GC71NVX Home Run Derby: Seals and Sea Lions (Traditional Cache) in California, United States created by düg

This cache has been archived.

düg: Served its porpoise.

GC71NVX ▼

A cache by düg Message this owner

Hidden : 3/7/2017

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

PARTICIPATION IN SCORING ASPECT IS STRICTLY OPTIONAL SO FEEL FREE TO FIND THE CACHE AND WATCH ALL THE ACTION FROM THE GRANDSTAND.

Welcome to the 2017 home run derby! Every Saturday morning a new cache will be released. After it is published you will have roughly a week to find it and select a slugger to represent you in that week's edition of the home run derby. Select one player and include his name in your log. The number of home runs he hits the following week (starting the Friday after cache publication) is your score; don't worry, we will handle all the scoring. The series will be cumulative points from April through September, with a week off over the All Star break. The "catch" is every player must be unique, so FtF has choice of any player, second to find will have second pick and so on. The cache hiders will also be playing so the cache owner will select fifth each week. This is week 2 of the series (2 of 24). All scoring will take place April 14th through the 20th. Participation in the derby is strictly optional so feel free to find the cache and watch all the action from the grandstand. Game on!

While grabbing this cache you may be lucky enough to spot some of the harbor’s local sea lion residents napping a few feet away on the nearby dock. While scoping out the hiding spot I began to think about the old Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals. I wondered if there was any baseball teams named after sea lions, in addition to the aforementioned seals. Furthermore I have always been confused between the differences of sea lions and seals so I did some research on both subjects. Here is what I learned.

Seals have furry, generally stubby front feet. Sea lions have mostly skin-covered, elongated fore flippers. Neither are good for throwing a split fingered fastball or holding a bat.

The human San Francisco Seals were charter members of the Pacific Coast League, which was founded in 1903. The team played their home games at Recreation Park at Harrison and 8th Streets until it was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. It was rebuilt and they continued to play there until 1931 when they moved to Seal Stadium in the Mission District. They played there until the Giants arrived in 1958, at which point, they moved to Arizona to become the Giants minor league affiliate.

The ocean dwelling animal seals are better adapted to live in the water than on land or baseball diamonds. They are generally smaller and more aquadynamic than sea lions. At the same time, their hind flippers angle backward and don't rotate. This makes them fast in the water but basic belly crawlers on terra firma. They probably would not do well living in Arizona, playing AAA baseball or otherwise.

The human San Francisco Sea Lions were a Negro league baseball team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League and played only one season. The human Point Loma Nazarene University Sea Lions are an NCAA Division II intercollegiate baseball team. They began using the name “Sea Lions” only 15 years ago after changing from the “Crusaders”.

Water loving sea lions have small flaps for outer ears as opposed to the tiny holes on the side of their heads that seals use for hearing. The nearby sea lions are very noisy. Seals are quieter, vocalizing via soft grunts. Human baseball playing seals and sea lions are known to yell and grunt quite a bit.

There you have it. Enjoy the view and the cache but don’t expect the local sea lions to pick up a glove or bat.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

zntargvp hc naq va

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)