Gaslamp Ball

Below is a documentary style video voiced by Channel 4's Dennis Morgigno (interlaced with techno beats) showing how Petco Park came to be built.

I'm disappointed that it doesn't appear to have one of my favorite moments in Padres history. During the initial stages of building the ballpark in the East Village, the Padres decided to make the demolition of one particular building even more spectacular.

They painted a Padres catcher on the side of the building and painted a wrecking ball to look like a lopsided baseball. You can see it at about the 4:59 mark. The plan was to swing the wrecking ball so that it would land in the catcher's mitt until the building collapsed under a barrage of fireworks.

What happened was the crew didn't first measure where the ball would actually make contact with the wall. So when fans were invited down to the East Village to watch and the wrecking ball was released it hit the catcher repeatedly over and over again right in the crotch.

In all subsequent airings of the video (that was shown live at the time) that scene has been removed, but it will always remain a part of my most cherished memories.

Watch this three part YouTube video series for an hours worth of Padres enjoyment. Remember it's part of Gaslamp Ball's Happiness Project to Ground Yourself in the Past.

Here's Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3: