Gameday Expert – Experience Baseball with a Pro

Baseball is a bridge.

It connects generations.

It connects genders.

It connects cultures.

It connects us all, convened at the ball park, united with one goal—to cheer the home team to victory.

(Or, if we’re playing the Dodgers, two goals.  We don’t just want to beat them, we want them to look awful.)

Last week, my 11 year-old son, Eric, and I took the bridge to AT&T Park to watch the Giants play the Cubs.  (Technically, we rode Bart, but a Trans Bay Tube destroys the metaphor.)

Experience Gameday with an Expert

Through the services of Pete Rukavina of Gameday Expert, Eric and I had the unique and wonderful experience of attending the game with Bill Laskey, a pitcher for the Giants in the 1980’s.

If baseball is a bridge, stories are the bricks from which that bridge is built.  And Mr. Laskey has a slew of them.

Like the time he hit one out of the park against Tom Seaver.  Sort of.

Or the All-Star team he made, and didn’t.

My favorite story was the one he told about plunking a certain major leaguer in a Spring Training game.  In his first at bat, the guy hit a home run, and according to Laskey, “took about 20 minutes to get around the bases”.  So the next time he comes up, Laskey drilled him.

“You hit a guy in Spring Training?” I asked.

“We hit a lot of guys in Spring Training,” he told me.  And it made sense—you get your point across in a meaningless game.  Brilliant.

These are now stories I can share because he shared them with me.  He has these, and more, for you.

Stories from a baseball fan

I am a true baseball fan, and I consider myself a student of the game.  But this was special.  A chance to go behind the ropes, and ask a REAL major leaguer WHATEVER I wanted.  Laskey is a wonderful guy, and holds nothing back.  It is not easy to find an opportunity for a true fan to get an insider’s perspective.  Pete Rukavina has created just that with Gameday Expert.

It’s not a bad gig for Pete, either.  Imagine if attending games with major leaguers was your JOB.  That’s a pretty nice office, and pretty cool staff.  Pete was a perfect host.  He’s a huge fan.  He provided Eric and me with unique and thoughtful gifts.  And he has an app on his phone that showed the location of each pitch in real time.  So I got to tell the umpire he was a bum, again.  But this time I had evidence. He doesn’t usually attend the game with his clients, but we were lucky to have him there.

Laskey was fantastic with Eric.  At one point, Eric was texting his friend.  Usually I would not allow such atrocious ballpark behavior, but he was pretty excited, so I cut him some slack.

Laskey didn’t.  He grabbed the phone, and took the opportunity to send a text himself.

How many 6^th graders have a text from a San Francisco Giant on their phones?

Oh, and we got to meet Orlando Cepeda.  Laskey saw him in the crowd and asked me if I thought Eric would like to meet him.

“Who cares?”  I yelled.  “The Baby Bull?  I want to meet him!”

So we were introduced to Orlando Cepeda.  It’s not what you know…..

Experience Gameday for yourself

I can’t promise that your Gameday Expert experience will be like ours.  In fact, I can promise it won’t.  That’s part of the beauty.

Bill Laskey was the perfect expert.  He played the game.  He’s still close to the Giants, and has been for 30 years.  He’s knowledgeable, and more important, he’s open to answer anything.

Gameday Expert is a great fit for a baseball fan who wants to take it to the next level.  Both Eric and I enjoyed it, because there was Bill Laskey, sitting between us—a bridge.

If You Go:

Pete Rukavina  408.832.1999 pete@gamedayexpert.com to book an event.

The cost for 3 is $1,500 and includes great seats and several giveaways.

But it really is, in a way, priceless.

What are your favorite things to do in San Francisco? If you are into social media, follow Gameday Expert on Twitter or friend them on Facebook.  For all things travel-related, follow travel expert Nancy D. Brown on Twitter.

This guest post was written by baseball fan Jeff Mooers.  Jeff was a guest of Pete Rukavina and Game Day Expert.

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