Giants Fans Pack AT&T Park Even Without Playoff Bid
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - The San Francisco Giants returned to AT&T Park for the final series of the season Monday, playing in front of another big crowd despite being out of playoff contention.
Although there were many empty seats in the upper deck, an announced crowd of 41,956 carried the Giants' season total to a franchise record of 3,303,060.
The 2010 World Series Champions were eliminated from postseason play after a sweep by the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, which featured a division-clinching win and celebration by the new National League West champs.
Longtime Giants fan Debbie Allen said she had plenty of disappointed company as she watched the D-backs officially end the Giants reign at the top. "I was really sad over the weekend because I was really hoping they could do it," she said.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
Don Peterson, like most fans, agreed that losing star catcher Buster Posey and 2nd baseman Freddy Sanchez to injuries so early in the season was just too much for the team.
"They lost two of their best weapons and they had no room to spare to begin with, and that was really kind of the end of the line," he said.
Still, it was a fun year through all the nail biting, said Peterson.
"It was up and down, just up and down all the time," said Mariah Gibson, a season ticket holder.
Dustin Lai thrilled to the underdog stories, "like Vogelsong."
On Monday, Vogelsong threw seven shutout innings, and Mike Fontenot tripled in two runs to bring a 3-1 victory over the Rockies that ended a four-game losing streak.
Lai remembered a season full of similar positive moments.
"Nate Schierholtz almost had a really great year," he said.
Of course, there's always next year. The Giants play the Rockies again Tuesday and wrap up the season with a Wednesday afternoon game against Colorado.
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