SB Nation User Blog: BubbaFan

A fan's guide to baseball photography

BubbaFan — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:05:48 -0000

I'm often asked what equipment I use to photograph baseball games. It's kind of long and complicated to explain in a comment, especially repeatedly, so I thought I'd devote a post to it. There's a lot of info out there on how to photograph sports, but most of it directed toward the pro, not the fan. Consider this a fan's guide to baseball photography.

I'm not going into too much detail about photography terms, full frame vs. crop-frame, how many megapixels, and other photo neepery, because it would take too long, and there's lot of other sites with that kind of information. (But if you have any particular questions, I'll do my best to answer them.)

Gear

The most common question I get is, "What camera do you use?" Actually, the camera doesn't matter that much. It's the glass (the shutterbug's term for lenses) that makes the difference. Smart photographers on a budget will save money on the camera, and spend the big bucks on a lens. Camera snobs may laugh at you for having a pricey professional "L" lens on a consumer Digital Rebel, but those with more brains than money will totally understand.

I use Canon digital SLRs, because Canon lenses are the best for sports. Nikon may catch up eventually, but for now, no one can touch Canon for sports. Almost all the pros you see on the sidelines of pro baseball and football games are using Canon gear.

I have two camera bodies: the Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and the Canon 40D. They are both not the newest models in their respective lines, and hence much cheaper. The 40D was bought used.

The Digital Rebels in general give you great bang for your buck. Though they are aimed at non-professionals, they accept pro lenses. They have just about all the features you could want, for a fraction of the cost of a pro camera.

The Canon 40D is sort of a prosumer camera, I guess. It's heavier and more durable than the Rebels, with more metal and less plastic. (This is not necessarily an advantage. Lighter is better if you're going to be hiking all day with it hanging around your neck.) I like it because it can do 6.5 frames per second (as compared to 3 fps for the Rebel). Pro cameras can do 10 fps, but you can expect to pay $3,000 or more for one of those.

Now comes the hard part: what lens? The ideal sports lens would be fast (have a large aperture), with a good zoom range, and have strong telephoto power. Unfortunately, a lens that has all that would cost as much as a car, and weigh as much, too. Compromises must be made.

I chose to sacrifice zoom power. Like many pro sports photographers, I use mostly fixed lenses at the ballpark. Fixed lenses are sharper than zoom lenses, as well as lighter and cheaper (compared to zoom lenses of similar focal length, aperture, and quality).

The drawback, of course, is that you must "zoom with your feet" - move closer or further away from the subject if it doesn't fit in the viewfinder. Alternately, you can crop your photos later, using Photoshop or something similar. This works fine for images you plan to post on the web or make normal prints from, but you probably don't want to crop a photo too much if you're planning to make it into a large poster or mural.

And you won't be able to photograph the entire field or stadium with a 300mm fixed lens (or most telephoto zoom lenses, either). You need a wide-angle lens for that. You can bring one, or you can tuck a point-and-shoot camera in your pocket for situations where your fixed lens doesn't cut it.

One advantage zoom lenses have is that it's easier to find your subject. If you can frame the entire outfield, then zoom in on Jay Bruce sprinting to make a catch...that's a lot easier than trying to track a speeding outfielder with a fixed telephoto lens. When you first start, you'll find yourself frequently lost in the outfield, focusing mostly on grass. A little practice, and you'll be fine.

What I won't sacrifice is speed. I like fast lenses; that's what lets you freeze the action. I don't like using any lens slower than f/2.8 for sports. But f/4 is lighter and more affordable, and fine for bright daylight. It will be noticeably slow for night games. Rather than using sports mode, put the camera in aperture-priority mode, set the aperture wide open, and crank up the ISO. The images will be a bit grainy, but not as blurry.

Some comments on specific lenses...

The classic sport photographer's lens is the 400mm f/2.8. That may be lens Mr, Dunn is using above. (Though it could be the 500mm f/4.) It's a great lens, but too large (not to mention expensive) for the average fan. It's too heavy to use without a tripod or monopod, and it's so long it's likely to annoy your neighbors if you use it in the stands.

The 300mm f/2.8 is a more reasonable choice for a fan. It costs half as much as the 400mm f/2.8, and weighs half as much, too. It's still heavy enough that you need a monopod, and still wicked expensive. For spring training and minor league games, using this lens with a monopod usually isn't a problem. They won't allow monopods at Yankee Stadium (and probably many other major league parks).

The 200mm f/2 is a relatively new lens, and it is excellent. The f/2 means it's very fast, and thus a great choice for night games or indoor games. With a 1.4 extender, it becomes roughly equivalent to the 300mm f/2.8. (You gain some focal length but lose some speed with an extender.) This lens is smaller than the 300mm f/2.8, but just as heavy. You will still need a monopod to photograph a 3-hour baseball game.

The 200mm f/2.8 is something of a forgotten lens, but it's probably the one I use most often. It's not as fast as the 200mm f/2, not as long as the 300mm f/2.8, and it doesn't have image stabilization. But it's relatively light and cheap. You can use this lens without a monopod, making it an excellent choice for major league games.

If you'd rather have a zoom lens (and they are more versatile), here are a few:

70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (3.2 lbs) - The favorite general purpose lens of many a pro, but a little too heavy to use handheld for a 3-hour baseball game.

