The San Francisco Bay Area is a great place for sports with a large number of teams in a small area. Even with the Oakland Raiders heading to Vegas, there are still six professional sports teams including the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, San Jose Earthquakes and the San Jose Sharks. There are also a number of great college teams and minor league teams as well.
When it comes to Major League Baseball, the Bay Area has two great teams on both sides of the Bay. The Oakland A’s have 9 World Series wins and an impressive list of players who made it happen. Reggie Jackson, Ricky Henderson, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vid Blue and other greats have all work the Oakland Athletics uniform. On the other side of the Bay, The San Francisco Giants have a total of 8 World Series victories, including a recent run of 3 titles in 5 years, winning in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Players that have worn the orange and black include Barry Bonds, Will Clark, Willie Mays, Buster Posey, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. These two teams have actually met in the world series 4 times, although the first three times (1905, 1911 and 1913) were before either team had moved to the Bay Area (The A’s were in Philadelphia and the Giants were in New York). The 4th time was a true Bay Area series (also known as a Bay Bridge Series or Battle of the Bay) and probably the most memorable World Series in history. In 1989, The San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s battled it out at Candlestick Park until the massive Loma Prieta earthquake hit during Game 3 of the series. The Oakland A’s went on to win the series 4-0.
The San Francisco Giants played at the legendary Candlestick Park, which they shared with the San Francisco 49ers, until 1999. In 2000, they played the first games at their brand new stadium, Pacific Bell Park. The baseball stadium, which is located in a prime spot, right on the bay, changed names a few times to SBC Park, AT&T Park and is currently known as Oracle Park. An amazing place to see baseball games, Oracle Park offers a massive scoreboard, lots of local food and beer and impressive views of the city and the San Francisco Bay. If you are a baseball fan or just want to check out one of the best ballparks in the nation, you should definitely try to catch a San Francisco Giants game. If you do go, however, make sure to bring a jacket. The weather in SF can be a little unpredictable and if you get stuck with some late wind and fog, you will regret not having some warm clothing options.
