On Oracle Park’s 25th birthday, SF Giants ring in new era in multiple ways

SAN FRANCISCO It s officially the post-Mays post-A s era at the ballpark by the Bay The Giants couldn t have urged for better weather or better circumstances to ring in Oracle Park s th anniversary and it was a big one There s definitely a lot of changes outfielder Mike Yastrzmeski the group s longest-tenured member announced before taking the field for his seventh Opening Day on the shores of McCovey Cove It begins with the man in charge Buster Posey whose reign as the president of baseball operations is off to about as fast a start as his playing career that produced three World Series championships His club is - after a - win in innings on a sunny Friday afternoon The bounty of those teams is prominently displayed now in the entrance to the Giants clubhouse which received a small makeover during the offseason that included the addition of three World Series trophies in the entranceway The other new things include a mysterious gold-plated wrestling belt with the letters BMF take a guess what those stand for that will be awarded to a contestant after each win and more publicly an LED screen on the iconic renovated Coca Cola bottle in left field But particular of the biggest differences had to do with what and who wasn t there I think everybody feels Willie s absence manager Bob Melvin noted Orlando Cepeda too For the first time in the Giants -year history in San Francisco they opened a baseball season in a world without Willie Mays or Orlando Cepeda While the old-timers haven t been part of the festivities for a limited years the Giants used to parade their living Hall of Famers around the warning track at the start of each new season Now the only one left is Juan Marichal who will turn in October Giants fans did get a chance Friday to celebrate their new past latest out in chants of Bar-ry when Mays godson Barry Bonds addressed the crowd as part of a pregame ceremony with then-manager Dusty Baker and other members of the club honoring the group that opened the ballpark It s harder for us older fans reported Kevin Parker of Los Altos who became a Giants fan when Mays tossed him a ball at Candlestick Park Our heroes are disappearing It s a right of passage in a sense with those guys gone Mays and Cepeda died last summer within days of each other and received headline billing during the pregame In Memorium ceremony Mays family and personal caretaker were on hand in a suite to witness the warm reception and Melvin announced the pair of Giants legends are going to have a big presence here They re going to be like angels here for us now Twenty-five years ago the Giants celebrated the opening of their new waterfront ballpark by unveiling a statue of Mays outside the home plate entrance In a surprise even to Mays then-chairman Peter McGowan released another tribute that would live on in his wake From that day forward the official address of the ballpark would be Willie Mays Plaza broadcaster Jon Miller remembered I m sitting right next to Willie and Willie just couldn t believe it He almost burst out into tears it was such an incredible honor He did not take it for granted He just seemed to be overcome The Giants have had no trouble filling the place in the quarter century since and that was with another unit operating on the other side of the Bay Bridge For the first time since the Bay Area is a one-team sector again I know it s not the Bay Area but they re still here in Northern California They re still in Sacramento starter Logan Webb noted of the A s who were swept by the Cubs in three games to start their three-year residency at the home of the Giants Triple-A band While the Giants ace revealed it was weird not to play their former regional rivals in the annual post-spring exhibitions they hosted the Tigers for two games instead the Sacramento-area native who grew up rooting for the A s was skeptical of the Giants ability to siphon off any fans If they want to hop on board they can reported Webb who also maintained his Raiders allegiances when they skipped town for Las Vegas I know when I was younger and you appealed me to do that I supposedly would have announced no even if they left That commented the Giants couldn t have done much better through the first week of the season at appealing to the woebegone Bay Area baseball fan Webb and Yastrzemski two key figures of the previous administration under Farhan Zaidi pushed back on the idea that it was an entirely new era of Giants baseball with Posey in charge I think by saying that we re taking away from what has happened and insinuating that before we didn t care as much which I don t think is the affair Yastrzemski stated But both players mentioned they noticed a difference in spring training starting with a focus on the little things such as situational hitting Entering Friday s tournament the Giants led the National League with a batting average with runners in scoring position I think there s a mindset change Webb mentioned It s almost like Posey demands it a certain way Not in a bad way He wants us to play baseball a certain way I think he pointed us in the right direction early on in spring and we ve done really well executing that The trophies Webb mentioned are an awesome addition When you walk in you see that Webb disclosed You kind of want to add to that As for the wrestling belt according to Yastrzemski the association had something similar in It s a little ode to the past and a little bringing it to the future too he stated Related Articles The Giants are celebrating the th anniversary of their downtown waterfront ballpark here are memories starting the day it opened Buster Posey leapt to SF Giants president unlike any legend before Can he make more memories SF Giants complete sweep of Astros finish road trip with - record SF Giants clinch winning road trip behind Webb s first gem of year SF Giants can t wait to get their hands on trendy torpedo bats Returning home from a - road trip the Giants were welcomed by weather to match the positive start to the season The blue skies and -degree temperature at first pitch even caused Melvin to pause for a moment in the dugout to take it all in This is quite the place to have a baseball battle let alone Opening Day Melvin noted There s only one day that gets you feeling like this and that s the home opener Hey skip Mays angel wants to have a word When he spoke about the ballpark Miller remembered he disclosed People keep saying it s a beautiful ballpark And it is But they say it has so a large number of great views have you seen the views Willie mentioned Man it s not a condominium what do I care about the views How does it play How s the ball carry What are the winds going to do to the fly balls That s what I m worried about I ll never forget that