The San Francisco Giants are your
2012 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!

 

Seconds after the San Francisco Giants won Game 7 of the 2012 NLCS, the players rushed the field to celebrate at AT&T Park
Seconds after the San Francisco Giants won Game 7 of the 2012 NLCS, the players rushed the field to celebrate at AT&T Park

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Don’t Stop Believing!

It was a whirlwind season for the San Francisco Giants and the postseason has been no different. Down 2-0 in the NLDS, the boys in orange and black rallied against the Cincinnati Reds to win the series 3-2.

Then, in the National League Championship Series (NLCS), the Giants were down 3-1 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Rather than calling it quits, San Francisco rallied to win the next three games and become National League Champs!

I was thrilled to be at Game 7 on October 23, 2012, and am proud to present some of my absolute favorite photographs from the night.

 

Fireworks go off to celebrate the San Francisco Giants' Game 7 victory in the NLCS
Fireworks go off to celebrate the San Francisco Giants’ Game 7 victory in the NLCS

 

Lou Seal holds up a sign proclaiming the Giants to be the 2012 NL Champs!
Lou Seal holds up a sign proclaiming the Giants to be the 2012 NL Champs!

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A Thrilling – Yet Lopsided – Game 7 of the 2012 NLCS

Perhaps the most shocking fact about the 2012 NLCS was that out of seven games, there were only two close ones. Other than the St Louis Cardinals’ pair of two-run victories, the rest of the games were decided by five runs or more.

Also noteworthy about the San Francisco Giants’ 2012 postseason run is that they have played – and won – a record six elimination games. As Tim Kawakami wrote in the San Jose Mercury News:

No Giants series—even the World Series—truly starts until they’re staggering, semi-comatose and on the brink of extinction.

 

The crowd goes wild during the San Francisco Giants NLCS Game 7 Third Inning Run Scoring Bonanza
The crowd goes wild during the San Francisco Giants NLCS Game 7 Third Inning Run Scoring Bonanza

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A Rainy End to the 2012 NLCS

After the San Francisco Giants won Game 6 of the NLCS, I went to StubHub and saw 10,000 tickets available. The weather report called for rain and people were cautious. By the time I woke up to a backyard full of puddles, prices had actually gone down. Then, the skies cleared.

The rain came down in buckets during the San Francisco Giants' NLCS Game 7 at AT&T Park
The rain came down in buckets during the San Francisco Giants’ NLCS Game 7 at AT&T Park

7,000. 6,000. The available quantity was dropping and prices were rising: it was time to pull the trigger. So what did my buddy Eric get us? Section 320, upper deck, right behind home plate on the right field foul line. We paid less than face value.

Come game-time, rain was kind enough to hold off until the eight inning. It started as a drizzle, then a steady rain, and then the skies just opened up. But the game was nearly over and there was no chance of a Cardinals comeback, so the umpires just let them play.

With our clothes in need of a hearty wringing out, all 43,056 cheering fans whooped it up as each remaining out was recorded. At one point, we even cheered for the rain itself. What can I say, there was a pitching change and the Giants were one out from the World Series.

Finally, Sergio Romo retired Matt Holliday on a popup to end the game and the crowd really went nuts! Rain be damned, we stood there screaming and waving our rally towels for another 20 minutes. The team did a victory lap around AT&T Park, announced Marco Scutaro as the NLCS MVP, and cleared the stage before we began to head home: chanting “Lets Go Giants” and “Beat De-Troit” the whole way out.

 

The 9th inning of Game 7 of the 2012 NLCS was played in what I can only compare to a monsoon
The 9th inning of Game 7 of the 2012 NLCS was played in what I can only compare to a monsoon

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I Arrived in San Francisco Just in Time!

I spent most of the 2012 baseball season living in India and Thailand. Although I followed the standings and my fantasy teams online, it just wasn’t the same. So, when I arrived home in America at the end of September, I made sure to attend every baseball game I could.

First, it was the last two games of the New York Mets’ brutal season. Then, I drove down to Baltimore to watch the Baltimore Orioles clinch a playoff spot at home in Camden Yards. Next, my buddy Micheil took me to Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium before heading back to San Francisco in time for the end of the NLCS.

Having lived in San Francisco in 2010 when the Giants last won the World Series, I was thrilled to be in the area again for Game 7 and there way that I couldn’t be at AT&T Park on that Monday night.

 

From right to left, Rhyannon, Eric and Me -- cheering like crazy moments after the Giants clinched the 2012 National League Pennant
From right to left, Rhyannon, Eric and Me — cheering like crazy moments after the Giants clinched the 2012 National League Pennant

 

The crowd goes nuts after the San Francisco Giants win the NLCS Game 7 at AT&T Park
The crowd goes nuts after the San Francisco Giants win the NLCS Game 7 at AT&T Park

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150 Photos in 1 Minute

Sitting in section 320, I had a fantastic viewpoint to watch the entire game. By my side, as always, was my Nikon D7000 and a 10.5mm fisheye lens (the same one that has photographed nearly half of all MLB stadiums for my (Baseball Stadium Fisheye Tour photographic series).

Beginning with the crowd lined up to get into the game, the below video features a slideshow of three distinct times of the game. First is the pregame. Then, the explosive five run third inning that basically ended the game. Finally, the ninth inning thunderstorm, last out, on-field celebration, and fireworks.

 

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Onwards to the 2012 World Series!

As I write this post at 11:44pm the night before Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, I am filled with excitement and hope for the San Francisco Giants. In the mean time, I will end with a few more of my favorite photos from Game 7 of the NLCS.

In the mean time…

LETS
GO
GIANTS!!!!

Since the game started at 5pm, there were scores of people coming from work who had to miss the beginning of the game while standing on the security line
Since the game started at 5pm, there were scores of people coming from work who had to miss the beginning of the game while standing on the security line

 

After the game ended, security guards and camera men swarmed the field to get ready for the post-game celebration
After the game ended, security guards and camera men swarmed the field to get ready for the post-game celebration

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For more San Francisco Giants photography, check out:

*Parading Down Market Street: a Photo Essay of the 2010 World Series Celebration

*Champs Come Home – the 2011 Giants Home Opener

* Pandemonium! It’s Orange October … scenes from the 2014 Giants postseason