres fans, too!It’s approaching game time. Families walk up a ramp to the upper level.Fans at the World Baseball Classic in San Diego point to the outfield.Young supporters of Team USA watch their baseball heroes warm up on the field before the game.Players for Team USA come out of the dugout for the opening ceremony.Players for both Venezuela and the United States were given a rousing introduction.Team USA fans watching the opening ceremony hold up an American flag.The players for the United States and Venezuela shake hands at the end of the opening ceremony.The game has begun! It’s a beautiful evening for baseball in San Diego, of course! Even some Dodgers fans have come to Petco Park for the fun.Venezuela is at bat as the sun sets and Petco’s lights come on. Venezuela has a great team and was first to score.As I walked about Petco Park, which USA Today rated the finest stadium in Major League Baseball, I took a photo of the Chair of Honor. The empty chair represents Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action.Team USA loaded the bases in the early innings, but unfortunately failed to score.These fans of Team USA scored, however, on the Kiss Cam!George Washington was in attendance, rooting on Team USA during the World Baseball Classic in San Diego! And his team won!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 