70-200mm f/2.8L USM (2.9 lbs) - The same as the above lens, only without image stabilization. That saves you some weight, and a few hundred bucks.

EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM (1.7 lbs) - Not fast as the f/2.8s, but much lighter and cheaper.

EF 70-200mm f/4L USM (1.6 lbs) - The same as the above, only without image stabilization. Light enough to hand-hold, and much cheaper than the IS version. Good general-purpose lens.

EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (1.8 lbs) - I see a lot of fans using this lens at the ballpark. It's got a lot of zoom range, and is relatively cheap and not too heavy. However, it's a little too slow for my taste, and the image quality isn't as good.

Do I actually own all these lenses? No. I'm not made of money. But I've used most of them. Your local camera store will let you try lenses. You can also rent them, from a local store or on the Internet. Some I've borrowed from friends, and some I've bought, used for awhile, then sold. (The good thing about Canon lenses is that they hold their value well. You'll be able to get almost what you paid for them if you decide to sell them, as long as they're in good condition and you have the original packaging. The bad thing is that buying used doesn't really save you a lot of money.)

There are also lenses made for Canon cameras made by third parties, like Sigma and Tamron. I'm afraid I don't know much about those. They are cheaper, and might be worth a look.

Ballpark hazards

Stadium security: Minor league parks generally treat fans very well, and won't bother you much about what you bring in. They're starting to crack down at spring training, and they can be real Nazis at major league parks. If you want to avoid any hassle, make sure your camera bag is soft-sided and no larger than 16"x8"x8". As mentioned above, minor league and spring training games usually don't mind if you have a monopod, but major league parks often do. Occasionally they'll get on your case just because they think your lens is too long. Offering to move somewhere out of the way will usually appease them.

The net: The netting that protects the people behind home plate from foul balls can be a pain to a photographer. If you're far enough away from it, it will be visible in your photos, but won't bother your autofocus too much (the netting and the players will both be in focus). If you're sitting very close to the net, you can usually set your camera or lens so the autofocus ignores the net, because it's too close. But if you're in the scout seats or thereabouts, your camera will focus on the net, leaving the players blurry.

The solution is to focus manually. One pro sports photographer taught himself to quickly focus manually by going out to a nearby highway and practicing by focusing on the cars speeding by at 70 mph. That's probably a bit much for the average fan, but you can use your knowledge of the game to your advantage, by focusing in advance where you expect the action to be.

Weather: Be prepared for rain, even if the forecast doesn't call for it. Bring a clean garbage bag you can use to protect your camera from rain, or, better yet, buy a rain cover.

Tips

Where to sit: It depends on what kind of photos you want. Action photos are often best taken from higher up in the stands. Those seats are usually less crowded, too, so you have more room to swing a lens.

If you want portrait-type photos of the players, you need to be in the box seats. Any higher, and their faces will be shaded by their hats. Right above the dugout, midway between home plate and first or third base is pretty good. You'll get good shots of the players as they enter the dugout, or look toward the coaches. Sitting in the fourth or fifth row is better than sitting in the front row. Being a little above the field gives you a better view.

A lot of the most desirable seats in the park aren't that great for photographers. The premium seats behind home plate offer a great angle to photograph the pitchers, but mostly I try to avoid sitting behind the plate. You only see the backs of the batters, and the players and umpires often block your line of sight to plays at the plate or at first base. And of course, there's the darn net.

Sitting in the box seats by first or third base has similar problems. The umpire or first or third base coach often blocks your view of the action. And the players usually have their backs turned to you, since they're looking in toward the batter or pitcher. Pictures of people's backs aren't terribly compelling.

Of course the ideal situation is to be able to move around the park and photograph the game from different angles. I often do this late in the game, after people start leaving.

Lighting: Bright light is better for freezing action, but overcast days or late afternoon light are better for portraits of the players. Midday sun is too harsh and contrasty. Sunny day games are great times to photograph the ballpark, though. With the sun directly overhead, you'll avoid the shadows on the field you get later in the day.

My top tip: Work with what you've got. If you can't afford pricey camera gear, use what you have. Get down to the box seats so you're close enough, or take pictures during quieter moments during the game. Maybe you can't freeze a 94mph fastball in flight, but you can still take interesting photos. Some seats are better than others, but there's usually something you can photograph from any seat. If you get stuck out in the outfield bleachers, photograph the outfielders.

This photo of Ray Olmedo fielding the game-ending grounder is one of my favorites. I was behind the plate for the game, which was pretty lousy. My view of home plate and 1B was blocked, and I was tired of taking pictures of the pitcher, so I focused on 2B. Which is where it was hit.

And I love the photo of oranges and the stadium lights Daedalus posted here. Really captures the essence of Florida spring training.

League sponsors shrink from $45K to $3K, baseball plays on

BubbaFan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:58:17 -0000

League sponsors shrink from $45K to $3K, baseball plays on

The economic crisis is affecting kids' sports across the nation. But "Foreclosureville" keeps their Field of Dreams going by letting parents work on the grounds crew if they can't afford to pay Little League fees, and asking parents to donate used cleats and gloves.

You'd think Jeff Conine could toss in a few bucks. This is the team he played on when he was a kid.

The Pride of Sandusky, Ohio (Maloney vs. Kontos)

BubbaFan — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:25:47 -0000

JUNE 1, 2009: This was "education day" at PNC Field. Near as I can tell, that means a lot of school kids are there on year-end field trips. The game started at 11am to accommodate the school schedule.

