California dreamin' - Tips for a summer trip, plz

[Eddie Teach]

Better to end up dead than in Salt Lake City.

[MadImmortalMan]

I don't think he's going that far east.

[The Larch]

I don't think he's going that far east.

Nope, we don't plan to leave Cali, and if we did it'd be to go to the Vegas/Grand Canyon route.

[The Larch]

Ok guys, I need some advice. There's a plan brewing to try to attend a baseball game while we're there, so now we have to choose where to go. I can see that in SF there's the Giants and in LA the Dodgers, and both have games on while we're over there. Which would be a better option? We've also seen that the football season will also be on while we're there, but schedules don't match so nicely.

[Syt]

Both teams are doing fine this season. Given the choice I'd probably go for SF - their park seems a lot nicer. You may also want to consider The L.A. Angels of Anaheim or the Oakland A's.

But katmai and garbon are the experts (though I'm pretty sure they'll go for the Giants).

Of course, relocating both Dodgers and Giants in the 50s was a huge mistake by the MLB.

[Admiral Yi]

I imagine it's essentially impossible to get a ticket for a 49ers or Raiders game unless you want to sell a kidney to a scalper.  You might however give thought to a high school football game.

[stjaba]

I imagine it's essentially impossible to get a ticket for a 49ers or Raiders game unless you want to sell a kidney to a scalper.  You might however give thought to a high school football game.

Or college football- I bet tickets are relatively cheap on the West Coast. Options include University of Southern California, UCLA, Cal, or Stanford.

[Admiral Yi]

Or college football- I bet tickets are relatively cheap on the West Coast. Options include University of Southern California, UCLA, Cal, or Stanford.

You think those guys are going to have empty seats?

[stjaba]

Or college football- I bet tickets are relatively cheap on the West Coast. Options include University of Southern California, UCLA, Cal, or Stanford.

You think those guys are going to have empty seats?

Yep. All those programs, with the exception of Stanford, had an average attendance of below capacity in their home stadiums last year. http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2012/01/02/Research-and-Ratings/Attendence.aspx

In my experience, it's pretty easy to get tickets to non-marquee matchups in college football.

[The Larch]

The good thing about baseball for our purposes is that there are so many friggin matches that it's not a problem at all to find a day that suits us, while with football it's much more difficult. I mean, with the Giants we have 3 or 4 days that we can choose from, with football games we have 1 if we're lucky.

[alfred russel]

Ok guys, I need some advice. There's a plan brewing to try to attend a baseball game while we're there, so now we have to choose where to go. I can see that in SF there's the Giants and in LA the Dodgers, and both have games on while we're over there. Which would be a better option? We've also seen that the football season will also be on while we're there, but schedules don't match so nicely.

You are missing other baseball teams in California: the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Oakland As. Although the two teams that would be the best to see due to fan interest (and the fact they don't suck this year) are the Giants and Dodgers. But look at those other teams if scheduling is tight.

Speaking as a baseball fan, keep in mind that baseball is an acquired taste. Also there are 162 games in a year. Baseball fans are laid back--the greatest team in history is going to lose 50 or so games a year so no one gets bent out of shape over a single game. California fans in particular are especially laid back, with a reputation of showing up in the 3rd inning and leaving after the 7th. So don't expect to walk into a Real Madrid - Barca atmosphere.

Football is a lot more passionate and would be more exciting for the uninitiated--if you can only squeeze in one I'd give preference to college football over baseball. Those games are played on Saturday, and there are a number of teams in California.

Also, you should try to make time to go to some beaches in Southern California.

[MadBurgerMaker]

The Rangers will be in Anaheim Sept 18 - 20 for three games with the Angels.  By that time, the Rangers might have pissed away the remainder of their lead in the division.

The Giants, Dodgers, Angels, and A's are all doing well (they all have 58-59 wins right now, I believe) this year.  Schedules:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/schedule/SF
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/schedule/LAD
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/schedule/LAA
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/schedule/OAK

The Padres suuuuuuck  e:but I suppose I shouldn't leave them out:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/schedule/SD

[The Larch]

The Padres are initially out as we don't plan to go that far south. The Athletics and the Angels I don't know, how easily accessible are their stadiums from SF or LA?

So far I think our best bet are the Giants against the Rockies, as they play three games between the 17th and the 19th..

[MadBurgerMaker]

The Padres are initially out as we don't plan to go that far south. The Athletics and the Angels I don't know, how easily accessible are their stadiums from SF or LA?

So far I think our best bet are the Giants against the Rockies, as they play three games between the 17th and the 19th..

Sounds like a plan.  Just in case though, the A's should have a BART stop for their place, so shouldn't be bad to get to at all, although...uh...it's Oakland, which sucks.  Garbon should be able to tell you about BART in the general area, I would think.  Anaheim is off of I-5, and is a suburb of LA.  In Orange County.  Disneyland is there.  I don't remember it being any more or less difficult to get to than anywhere else in the LA area.  vOv 

[alfred russel]

The Padres are initially out as we don't plan to go that far south. The Athletics and the Angels I don't know, how easily accessible are their stadiums from SF or LA?

So far I think our best bet are the Giants against the Rockies, as they play three games between the 17th and the 19th..

They should all be accessible. The Giants have a much nicer stadium than the As, much better fan support, and are in contention this year. I'd go there unless there is a scheduling problem.