I got to see a 10-1 win this evening! After a first inning with bases loaded and no outs, Chandler Champlain was able to get out of it giving up only a run. The Womp Sox played pretty poorly, the worst of it happening in the 4th when the Wings doubled up the Sox pretty easily after the Sox completed blundered on the base paths.
YoYo Morales had a sweet homer in the 2nd inning and Abimelec Ortiz hit a grand slam that was taken away because he ran in front of Andrés Chaparro, which I didn’t see happen.
After yesterday’s blowhard it was nice to have this pop up during my morning coffee. Leave it to Austin folk for making baseball fun for all.
The Long Time is a third space but with baseball. And it’s amazing. Sandlot baseball. Family and adult fun.
Baseball has gotten more corporate. Professional baseball at all levels hasn’t been able to dodge enshitification. This takes all of that and recycles it (literally and figuratively) into more of an American pastime.
I wish we had something like that here.
Decided to not go to the game today on account of the weather.
The wife joined me today. Her first game of the year. Although the Wings lost (my record is now 2-5), it was a mostly pleasant day at the ballpark.
We got to hang out with Julian (a now not stranger from Reddit) for a couple innings. “Yo Yo” Morales was consistent at the plate. He’s been hitting well every game I have seen. I can see him being in the majors before the All Star break.
At some point, I and the row of younger fans behind me decided to purchase a beer and snacks from Conehead. I’m already not a big fan of the guy, having been on the wrong end of small political rants by him last year while trying to enjoy a game.
Yea, he works hard, has a conehead prop and a cute cold beer slogan but all we wanted was a beer. When we asked about tipping in cash, we got rants about how horrible Kathy Hochul is and how great Trump is. After the Trump comment, one of the younger fans very respectfully said “Yes, but he’s deporting my family and friends, my people.” Conehead’s reply? “Well they must be illegals.” The problem is that Conehead is wrong. So very wrong.
But what are facts to a guy who blatantly picked chose to try to talk/bait Trump to young Hispanic fans? And if they or I said something back at him, and words were exchanged, who is going to believe the fans over Conehead?
To their credit, the fans he directed the comments at were very respectful and were just happy when Conehead left. My wife squeezed my leg to remind me to shut my mouth.
The beauty of baseball, for me, is the cross section of players and fans. A good part of my project certainly deals with race, heritage, families, etc. It’s all ingrained in the fabric of baseball and one of the reasons why I love the game.
I do get it, though. Baseball is political. All sports are. We weren’t a political rally though. We all paid tickets to watch baseball and commune with each other.
Despite Conehead ruining the good vibes at the game, we could actually feel warmth today (it hit 80!) and it didn’t rain. Not bad for April 18th.
When I clocked out of work at 5pm, I made a beeline to the ballpark. Luckily, it’s a 10 minute walk from my apartment. There was a double header today. I was able to watch the second half of the first game that the Red Wings lost. The second game, thankfully, was a win.
Some thoughts from today’s game:
People still name their kids “Easton” after the bat? They are always after a bat but never a glove. When I hear a kid named Rawling, Mizuno or Wilson, I’m getting that kid and their dad some Red Wings merch.
Charles McAdoonot only has a sweet baseball name but he hit two three run homers. One in each game. I hate to admit this but I like to find a future Dodger in each team. McAdoo would be Buffalo’s pick for me. Right now, for the Red Wings, I like Andres Chaparro and Trey Lipscomb. Would have I picked Alex Call back in the day? Probably not.
Barb was on her TACO game tonight. She even has a kid joining her ranks.
I dressed poorly tonight so I had an impulse purchase of a red Red Wings hoodie. A Rohrbach Cosmic Krush Hazy IPA and a popcorn kept me warm too. The Wings held on to a first inning lead to make my record 2-4 at games.
I have 781 of 3500 points to throw out the first pitch at game. Or maybe I could get Barb to do it instead. Donating my first pitch is what I want to do going forward.
Watching the Dodgers play the Rockies as I type this. Denver had two inches of snow fall earlier today and the field looks like it never happened, Props to that field crew. Denver is a stadium I always wanted to visit. Also I like their City Connect jerseys.
Finally, Grant Anderson kind of reminds me of a mix between Larry David and Norm Macdonald. I have a fan fiction theory that Grant Anderson’s kids are the dude in the Spikes and the gal in Mitsy costumes.