That may sound like a nightmare to some, but it was actually very nice. The kids were all in the cheap seats - in the upper deck or outfield. I've never seen the upper deck so full. The lower level was nearly empty, since it was a work day. The kids cheered enthusiastically, not even waiting to be prompted by the Jumbotron. There was nice crowd noise, without the inconvenience of an actual crowd (at least in the lower level).

It was a beautiful day for a ballgame. I thought it would be too cold, but it was just perfect. In the 60s, but sunny with no breeze. I brought a jacket, but didn't need it.

The view from my seat above the visitor's dugout:

You can see how empty the lower level was. There were so few people they didn't bother checking tickets. I had my pick of seats. (I think there were 2,000 people at the game, with 1,500 being students in the cheap seats. So that's about 500 grownups in the lower level. I doubt there were really that many.)

Danny Richar adjusts his socks before the game.

George Kontos started for SWB.

Darnell McDonald struck out to end the top of the first inning.

He went straight from home plate to the outfield...and was displeased when Drew Stubbs ran out onto the field without fetching him his hat and glove.

He said something, and Stubbs ran back to the dugout to get the items.

I gather there's a strict hierarchy in the minor leagues, and players who have been to the big leagues get to order around those who haven't. Even if the veteran is a career minor leaguer, and the kid is a hot young prospect.

Matt Maloney, the pride of Sandusky, Ohio, took the mound for the Bats.

Drew Stubbs came to the plate in the 4th with one out, none on.

He doubled his number of home runs for the season:

(Yup, he only had one. Now he has two.)

Manager/third base coach Rick Sweet congratulates him as he runs by.

1-0 Louisville!

Maloney looked very good.

He did seem to give up a lot of fly balls.

But nothing that came close to going out.

Norris Hopper led off the top of the 6th with a single. To my amazement, it actually reached the outfield. Still only a single, but still.

Drew Stubbs then bunted him over.

Sacrifice successful. Hopper moves to 2B.

Then Darnell ~~tripled~~ ~~reached on an error~~ tripled:

He split the left-center gap. Left fielder Eric Duncan and center fielder Austin Jackson both called the ball.

Duncan was setting up under it, when Jackson ran into him at full speed.

I think Jackson got a glove on the ball, but it fell in.

Both outfielders went flying.

These stills don't do justice to the violence of the collision. It was scary.

You can get an inkling of how fast it all happened in this last shot. That's Jackson's glove at right, still flying through the air.

Duncan popped up laughing, and threw the ball back in. The trainer came in to look at them, and both were fine. They both stayed in the game.

Norris Hopper scored, and Crabman was on 3B when the dust settled.

It was initially ruled a triple. Then it was changed to an error on Duncan. After the game, it was changed back to a triple.

Kevin Barker was up next, and hit a sac fly to score McDonald. 3-0 Bats!

Eric Duncan, apparently none the worse for wear, fields it.

Wes Bankston was HBP, then Michael Griffin hit a broken bat fly out to end the inning.

It went pretty deep for a broken-bat hit.

That's the Yankees bullpen in the background. There's a set of stairs from the bullpen to the roof, so players and coaches can sit up there and watch the game if they want to.

Darnell getting it done on defense as well as offense:

The Bats would manufacture another run in the top of the 9th. Maloney stayed in for the whole game, and notched a complete game shutout.

Maloney would be called up to make his next start in Cincinnati.

The Bats celebrate their victory:

Final score: Louisville 4, SWB 0.

They ended up splitting the four-game series, with the Baby Bombers taking the first two games and the Bats taking the last two.

I'm Loving It? (Ramirez vs. Towers)

BubbaFan — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:15:41 -0000

MAY 31, 2009 (Moosic, PA) - Gotta give credit where it's due. The player of the game was undoubtedly one Darnell McDonald.

Crabman in the on-deck circle. I think tattoo on his neck says "Braveheart." Either that, or "Brendanukkah." One or the other.

Drew Stubbs is too cool for school in his shades:

Danny Dorn warms up in left field:

On the mound for the SWB Yankees was Josh "Control" Towers:

Towers was once despised in Yankeeland. Now he is a Yankee. Go figure.

Ramon Ramirez started for the Bats:

The Baby Bombers drew first blood, in the bottom of the first. Todd Linden walked, stole 2B, then came home on a Shelley Duncan single. Safe!

Drew Stubbs was batting second again. He went 2 for 5.

Bats fans didn't have to wait long for the three-run homer. Michael Griffin provided one in the top of the 2nd.

The scoreboard had a section of dead pixels in it. Batting practice home run, maybe?

Ramon Ramirez:

He was not exactly lights-out. Luckily, Towers was worse.

Eric Duncan, once the Yankees' hottest prospect, was robbed by Darnell McDonald.

Crabman made a diving, tumbling catch, turning what looked like a sure double into an out.

McDonald followed it up with a two-run homer in the 3rd:

Left fielder John Rodriguez watches it go:

Josh Towers started the 4th by giving up a double to Luis Bolivar:

Austin Jackson and Shelley Duncan try to field it off the wall:

Bolivar scored on a Danny Richar single.

Darnell hit a double:

That plated Richar.

Yankees fans were wondering why a stud like Darnell wasn't at least a fourth outfielder somewhere in the bigs.

But Ramirez let the Yankees back in, by giving up five singles and a walk in the fourth.

Dorn fields a ball in front of the Yankees bullpen:

Rick Sweet takes the ball from Ramirez:

Ramirez heads to the showers.

He pitched 3.2 innings, with 7 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, 4 walks and 3 Ks.

Robert Manual took over.

Josh Towers was also pulled at 3.2 innings, and Paul Bush came in.

The Yankees are very excited about Bush. They signed him out of the independent leagues. He went 3.1 innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, and 5 Ks.

Shelley Duncan led off the 5th.

He fouled it to left, where it dropped in between Dorn and Griffin:

Dorn got the error.

I was worried that the Bats would pay for that mistake, but Shelley Duncan ended up grounding out. He went only 1 for 4 in this game, and his only hit was just a single.

Brian Peterson was 0 for 4, with four Ks.

I guess that's why he's mostly the first base coach. Probably got the start in this game because it was a day game after a night game and/or the Sunday lineup.

Michael Griffin is not afraid to get his uniform dirty:

Drew Stubbs, sticking out his tongue again.

Pedro Viola pitched 1.2 innings.

Drew Stubbs sets up underneath a fly ball.

Josh Roenicke got the last two outs.

Bats win, 7-5.

The Bobblehead vs. the Bullpen (LeCure vs. Sanchez, et. al.)

BubbaFan — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:16:10 -0000

The Bronx Bombers have too many starting pitchers, while the Baby Bombers don't have enough. But the transactional rules of baseball don't allow them to swap. So long time ace Chien-Ming Wang languishes in the pen, while in Scranton, the bullpen is part of the rotation, with several relief pitchers cobbling together a start.

First up was Romulo Sanchez:

He lasted 2.1 innings - not bad for a relief pitcher.

Norris Hopper led off again.

Drew Stubbs stuck his tongue out at me, that perv! (For some reason, half the pics I took of him, his tongue is sticking out.)

Wes Bankston doubled, but ended up stranded.

Bankston waits for someone to bring him his cap and glove.

Going for the Bats was The Bobblehead, Sam LeCure:

Craig Tatum was catching.

Juan Miranda hits it deep...and just foul.

LeCure watches it nervously.

Meanwhile, I noticed a guy with a camera on a tripod wandering around the lower level, "borrowing" various empty seats to capture the action on the field. The first thing I noticed was the tripod. I didn't know they allowed those. Would they let me bring a tripod?

Then I noticed the guy was Asian. Figures. Those Japanese and their cameras. ;-) Then I noticed he looked famiiar. It was Kei Igawa:

I guess he helps out any way he can when he's not pitching. I've seen him coaching first base. Apparently, he films at-bats for the SWB Yankees, too. Nice to know that the Yanks are getting something back for that $46 million they spent on him.

Boy, is he tall. They have a pretty steep cant in the lower level of PNC Field. Two steep steps between rows. I've never had problems seeing over people's heads before. But when Igawa sat in front of me, he blocked my view. A lot of his height is in his torso, rather than his legs; he's got a lot of "sitting height." A Japanese art professor once told me that that was the ideal in ancient Japan: short legs and a long torso. It made for a more elegant line when kneeling, as was customary in Japan.

It took awhile, but fans started to recognize him, and came up to ask for autographs. He obligingly signed everything thrust at him, but didn't say anything. Probably because of lack of English rather than unfriendliness. (I looked over his shoulder while he signed. I've always wondered if Japanese players in the US sign in English or Japanese. He signed in Japanese. Just one kanji character, so it wasn't even his whole name.)

Back to the game...the Bats drew first blood, scoring one run in the 3rd. Hopper singled, and a couple of walks and a sac fly later, he scored.

Stubbs was one of the walks, and got to third on the other walk (by Kevin Barker) and the sac fly (by Bankston).

The problem with being on third base is you have to listen to Rick Sweet's fish stories yet again.

Stubbs ended up stranded. Hopper's run was all the Bats would get.

For awhile, it looked like it would be another pitcher's duel. Then Shelley Duncan came to bat in the 4th, with Austin Jackson on 2B. Duncan has been hitting very well lately. I had a bad feeling about it, and sure enough - two run homer.

The SWB Yanks celebrate, with Tatum in the background.

The floodgates opened in the sixth. LeCure was starting to struggle.

He gave up a single, a walk, and then another home run to Shelley Duncan.

Rick Sweet came in and took the ball, sending the Bobblehead to the showers.

Adam Pettyjohn came in...

And promptly gave up another homer, to John Rodriguez.

There were a couple of amusing incidents with foul balls during the game. The video camera in the SWB dugout was nailed. It was hit hard. (It's pretty near home plate.) The camera man is signalling that everything's okay.

There was also a foul ball that was hit straight back, up into the third level. It flew right at an usher's head. He ducked, then stood up triumphantly...only to be hit in the butt as the ball bounced off the stairs behind him.

Griffin and Barker nearly collide. Barker made the catch.

Bolivar catches a popup.

The Bats had their opportunities, but just couldn't cash them in.

Stubbs was 0 for 2 with two walks.

Danny Dorn was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Danny Richar was 1 for 4, but did this cool "spinning his batting helmet" thing when he did get on base.

Final score: Louisville 1, SWB 9.

Stubbs sums up the game perfectly:

Dave Miley finally comes out of the dugout (Lehr vs. Igawa)

BubbaFan — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:49:18 -0000

I had a seat in row D for this game. I thought it would be in the fourth row, but at PNC Field, the dugout cuts into the seats. I was actually in the second row, right above the Bats dugout. Andromache's future ex-husband was hanging out at the rail right in front of me.

Homer Bailey was often described as "surly" last year, and, well, from what I could see, it fit. But not at this game. He seemed to be very sociable, smiling and talking to his teammates. I didn't try to talk to him, but I wouldn't be afraid to. Unlike last year.

Drew Stubbs warming up in the outfield:

I must say, it was a little odd seeing him in that uniform. I'd gotten used to seeing Paul Janish wear that number.

Justin Lehr and Craig Tatum come in from the bullpen.

It was Kei Igawa on the mound. He's been looking really good. So good that fans are talking about calling him up. (Never mind that the Yanks have so many starters now that their former ace, Chien-Ming Wang, is languishing in the pen.)

Some people think the Yankees ruined Igawa by messing with his mechanics. Others say Igawa has always been the kind of pitcher who breaks your heart. Extremely inconsistent. Like the little girl with the curl. When he's good, he's very, very good, when he's bad, he's horrid. Tonight, he was good.

Leading off for the Bats: old friend Norris Hopper.

He was 0 for 3 with a walk.

In the two hole was Drew Stubbs. He went 0 for 4.

Justin Lehr was just as good as Igawa. Yankees fans were wondering where this amazing prospect came from. (Korea, I told them. ;-)

And here's that Red Reporter favorite, Darnell McDonald:

He went 1 for 4. But just getting a hit put him ahead of most of his teammates.

Wes Bankston went 0 for 4.

Baby-faced Drew Stubbs:

Wilkin Castillo, who would be called up again the next day, went 0 for 3.

The players were getting pretty irate at the plate umpire. I was, too. Of course I couldn't see if the ball was over the plate or not, sitting above the dugout on the first base side, but I could clearly see if it was high or low. And he was very inconsistent. He called some balls that looked about ankle-height strikes...and then called them balls next time.

Dave Miley seems to be the kind of manager who sits in the dugout all the time. I've been wanting to photograph him, but he never comes out.

Well, he finally came out of the dugout this time. He started complaining about the calls from the dugout...and was ejected. And emerged to "get his money's worth":

Boy, was he mad. These pics don't do it justice. His face was bright red, and you could see the veins throbbing in his neck. He yelled at the umpire for a long time before finally leaving.

The SWB Yankees beat reporter said he's never seen Miley so upset.

The game was 0-0 into the seventh - when Lehr was pulled and Ben Jukich came into the game.

I was pretty disappointed in how ordinary he looked. Not nearly as scary as his Gameday photo.

His pitching was scary, though, and not in a good way. He gave up five singles, a walk, and a home run, making a 0-0 game 4-0.

Juan Miranda with the 3-run homer. It was a no-doubter, the highest and longest I've ever seen at PNC Field.

Jukich was pulled after getting only two outs.

Federico Baez came in and stopped the bleeding, but it was too late.

The Bats managed to manufacture a run off Mark Melancon (thanks to an error by Eric Duncan), and avoid being shut out. Final score: Louisville 1, SWB Yankees 4.

A Tour of PNC Park

BubbaFan — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:35:48 -0000

The "City of Bridges," Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PNC Park is just visible in the background at left.

For some reason, the Pirates always manage to be out of town when I'm in Pittsburgh. I think they're avoiding me. If they were playing any games, I'd have gone to one, but since they weren't, I dragged a friend with me on a tour of the ballpark instead.

There was $3 parking in a big lot between Heinz Field and PNC Park. There's a street named after Tony D between the stadiums:

I guess because his college career was with Pitt.

Then there's this street, a traumatic name to Yankee fans everywhere.

(Mickey Mantle said he never got over the 1960 World Series.)

Tours of PNC Park run during baseball season, whenever the team is out of town. It's $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and kids. (Children under 5 are free.)

The tour starts by the statue of Willie Stargell.

You don't have to make reservations. The tours tend to be very small, and don't sell out. There were only three people on mine: me, my friend, and a guy from Wisconsin who was in town to see the NHL playoffs. Which was kind of neat, since our guide could tailor the tour to our interests.

It started out with video of great moments in Pirates history. The really early film was pretty cool, just because I didn't know it existed. I figured Maz's walkoff homer would be featured, and it was. My friend was actually there, as a preteen kid who had walked over after school, and the tour guide was about her age, and remembered it well, even though he wasn't at the game. The hockey fan, like me, wasn't even born yet then, and was astonished that the World Series was played during the day, and that they let people in free after the 6th inning.

Mazeroski's Hall of Fame jersey is on display in one of the restaurants at the park:

Also featured in the highlight reel was Rob Mackowiak's walkoff grand slam. My friend was shocked to hear he was a Louisville Bat last year.

After the video, we toured Highmark Legacy Square, which honors the history of the Negro Leagues. There are statues of players, and kiosks with videos and other information. (Might be best to go on a cloudy day if you're interested in this. It's kind of hard to see the videos in bright sunlight.)

After that, we explored the field level. We weren't allowed on the grass, but we could walk along the warning track and sit in the dugout.

They mow the grass every day, and twice on game days.

From the dugout, we went down the tunnel toward the clubhouse. The public is never allowed in the clubhouse. Presumably because the players' belongings are in their lockers during the season, and they don't do tours in the off-season. They did have photos up, showing what the clubhouse looked like. The lockers, the cafeteria, the medical section. There are forty lockers, in case the Pirates call up the maximum number of minor leaguers when rosters expand in September.

We did get to see the indoor batting cages:

The astroturf is salvaged from Three Rivers Stadium. You can still see the faded hashmarks and yardline numbers if you look closely.

The image of a pitcher is projected onto the white screen. You can program left or right handed pitchers, and different kinds of pitches, and the ball is released from different positions to simulate live pitching. Our guide said the players complain about the white screen, saying it makes it hard to pick up the ball.

Also on that level is the visiting team's locker room, and the umpires' dressing rooms. Yes, rooms. PNC Park has two umpires' dressing rooms. They anticipated having female umpires one day, and planned accordingly.

From there, we took the elevator to the top floor, where the press box is located. Man, do they have a nice view. Glass walls all around. This is the view from the back of the press box. Heinz Field can be seen in the background, at left.

And here's the view from the front. There are desks, chairs, and Internet access points for about 120 reporters, though typically there are only 40 there for games. (They did need them all for the All-Star game.)

You can see the grounds crew in the process of mowing a fancy design into the grass. The Pirates grounds crew takes pride in their creative lawn-mowing.

From there, it was down to see the various seating options.

The roof of the "Rotunda," the big circular ramp that moves fans from level to level:

Here's the "Flight Deck":

It's their party deck. It's also the section that goes to the dogs on "Bark in the Park" day.

The private suites were very nice. They cost $5,000 per game, and come with 40 tickets and some parking passes. And food. (You get to choose from several menus.) Not a bad deal. The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly rented two of these suites, side-by-side, for a game on one of their off days last week.

There are chairs and tables inside, along with a kitchen and buffet setup. There's a door that leads outside, to seats with tables in front of them, if you want to sit outside instead.

The seats right behind home plate come with access to a private club:

They also rent it out for weddings and such.

There's all kinds of memorabilia displayed throughout the park. This display of Pirates hats includes the infamous '70s gold-striped pillbox hat:

This is a replica of the 1903 jersey. It was made of wool, and had a high collar to protect the player's neck from the sun. Must have been hotter than the hinges of hell. (Our guide said most kids assume the little pocket was used to carry a cell phone. It was actually for tobacco.)

The view from the seats below the press box:

After the tour, we went around the ballpark, down to the river. A statue of Roberto Clemente stands guard at the corner of the stadium.

There's dirt from three different ballparks at the corners of the square on the statue's base.

There's a sign down by the river, on the site of the first World Series:

All in all, it was worth the $7. Especially since my friend paid. :-)

Baseball Writers Brace for the End

BubbaFan — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:31:02 -0000

An article from the Wall St. Journal:

As Newspapers Cut Back, Press Boxes Grow Lonelier; How a Venerable Institution Lost Its Way

Baseball's independent press corps, once the most powerful in American sports, is fading. As newspapers cut budgets and payrolls, the press boxes at major league ballparks are becoming increasingly lonely places, signaling a future when some games may be chronicled only by wire services, house organs and Web writers watching the games on television.

"I certainly recognize where things are going," says Jack O'Connell, secretary of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the venerable 101-year-old membership organization for the profession. "I certainly see the dark clouds."

It's not clear how many newspaper beat writers and columnists will vanish. Some major dailies in baseball towns like Boston and New York say so long as they exist, they will never stop covering their teams. Online-only sources have filled some of the void, and independent Web sites have popped up where fans gather to comment on the games as they happen. In many ways, baseball writers are no different than other professionals whose industries are being shrunk.

...The changing world was on vivid display recently at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla., the spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened in 1923 during the golden age of sportswriting, it held its first-ever night game last March -- 20 years after the lights first went on over Chicago's Wrigley Field. At a March 22 game between the Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds two writers from Pittsburgh papers were in attendance, along with two reporters from Major League Baseball's Web site. The Pittsburgh chapter of the BBWAA is down to nine members, an all time low, from 20 in 1988.

The Beaver County Times, outside Pittsburgh, has stopped covering spring training and won't cover every Pirates home game -- primarily due to finances, according to sports editor Ed Rose. To some, it's inevitable that more papers will follow suit. "We're waiting for that first domino to fall, for that first major newspaper not covering its team on the road," says current BBWAA president David O'Brien.

Will we miss baseball writers when they're gone? We really don't need newspapers for the box scores, or even accounts of what happened on the field. With sites like Fangraphs, MLB's own Internet coverage, and bloggers who describe the games as seen on TV or from the park, we can generally follow what happened.

What we lose with the beat writers is the view from inside the locker room. Beat writers develop a relationship with the players over the long season, and have access and insight a blogger can't hope to match. There are the radio and TV reporters, of course, but with their time constraints, they generally don't provide the kind of in-depth reporting the print media does.

Newspapers are dropping like flies. Declaring bankruptcy, going web-only, folding altogether. Among the troubled papers: the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Detroit News, the Detroit Free-Press, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Rocky Mountain News, Christian Science Monitor. And of course, the Cincinnati Post went under in 2007.

The bad economy is exacerbating the problem, but this is deeper than the economy, as this essay points out:

Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable

It argues that what we are facing is as fundamental a change as the invention of the printing press. Though we know what the world was like before the printing press, and what it was like afterward, what's really interesting is the transition. That is what we are living through now. And if the previous transition is any model, we can expect this one to be chaotic. In the end, something will replace newspapers, but from where we are now, it's impossible to know what. We won't know the turning point when it happens; it will be clear only in the rear-view mirror.

During the wrenching transition to print, experiments were only revealed in retrospect to be turning points. Aldus Manutius, the Venetian printer and publisher, invented the smaller octavo volume along with italic type. What seemed like a minor change — take a book and shrink it — was in retrospect a key innovation in the democratization of the printed word. As books became cheaper, more portable, and therefore more desirable, they expanded the market for all publishers, heightening the value of literacy still further.

That is what real revolutions are like. The old stuff gets broken faster than the new stuff is put in its place. The importance of any given experiment isn’t apparent at the moment it appears; big changes stall, small changes spread. Even the revolutionaries can’t predict what will happen. Agreements on all sides that core institutions must be protected are rendered meaningless by the very people doing the agreeing. (Luther and the Church both insisted, for years, that whatever else happened, no one was talking about a schism.) Ancient social bargains, once disrupted, can neither be mended nor quickly replaced, since any such bargain takes decades to solidify.

In the end, we'll get our baseball coverage somehow. But it could suck to be a baseball writer in the immediate future.

A couple of other links related to baseball economics...

The Reds may not have set a new record low in attendance, but the Jays did:

Baseball for peanuts: ballpark deals

...At different stadiums this week, there were worrisome indicators. In Toronto, for example, the Blue Jays played to a nearly packed house on Opening Day, which usually happens. But the next day, nearly three-quarters of the seats at Rogers Centre were empty -- low even for an April game. Part of the reason was a one-game ban on the sale of alcohol, which was punishment for unruly fan behavior on Opening Day.

The Budweiser was flowing again for Game 3 of the series against the Detroit Tigers -- and attendance fell even more, to barely 12,000, the lowest gate ever at Rogers Centre. If beer doesn't put bellies in the seat, you know you have a problem.

And on a lighter note...

Bernie Madoff's Mets tickets are for sale on eBay

Seats 5-6 in the eighth row in section 11, just to the home plate side of the New York Mets' dugout, are being sold by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's businesses.

Here's the actual eBay auction. They're up to $2,297.00 now.

If you can't make it to opening day, more of Bernie's baseball tickets will be auctioned in the future.

Because you can never get enough about the AL East...

BubbaFan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:16:37 -0000

The team previews posted here have been terrific, but I'm sure you noticed something missing. Yup - not enough Yankees and Red Sox. I decided to step in and fix that.

via Wikipedia

(Joke! No kill i. Alan is making me do this. He and Man Mountain will be covering the rest of the AL, and they're hiding behind a woman's skirts and making me go first.)

The AL East may be the toughest division in baseball this year, with three teams that have a legitimate shot at winning the World Series. In order of last year's standings...

The Tampa Bay Rays

The perennial doormat Rays were rumored to be cursed, because years of top draft picks yielded few results. Their promising young prospects ended up getting injured, becoming crackheads, or both. Some blamed the fact that the Trop is built on three African-American cemeteries. Others blamed their "Satanic" name.

Perhaps the latter theory was correct, because they changed their name from the Devil Rays to the Rays, and ended up going from worst to first in a year (and making a fool out of me). That team is pretty much intact this year, and there's no reason they can't repeat.

Former Red Ray Olmedo will be starting the season in Triple-A Durham. Australian relief pitcher Grant Balfour, at one point picked off the Reds trash heap, pitched surprisingly well last year and got himself a $1.4 million contract this year. (Balfour may have the most unfortunate name for a pitcher outside of Homer Bailey.)

They lost Jonny Gomes, who declared free agency and signed with the Reds. The Reds cut him at the end of spring training, leaving him a free agent again.

The Boston Red Sox

Jonathan Papelbon, via BubbaFan's Picasa Web Album

The Red Sox are the beast of the east these days. They didn't spend big bucks in the off-season, signing Brad Penny and John Smoltz rather than the pricey players the Yanks signed. They did make a run at Teixeira, but he preferred New York.

It doesn't matter. The Sox are so deep in talent it's not even funny. They've got a deep farm system and deep pockets. They sent Clay Buchholz down to AAA, fer crissakes. They'll miss Manny Ramirez, and Big Papi may be past his prime, but they're still my pick to win the division.

They lost former Reds Sean Casey and David Ross to free agency. Casey retired, Ross is now a Brave.

The New York Yankees

The stadium is new, but I expect much will remain the same in the Bronx. Monument Park, the Bleacher Creatures chanting "Box Seats Suck," the never-ending A-Rod circus...and lots of balls "driven" Pastadiving Jeter.

via Avon

Last spring, Slyde expressed some doubts about the intelligence of Yankees fans, when I said they were worried about the lineup. But as it turns out...they were right to worry. The Yankees had been either #1 or #2 in runs scored for years. Last year, they dropped to #10, and missed the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years.

