Security for tonight’s Los Angeles-San Francisco game at AT&T Park will be played with extra security both within and outside the ballpark, as the Giants front office brings in World Series-level measures to prevent any retaliatory moves from fans in the wake of last month’s Dodger Stadium beating.
Giants fan Bryan Stow was beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the season-opening win by the Dodgers over the Giants; he remains in a medically induced coma to decrease swelling of his brain, and police are still in search of his assailants. Since then, Dodgers officials somewhat belatedly announced step to overhaul Dodger Stadium security procedures, and after the death of a Pirates employee near PNC Park over the weekend, we’re guessing the issue is being discussed on some level in the Commissioner’s office.
This will be the first series at AT&T Park between the Giants and Dodgers since the attack, so Giants officials are on the lookout for any revenge attacks. Security, they say, will be at World Series levels.
ESPN would have us believe the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is the most intense in MLB, but we’re not sure that’s true anymore: it’s like watching Warren Buffett and Bill Gates in a boxing ring, as it’s hard to summon a lot of passion for either team if you live outside their markets no matter how much ESPN tries to fuel the flames. There are some deep hostilities between Dodgers and Giants fans, hostilities that began with the very first MLB game on the West Coast and continue to this day: “Beat LA” is a common chant at Giants games even if the Dodgers aren’t in town.
RELATED STORIES: Pirates employee found dead near PNC Park; Dodgers up security; will it be enough?; Giants fan severely beaten in Dodger Stadium parking lot; suspects sought
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