Clever Fan's Stadium Guide: AT&T Park, Home of the San Francisco Giants

Writer's Note: Two things—I'm writing this in hopes that it becomes a series of guides for stadiums around the country. If you know your home park and want to share your knowledge, please start another Clever Fan's Stadium Guide! Secondly, I'd like this to be a collaborative effort with other Clever Fans, so please post your tips to comments and I'll edit the article as we go along. So here goes...

I'll start with a bold statement: AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, is the best park in baseball. I will admit, I haven't been to every park in the country, so I encourage you all to prove me wrong. 

But I think anyone who's attended a game at AT&T will agree with me that it's among the best, if not the best. So, here's my guide for making the most of your experience at AT&T Park.

Getting Here: Due to traffic, the best way to get in and out of the park is on foot. If you take the BART into San Francisco, get off at Embarcadero station and walk south along the water for 15 minutes to get to the park. Alternatively, you can take the light rail (MUNI) which drops you off right in front, but be warned, it's jam-packed before and after games.  

If you're driving, expect to pay $10-30 for parking. The stadium parking is the biggest ripoff, of course, running $30 and isn't even the closest parking available. 

Try some of the lots on Townsend St. or go north on 2nd or 3rd streets, where lots usually run less, from $10-20. If you're allergic to paying for parking, you might get lucky on Townsend St. to the west of the park, but walking back to your car after a night game is a slightly dicey proposition.

Attire: Orange and Black, duh. For night games, bring a couple of layers—if the fog rolls in, temperatures can drop by 20 degrees within a matter of minutes. A fleece blanket is a great way to get cozy, if you bring a date to the game.

Best Seats in the House: Now, this is a matter of personal preference, of course.  Some people swear by the bleachers for the "ambiance."  If you're going bleachers, I recommend sections 137-139 for the best views and the best chance to catch a home run. 

My personal favorites are sections 101-103, down the first base line. Not only are you in prime foul-ball territory for right handed batters, but you're in front of the visiting bullpen. Hearing the insults hurled from the techno-savvy Giants crowd (sucks to be a visiting player with a profile on Wikipedia) is worth the price of admission in of itself.

If you've got box seats, well aren't you lucky. Make sure you take your special elevator up to your level, located outside the 2nd Street Gate.

The cheapest seats are generally in the View Reserved sections—from there, you get a bird's eye view of the game, but expect to freeze your butt off once the sun goes down and the wind starts blowing. 

You'll burn a hot dog's worth of calories climbing all the switchbacks to get to your seats. But there's no better view of the East Bay and the water, especially at sunset when the Oakland hills reflect the light back toward the park, making the hills look like they're made of copper glitter.

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