From the bleachers to the Bay, A's and Giants super fans see themselves as part of the team

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Apr 2

Only a short drive across the Bay Bridge separates the Giants and the A's, but their ballparks couldn't be more different.

The Giants' waterfront home turns 23 this spring and still is one of MLB's jewels, while the A's prepare for their 55th season in a crumbling building they have been trying to replace – and more recently completely abandon – for more than two decades.

Yet, the Bay Area's teams share a common bond: a world beyond their right field fences that make the ballpark experience at both venues unique.

For San Francisco fans, it might mean braving thunderstorms and bobbing in the bay for Splash Hits. In Oakland, the soundtrack and scenes of the game are being created by a fan base that might lack numbers but is one of the most loyal in the majors.

In both cases, there is nothing else like it in baseball.

EYE OF THE STORM

A kayaker's rule of thumb is to never paddle in a thunderstorm. But on this rare stormy San Francisco night, the McCovey Cove Dave bylaws advised otherwise.

It was September 11, 2017. The Los Angeles Dodgers were starting right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda, which meant the Giants lineup was ripe with left-handed hitters: Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Jarrett Parker and, most importantly for Dave Edlund, AKA McCovey Cove Dave, was Denard Span.

Dave Edlund is photographed while kayaking in McCovey Cove. Edlund has fished more home runs from the cove than anyone.

Because left-handed hitters are more likely to pull home runs over the right field bricks, a lefty-heavy lineup meant the Cove would be jam-packed with boaters hunting Splash Hit baseballs. But a night with Span in the lineup was the jackpot for Splash Hit gurus like Edlund. He had good numbers against Maeda and four Splash Hit home runs nearly two seasons into his Giants tenure.

So when the 7 p.m. game was officially delayed until 10:30 p.m. as lightning strikes lit up the clouds above AT&T Park, Edlund didn't pack up his kayak and bolt like the rest of his competitors. He took a nap in his car and was out on the water once play resumed, joined only by Jon Miller and Dave Fleming crooning over his transistor radio headphones. It paid off: at 11 p.m., Span hit one into the water. In 20 seconds, Edlund had it.

"We all feel like we're part of the game," Edlund said. "It's a sport of chasing memorabilia baseballs. And only a few people got that gene when they were born."

For Edlund, ball-hawking in McCovey Cove is a sport, his fellow kayakers are his competition, and he's played more games than Barry Bonds — he's made it out on the bay for most home games since he quit his Silicon Valley job in 2005.

TV crews set up near McCovey Cove as the San Francisco Giants take on the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of baseball's World Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. (Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News Group)

And while Edlund is the face of the McCovey Cove denizens, a vibrant aquatic fan culture has formed out on the water next to him.

Some of McCovey Dave's competitors and fellow fans include 'The Shark', 'Splash Hit Steve' and Mark Busch — who doesn't want a nickname. They keep tally of whose caught more Splash Hits — Edlund by a good number — share secrets of the trade and have experienced together their favorite team's highs and lows from beyond the ballpark's walls.

BLEACHER CREATURES

Bryan Johansen is part of the "Last Dive Bar" group, one of a dozen bleacher creature crews that populate the mostly empty Coliseum seats. On broadcasts, you can see some of the banners he makes for A's players. "Laser Ramón" for Ramón Laureano, "Kempin' Ain't Easy" for Tony Kemp.

During the pandemic season in 2020, Johansen used his seat for a cardboard cutout of the Houston Astros mascot Orbit sitting in a trashcan — a poke at the A's division rival for a cheating scandal in which they pounded on trashcans from the dugout to relay signals to batters.

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 05: Oakland Athletics fans play the drums in the right field bleachers during the fifth inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) — OAKLAND, CA – MAY 05: Oakland Athletics fans play the drums in the right field bleachers during the fifth inning of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Johansen was told that the Astros saw the cutout during batting practice, complained to MLB and had it removed.

"They had him in jail, but I did get it back," he said.

Johansen grew up an A's fan not just idolizing the players, but the bleacher crews he saw around the park. He idolized the "The Hendu Land Group" for Dave Henderson, of course, the "Fly Boys" — two ball hawks named Mike Kelly and Jay Didier who would fly down the Coliseum railings in pursuit of home run balls.

Through the years he's seen other super fan crews pass through, "The Green Man," "Coco Fingers" and the "Melvin Misfits," who have all lost faith and disappeared.

"Melvin Misfits got kids and left around the (Josh) Donaldson fire sale," Johansen said. "Green Man left with the Marcus Semien departure, that was the final straw."

A's players may come and go, but some of the most loyal fans in baseball occupy the bleachers above the right field wall, where flags wave and drums beat. Some have even found their soulmates in those cheap green seats.

At least four couples from the current right field crew have said "I do" after romances that were kindled over countless A's games and chants of "Let's go Oakland!"

"I think common interest was definitely the biggest thing for most of us, and that we were out there so frequently," said Dublin native Rebekah Schlimmer, who met her husband, Daniel, in the bleachers and the pair were married in 2019. "We had already kinda built the friendship at that point. There were a few people that definitely saw (a relationship) coming."

The core group of A's fans inthe right-field bleachers have attended games since the mid-2000s, forging strong friendships and a few romances. Rebekah and Daniel Schlimmer met in the stands rooting for the A's and much of their bleacher crew was in attendance when they were married in 2019. COURTESY OF REBEKAH AND DANIEL SCHLIMMER — The core group of A's fans in
the right-field bleachers have attended
games since the mid-2000s, forging
strong friendships – and a few romances.
Rebekah and Daniel Schlimmer met in
the stands rooting for the A's and much
of their bleacher crew was in attendance
when they were married in 2019.
COURTESY OF REBEKAH AND DANIEL SCHLIMMER

Some of the current group first started populating the right field bleachers in the early 2000s. Some faces have come and gone — A's fans know all about that — but this core has remained largely intact. During the A's offseason they stay connected with bowling outings, pizza nights or attending other sporting events together. And of course, attending each other's weddings, including the union of James and Amanda Sanos, who traded vows on the Coliseum diamond in the summer of 2019.

"You find a way to get in," Schlimmer said, "and then you're in."

Longtime A's fans Amanda and James Sanos, were married on the field following the A's game against the Rays on June 22, 2019.Attire was casual, but green collar was encouraged. The reception, attended by many of their cohorts from the right field stands, was held inside the Coliseum at the East Side Club, where they got to pose with the A's four World Series trophies. COURTESY OF AMANDA AND JAMES SANOS — Longtime A's fans Amanda and James Sanos, were married on the field following the A's game against the Rays on June 22, 2019.
Attire was casual, but green collar was encouraged. The reception, attended by many of their cohorts from the right field stands, was held
inside the Coliseum at the East Side Club, where they got to pose with the A's four World Series trophies. COURTESY OF AMANDA AND JAMES SANOS

Johansen does his part with cutouts and banners he hangs over the railings. The players know about their banners and often ask for them as gifts. Three-time Athletic Jed Lowrie asked Johansen for his banner that said "Return of the Return of the Return of the Jed."

Then there's the drum beats, a rhythm created by the Oakland 68s from their spot in right field. They come from a long line of Coliseum drummers that started with Krazy George and continued with a group of mostly Skyline High School students in the early 2000s.

The drums are often accompanied by chants, too. In 2011, their "bacon" chants got former Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur to throw a $100 bill up to the seats with directions: Beer and bacon on him.

Those same chants have gone wrong. Jose Guillèn, Álex Ríos and Magglio Ordóñez have directed angry words at the right field taunters.

"The best of all would have to be Josè Bautista," said season ticket holder Will MacNeil, otherwise known as Right Field Will. "We had not even said anything to him yet and he came out screaming and yelling at us, so that provided extra motivation and fire for us to just let him have it all game, all series, and for years to come."

Whether it's racing for home run balls through water or railing, befriending your team's guys or getting under opposing players' and owners' skin, Bay Area fans take this stuff seriously.

"In my life, there's my wife, there's my son, and then there's baseball," Johansen said. "I lose any of those three things, my life significantly changes."