Photo credit: @957thegame

By: Ana Kieu

All day Wednesday, Giants fans said goodbye and snapped selfies using their smartphones to bid farewell to AT&T Park, which used the name from 2006 to 2018. Previously, it was named SBC Park from 2004 to 2005 and Pacific Bell Park from 2000 to 2003.

Fast forward to Thursday morning when the Giants’ stadium staffers took to the front plaza of the waterfront ballpark and hung up a new banner that read “ORACLE PARK: Home to the San Francisco Giants.” While this shocking move took place, news outlets, fans and passerby were witnessing a change that drew mixed emotions. Some were able to soak in the new name, but many cringed at the name.

“Are we not considered one of the best stadiums in the league?” wrote a tweeter named Drew. “Can we please get something nicer that stands out in the history books like Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium does? #OraclePark”

I, myself, tweeted to ask the masses if I was the only one who wasn’t digging AT&T Park’s new name Oracle Park and got a couple of reactions. Even my friend Manny, who’s not really a sports fan, asked me: “Why would they do that? They just can’t rename history.” And I 100% percent agree with Manny along with anyone else with a similar thought like Manny’s.

Also, I think Oracle Park is a little too corporate sounding. But, you know, Oracle was the highest bidder in the bidding war and got their hands on the latest naming rights, so there’s that. Oracle is a $40 billion business software company that was founded in 1977.

“We really like the fact that Oracle is a local company,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer told SFGate. “They’re not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere. Having a Bay Area-based company with the naming rights was a consideration.”

At the end of the day, all Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and company can do is play ball at Oracle Park this coming season. The same goes for the fans and media who watch the ballgames.