Tuesday was a beautiful night. Didn’t need my coat until the last inning. Red Wings outhit the baby jays but still lost. Starting pitcher Andrew Alvarez had nine k’s. He looked like he had good stuff but the wind was blowing out, aiding in couple home runs that ruined an otherwise good outing. The crowd was paying attention and Alvarez got a standing O while coming out of the game with one out in the fifth.
I kept score, which was relaxing after a stressful day of work, while sipping a refill and snacking on a bag of peanuts. That’s all I did. I brought my camera but really just wanted to relax.
Enjoyed the anthem too.
As the game went on the boys who drank two lite beers were feeling saucy. They taunted RJ Schreck who then went on to hit a homer that made the difference in the game. My record at the game is now 1-4.
Later I fell asleep listening to the Dodgers beating the Mets. Sadly, I live in a blackout zone so I couldn’t watch the game. Dodgers announcer Stephen Nelson is a great voice and personality for Dodger baseball. I do also find Rick Monday’s gristly voice nostalgic. Dodgers went on to sweep the Mets.
Wednesday was a day game so I couldn’t go. If I had taken it off, the weather would have been bad. You’re welcome.
Forecast has a 70% chance thunderstorms for the game today. Anything over 50% means we have a 100% chance of getting rained on or the game being postponed.
I like photos of umpires. This is in my found photo collection. I bought it because of the ump, but also the view into the grandstand. I’d love to know which ball field this is from.
Last night, while watching the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays, John Schneider got thrown out for a balk call against his pitcher. It clearly wasn’t a balk and Schneider was looking to get ejected by Ump Dan Merzel.
I have a nice core memory of seeing this at my grandparents:
Lasorda always had a good tête-à-tête with umps.
Some consider Rochester born Bill Klem to be one of the best umpires ever. He’s in the Hall of Fame too, along with Tom Connolly; the first umpires to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
What the world lacks is a good umpire movie, made by someone like Darren Aronofsky or Kelly Reichardt. I imagine it is quite strange being an umpire. No one loves you. Everyone always remembers your bad calls and mistakes. All that squatting only to be yelled at. Also, have you seen the movement on pitches recently?
Back at it today but it was pretty cold. Had my first white hot, an order of fries and of course, a nice refill of in my James Wood cup. I left through four and a half innings so I could get to WAYO for my radio show. The Red Wings would go on to lose 16-5. All the players looked too cold. The Yankees would lose their only two challenges by the second inning. Oh and the anthem singer seemed like a good guy to have beers with.
Looking forward to next home stand. Hope the weather cooperates so I can bring a camera. I’ll have to miss Jackie Robinson Day due to work.
I’ll be spending the off week going through some of my baseball found photos and getting my custom score sheet ready to go. I also have a couple Numbers Game scoring books that I will be bringing to keep score some nights. I really dig Numbers Game. I waited too long to get their artist edition scorebooks.
Much nicer out today but the Red Wings couldn’t find a way to win. The highlights included the girl who sang the National Anthem, Bruce the Batdog and Riley Adams’ home run in the second inning. I didn’t catch the singer’s name but she did a great rendition of the anthem. Bruce admirably did his job fetching bats for the home team.
Today I realized a punk rock version of the Red Wings song would be pretty good. Wore my Dodger hat and sunglasses today. Lots of Yankee fans around. I didn’t catch any ribbing. One guy was wearing a 2024 World Series Yankees hat.
Seeing both Oswaldo Cabrera and Jasson Dominguez play was pretty cool. Carbrera’s batting box routine cracks me up.
Today I made some notes and made preliminary designs on my obscure stat sheet in between innings. Looking forward to trying it live next home stand.
Consumed a bag of peanuts and refilled my souvenir cup today. It’s too cold to enjoy a refreshing beer. Got home in time to watch the Dodgers beat the Nationals.
Sadly, I didn’t get to go to the game on April 1st, having to work.
When Gunnar from ticketing suggested this seat, I didn’t think about the broadcast. Now my wife can see if I am snacking. I probably should have thought that out before taking the seat. That’s me in the grey and red hat next to the score graphic.
It was a chilly evening for my opening day. The Wings were playing the Baby Yanks. I opted to go camera less for the first week. It was cold and a chance for rain. I wanted to soak in (pun intended) being back at the park, in my seat.
I missed the national anthem. One of the best news of the day was that there are now refills available in souvenir cups. I signed up for my Red Wings Rewards … not sure what I want to go for. Lunch with Dan and Naomi? An appearance in a team’s social media video? First pitch? Lineup card exchange? All of those sound great. I wonder if I could spend my points picking the walk up songs for a game. No doubt if that were to even happen, I would pick songs I play on Fantastic Voyage. I should make a list of spacey walk up songs.
