Celebrating The American Spirit: San Jose Giants And Cheetah Mobile Honor The Sacred Game Of Baseball

Baseball is a movable conversation across nine innings. It is eye contact with the person seated next to you in a ballpark where the pitcher is separated from the batter by 60 feet and pitching 90 mph fastballs. At the ballpark coaches look for magicians, fans want a show, and players give all to get it done. Baseball is a game that shouts, “slow down the passage of time,” to America. Just for a few hours fans stop tweeting, texting, and obsessing about apps on our phones and have a genuine good time. On Friday’s game between the San Jose Giants and the Stockton Ports, over 3,000 baseball fans filled the Municipal stadium. The place radiated intimacy and community both in the stands and surrounding the ballpark itself.

As beautiful fans flocked into the ballpark, they received a pair of thunder-sticks courtesy of Clean Master. Fans took photos with larger-than-life Chip, the Cheetah Mobile mascot and uploaded them to social networking sites. The mid-summer game marks the first major collaboration between San Jose Giants and Cheetah Mobile to celebrate the American spirit.

Cheetah Mobile also invited numerous Make-A-Wish families to bring children to the game. “We believe giving these kids this experience can be a game-changer,” said Josh Ong, Director of Communications for Cheetah Mobile, “this inspires us to grant wishes that change the lives of kids in our community that we care about.” The families spent time with athletes from both teams prior to the game and received a gift bag from the San Jose Giants Dugout store.

The game began quickly with a fastball from Josh Ong. Both the SJ Giants and the Stockton Ports played with all their heart. At the bottom of the second, the drop of the bat said so much. BOOM!  Tyler Horan seemed to be saying as he let go of his lumber in the batter’s box with a two run homer. Horan’s team-leading 9th of the season gave the SJ Giants a 2-0 lead with both Angel Villalona and Horan returning to home plate. Take that, star-crossed year of injuries and setbacks.

The SJ Giants then pushed their advantage to 3-0 when Jeff Kobermus began the bottom of the third with a solo home run, his first of the season – down the left field. What happened next was remarkable for many reasons. The SJ Giants believed in themselves to stay completely focused for the rest of the game. The pitching stayed strong with Martin Agosta working around a pair of two-out singles that left runners on the corners. You would think this was a storybook game for the home team.

Watching the game, there were many unforgettable moments emblazoned in the SJ Giants fans’ minds. This included the “Run like a cheetah” promotion in the middle of the 5th with Gigante, the SJ Giants mascot being chased by kids around the field. There were also many happy moments with the life-size Chip being smothered with children and fans on the sidelines.

When play resumed, the SJ Giants worked on all phases of the game, including the mental: knowing the defense, reading the batsmen, getting signs, and understanding situations on the field to fully shut down the Ports. The fielding remained tight and the opening pitcher was relieved by Ian Gardeck to begin the top of the seventh. Gardeck issued a two-out walk to Matt Chapman, but came back to strikeout Branden Cogswell to retire the side.

When it was all over, the crowd cheered loudly to celebrate the win. The team had come together to prevent a scoreless inning from the Ports. Christian Arroyo who singled and tripled, was the only Giants player to finish the game with more than one hit. SJ Giants out hit Stockton Ports by a 6-5 margin for a decisive victory. Winning is a spine chilling, tears welling, I can’t believe it feeling. Then you hug, celebrate, and look in each other’s eyes. “We are one. Together, we’re San Jose Giants,” said Arroyo to the fans.

As the players left the field, fans were treated to a spectacular display of fireworks courtesy of Clean Master and Cheetah Mobile. The multi-colored fireworks lighted up the San Jose night sky. Fans remained transfixed in their seats, moved by the metaphysical pyrotechnics. “Thank you Clean Master,” came on the announcer, “what a nice thing to give to the fans.” A loud cheer went through the Municipal stadium.

Baseball is the perfect antidote to one of the particular cultural obsessions of our digital age: time. We are all too busy, time crunched by the demands of life that we need to stop and take a break and watch a baseball game. One hundred years from now, players of the game will learn from the legends that came up from the minor leagues. Names like: Tyler Horan, Martin Agosta and Christian Arroyo. Baseball will always have an element of probability and chance that we can’t control, but putting the odds in your favor on a consistent basis is the responsibility of every player on the team. Whether you enjoy baseball on an intellectual level or an emotional level or both, watching the game will further our understanding of the American spirit.