The San Francisco Giants arrived at their home park in San Francisco this afternoon to a crowd of hundreds of fans thrilled by their completion of a sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series Sunday.
The Giants players were in the first of six buses arriving at AT&T Park at 4:40 p.m. along with their families, staff, and the team’s management.
The fans lined up along Second Street erupted in cheers as the buses turned in to the alleyway and some fans even climbed the gates at the park to try and get a closer look at the players.
After getting off the bus, series MVP Pablo Sandoval grabbed the World Series trophy and ran back down the alley parading the trophy in front of the fans.
Sandoval then passed the trophy off to relief pitcher Sergio Romo, who pitched the final outs of Sunday’s 10-inning 4-3 victory over the Tigers. Romo followed suit, displaying the trophy proudly to the throngs of supporters.
Outfielder Hunter Pence and starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong also came out to greet the fans with high-fives and handshakes.
General Manager Brian Sabean also walked down the alleyway with his family to cheers from the crowd.
Many fans waited at the park for hours today for the Giants to return home. Daniel Mezquito, 22, of Concord even stayed overnight.
Mezquito said this afternoon that after leaving work at about 9 p.m. Sunday night, just after ballgame ended, he headed straight to the ballpark and had been there ever since.
Initially, he thought the Giants would be back at 3 or 4 a.m., but when he found out that they weren’t going to be back that night, he decided to just stay rather than go home to Concord.
Mezquito used to work at AT&T Park as a peanut vendor, he said, and his grandmother and grandfather currently work at the ballpark.
As he waited for the team to arrive this afternoon, Mezquito was dressed in a 2012 World Series Championship T-shirt and hat, and was holding a watercolor painting of Sandoval and Romo and hoped to have it signed.
“It was emotional for me, it’s my passion,” he said. “Seeing that (the Giants win a World Series) brings pride to me.”
Laurina Marcic, 27, of San Francisco also arrived late last night, but did not stay the night and instead came back at about 10:30 a.m. today.
Marcic waited for the team this afternoon holding a sign that said, “25 guys, one common goal, mission accomplished.”
Of Sunday’s final out, a strikeout of Tigers heavy-hitter Miguel Cabrera, Marcic said today, “It was stressing me out. It definitely wasn’t going to be a World Series without some torture.”
Zack Farmer, Bay City News
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