When I am just sitting by myself and watching a game, I am truly in my zen space often left to my own thoughts and stupid ideas. For instance, during this game I came up with a chart for keeping score/track of obscure stats during the game. I will be introducing that chart by the next home stand, giving it a test run.
Tonight, a guy got boo’d relentlessly for chasing down a foul ball ahead of a little kid and not giving the ball to the kid. In another at bat, a ball got stuck in the outfield padding, which brought up a sweet memories. On the only time Yanquiel Fernandez got on base, he didn’t realize it was ball four, with his dugout mercilessly yelling at him “ball four!!!!!”
The popcorn tasted good. The first bucket of the season always does. A girl serving coffee laughed at one of my jokes, which was nice.
Barb is already in midseason form getting the crowd riled up for the Taco Bell strike out player of the game. I plan on interviewing Barb, hopefully in the next month or so.
In years past, I always walked around and made photos on opening day. Here’s one from 2015 as Josmil Pinto rounds the bases on a walk off homer.
The game only last a little over two hours and the Yankees lost. A great start to the season. I am 1-0 when attending games this year.
Opening Day. All the anticipation, all the rain. It was nice to get out, though, to walk around the concourse, and see some familiar and friendly faces. I sipped a Day Burner while people watching and waiting for the game to be postponed.
A trip to the store was my first stop. I found the perfect shirt for me. If you have gone to a ballgame with me, you know I have a hard time resisting popcorn.
The game was called a little after 4:30. As luck would have it, I was able to walk to and from ESL Field at Silver Stadium without having to use my umbrella.
I guess this may a good time to let you know what exactly this blog/website is. In the past ten plus years, I have been religiously making photos at baseball games, mainly games for the Rochester Red Wings. I’ve always loved baseball. I wasn’t a good player as a kid. But I loved and still love the Dodgers and collected baseball cards (my dad owned a card store in the late 80s and early 90s in Watertown, NY). I have fond core memories of going to Single-A games in Watertown.
As I aged into adulthood, I tried to get to as many games as possible in Rochester and Batavia. Life being life, I found myself single again then not single and living in downtown Rochester. In our first few months dating, my now wife and I went to quite a few games together. She wasn’t much of a baseball fan when we met but now she Bleeds Blue. A couple of our early dates in that first year we saw a no hitter pitched one night. Another night, some guy attempted to mug us on our way home. After the pandemic, we became season ticket holders for a couple years; one year next to the third baseline batter’s deck near the Youngman’s and the second year, right behind Barb on the first baseline.
After that, I held a press and field pass for a couple years. My goal was to do more documentary work and that I did but I missed going to the games and not feeling like I was working. See, when I am making candid street photographs I’m never working. Having that badge around my neck was pretty cool, but I felt like I was working. And I was nervous. It wasn’t all bad, those are all just me problems. I did have some cool experiences that I may talk about on.
Being a fan in the stands with a camera is just that, though. There’s literally no pressure and you are fan interacting with other fans. Having a press and field pass was a great opportunity but it also confined me to very reasonable rules and restrictions that left me not feeling like a fan. And I am not that bold to find limitations willy nilly at a ballpark that I loved being at.
Last year, I only went to a handful of games. Some minor-ish aging injuries put a damper on being mobile and photo making.
I missed being a fan and people like the Youngmans and Barb. So I got a season ticket, just for me. I’m the only one I know that likes to religiously go to ball games. To get back to doing what I set out to do. Going to the games, watch a ball game, enjoy the concessions and be amongst fans is what I craved. I didn’t need a pass, I needed a seat number.
That’s what this is all about. I pick something to do and I work at it. Peaks and valleys, and all that other jargon. It took me over ten years to be comfortable enough to make a photography zine of my street photography. I love the process and revere the work others. I rarely get excited to show work because it’s all become really shallow.
Enough about me. Photography, ephemera, field recordings, interviews, essays and art will be filling this space. On the weeks there are home games, there will be posts about that here. On the weeks the Wings are on the road, I’ll dig into more my work starting at the beginning.
One final note and I hope others join this cause. The Silvers should and deserve to have the stadium named after them again. The field can named for whatever the highest bidder gets. This isn’t a suck up, I call it like I see it. And I am sometimes? often? wrong. I do not think I would be doing this project and have so many good memories if it wasn’t for their effort in keeping baseball in Rochester and making it a source of entertainment for anyone who walks through the gates.
