Sellout crowd gathers to celebrates Giants home opener

SAN FRANCISCO - A sellout crowd of 40,901 filtered into AT&T Park full of optimism. Sure, the Giants were coming off a disappointing 2017 season, but that didn't matter. It was a new season - the Giants' 60th in San Francisco.

And sure, the Giants lost their home opener 6-4 to the Seattle Mariners. But, the fans knew the Giants would lose a home game eventually. One loss didn't ruin things.

It was gorgeous weather. The brisk, 56-degree day at China Basin had a slight breeze blowing toward McCovey Cove in right field. The Chevron cars popping out of the wall in left field, looking on after all these years. A unique feature in Major League parks.

The only dark cloud was Madison Bumgarner, who's injured. He got hit by a line drive during spring training in Arizona and broke his left pinkie finger. He will miss six to eight weeks.

Even without Bumgarner, there were reasons for optimism. The Giants added two former All Stars this offseason - Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria.

Sitting in the dugout before the game, three-time World Series Champion Bruce Bochy, in his 12th season as the Giants manager, sounded optimistic.

“There should be a lot of optimism with our new additions,” Bochy said. “We got nicked up right before the season started, but we're very equipped to handle this, and that's going to show. It hasn't shown yet. I think this offense will be more consistent once guys get settled in and we start clicking as an offense. There are other guys, other teams that are saying the same thing - trust me.”

The Giants came into the game hitting .192 - the lowest batting average in the National League.

Two-and-a-half hours after Bochy spoke, both teams lined up on the baselines for pregame introductions. Fans cheered the Giants players as their cream home uniforms glistened in the sun.

Former Giants greats came for the ceremony, including Kevin Mitchell, Jeffrey Leonard, Robby Thompson, Robb Nen, Dusty Baker, Barry Bonds and Willie Mays. Each took bows to the delight of the fans.

Even Brian Wilson came. Wilson was the Giants' bearded All-Star closer when they won the World Series in 2010. On Tuesday, he arrived without the shrublike beard on his face.

Wilson was a surprise guest for the home opener. He had left the team on bad terms, even yelled at Giants team president Larry Baer as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers at a game in 2013.

None of that mattered Tuesday. Wilson ran in from a gate in center field before the game and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. An homage to the Giants championship past.

Then, it was back to their future.