On a rare night when players from both teams addressed fans before first pitch, Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt and Dodgers second baseman Jamey Carroll came together for a joint message: This rivalry must stay on the field, without violence and hatred.
The teams gathered on the pitcher's mound Monday night before their series opener at AT&T Park to make clear there should be no repeat of the events following their season opener March 31 in which longtime Giants fan Bryan Stow was assaulted outside Dodger Stadium and left in a medically induced coma.
With heightened security at the waterfront ballpark, the teams took the field for a game dedicated to the 42-year-old Stow, a paramedic from nearby Santa Cruz and father of two.
"There's no room in this game for hatred and violence. It is about respect," Carroll told the sellout crowd, which applauded his remarks. "This is America's national pastime and let's keep it that way."
A photo of Stow showed on the main center-field scoreboard along with his two children as both teams removed their caps in a quiet moment of reflection.
Affeldt thanked fans for their generous financial and emotional support to help Stow and his family — then he spoke of the need for respect on both sides.
"I don't have to tell you about the Dodgers-Giants, it's one of the most storied rivalries in the history of the game but in honoring that rivalry and honoring the Stow family, you have to remember when these two teams get on the field and play, we're competitive," Affeldt said. "But when the last out is made, that rivalry ends on the field, so please respect that."