The Yankees still have a ridiculous number of All-Stars, but despite parting ways with Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, and Bobby Abreu, they also have a ridiculous number of players who are past their sell-by date. Jorge Posada is 37, ancient for a catcher, and recovering from the second shoulder surgery of his career. Hideki Matsui is recovering from knee surgery and can barely run any more. The increasingly fragile Johnny Damon can no longer handle center field. Whether Alex Rodriguez will be the same after returning from hip surgery is an open question; whether he is or not, the Yankees are on the hook for nine more years, until A-Rod is 41 years old. And of course, there's Jeter, geriatric for a shortstop, and seemingly in denial about the decline in his skills.

While other teams counted their pennies in the face of the deteriorating economic climate, the Yankees spent up a storm, acquiring marquee names AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixeira. Youngsters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been relegated to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Joba Chamberlain moved from the pen to the fifth starter role.

Was spending all that money an overreaction to missing the postseason last year? Perhaps. But it was also that they didn't see anything they liked in next year's free agent class. And then there's the new stadium. All those pricey new seats and suites will be hard to sell if the Yankees don't win, and there could also be a backlash from taxpayers. A rebuilding year is simply out of the question.

But is it enough? My guess is no. But then, the Yanks may not be done shopping yet. If young Brett Gardner, who took away Melky Cabrera's job, doesn't work out in center field, or not-so-young Cody Ransom can't hold down 3B in A-Rod's absence, Cashman will likely make another deal.

Chien-Ming Wang, once the Yankees' ace, may not be a Yankee for much longer. A groundball pitcher is not a good combination with "Pastadiving" Jeter.

The Yankees lost former Red Chad Moeller. Weirdly, they've traded for Chris Stewart - the catcher they sent down in favor of Moeller last year. I'm surprised they don't go after Paul Bako, who would probably be more useful than Stewart.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays aren't a bad team. They've had winning seasons three years in a row. Their 86-76 record last year would have been enough to win the NL West.

Unfortunately, they play in the AL East, where they face not only the Sox and Yankees, but the upstart Rays. The Jays won't contend this year. They may not even have a winning season, after losing 3/5 of their starting rotation, including AJ Burnett to the Yankees. (Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum are out due to injury.)

The Jays cut back on their spending plans this year due to the economy, and are giving their kids a shot. Among them, their 2005 first round draft pick, Ricky Romero, a dark horse who was thrilled to hear he'd made the big league roster.

Former Red Buck Coats has been outrighted to the minors.

Dirk Hayhurst, famed for his Non-Prospect Diary, is in the Jays minor league system now, having escaped the Padres via six-year free agency.

Toronto is the only AL East team that the Reds play this season. The series is June 23-25 in Toronto. (And none of the Reds games is among the "dry" ones.)

One of these days I'd like to go to a Jays game in Toronto, and stay in that hotel at the ballpark that overlooks the field.

via Marriott.com

Baltimore Orioles

A lot of the experts are predicting the Jays will be the cellar-dwellers this year, but my pick for that "honor" is the Orioles. They've been oddly schizophrenic in the Hot Stove season. They can't seem to decide whether to blow up the team or try to contend. There was talk about trading Brian Roberts and going into a rebuilding phase; instead, they signed Roberts to a four-year, $40 million contract, and offered Mark Teixeira more money than the Yankees did.

In the end, they did little to improve their team. (They did sign Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara, but who knows how that will work out.) Their string of 11 straight losing seasons probably won't be broken this year.

Koji Uehara and Matt Wieters, via bthesite.com

Probably of most interest is whether they'll call up top prospect Matt Wieters. (They'll likely wait until April or May at least, for clock reasons.)

Former Red Ryan Freel is with the Orioles this year, as part of the trade that brought Ramon Hernandez to Cincinnati. Chad Moeller has the backup catcher's role, at least until Wieters is called up. Jolbert Cabrera is insurance, playing for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. They lost Juan Castro to the Dodgers.

=========

My guess for the season-end standings:

Boston

Tampa

New York

Toronto

Baltimore

The Sox, Yankees, or Rays could win this division. It will probably come down to luck, particularly with injuries. Which is why I give the Sox the edge. With their depth, they should be well-suited to deal with injuries. Tampa has a relatively young team, and while they may not be as lucky in the injury department as they were last year, they probably have the advantage over the creaky Yankees. Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi thinks drug testing means baseball will get younger - that players will no longer be able to play into their late thirties and early forties. If so, the Yanks are in trouble.

Gomes cut, not sure if he'll go to Triple A

BubbaFan — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:43:21 -0000

Gomes cut, not sure if he'll go to Triple A

From the Fay:

===

The Reds cut Jonny Gomes. He has an offer to go to Triple-A

"I'm not sure," he said.

Gomes seemed like a semi-lock to make it.

"I'm a little surprised," he said. "I had a good spring. I played left, right. I went to first base with open arms. But it didn't work out. They can't keep everybody."

That would seem to indicate Darnell McDonald and Laynce Nix both made the club. It also indicates that Jerry Hairston Jr. will probably platoon with Chris Dickerson in left.

Update from BK (11:50AM): Rosales was also told today that he'll be starting the year in AAA, via the Fay's twitter. By my count this leaves 28 in camp, with 3 cuts to go today. Could this mean something else is in the works? Stay tuned...

Update from BK (12:30PM): Janish has made the team. Also, Bray sent to AAA, probably means Herrera makes the roster. Congrats Danny Ray! 2 more cuts...

Update from BK (2:25PM): Castillo and Bailey are the last two cuts. McDonald made the roster over Gomes because Willy's sick.