To all of my family, friends, fans of the Senators and this site I turly hope you take a few minutes and read this entire article. I feel this is one of my very best articles. As I started writing this it just flowed out. When I finished it I skimmed through to check things out, and it sounded exactly the way I intended. This was the first and only draft; no edits at all. Enjoy!!
I did something last night that I haven’t done in a long time….I actually watched a baseball game.
I attend my fair share of games each season but my guess is that it’s been about 2 years since I actually sat down and watched a game. More times then not I’m viewing the game through a tiny viewfinder, which is connected to the lens of my camera. Sometimes when I leave the stadium I don’t know what the final score is, or who won (I know that sounds pretty sad). I’m usually so involved with who’s batting next inning, which side of the field I need to be on, which players I still need ‘shots’ of, deleting unusable shots between innings and making notes that I just don’t have time to enjoy the game.
Last night I was still acting in an ‘official capacity’ as I was photographing fans and various other non-player related activities. Unlike most games, when I sit in the cubby/photogwell adjacent to the dugout, last night I roamed the stands.
Another reason for my interest in watching the game last night was my son, Justin, was in attendance. Coincidentally, the last time he was at a Senators game was 2 years ago.
We weren’t even in the gate 5 minutes when a very kind man gave Justin a baseball (The guy must have caught a foul ball). My first stop was behind home plate to see my long time friends Bob and Jane. Jane gave my son a team photo and a couple autographs too (thank you). Rascal gave my son a Senators shirt during the ‘Slush Puppy t-shirt launch’. We hung around with Bob and Jane most of the first game talking and just watching the game.
With about an inning left in the first game we made our way to the first base side where we ran into Mark Butler, CEO of Ollie’s. I introduced Justin to Mr. Butler and we talked for a few minutes. Mr. Butler is one of the most genuinely nice people I’ve met.
On our way to the field last night Justin said “Daddy, I want to see Zech”. With that in mind we made our way down the first base line to the seats close to the bullpen. During Justin’s first visit to the island in 06, Senators closer, Zech Zinicola gave him a brand new baseball. For several weeks after that he insisted on taking the ball to bed with him (he would not sleep without it). After the first game was over and as Zech made his way in to the clubhouse we called him over. Zinicola talked with Justin for a few minutes and signed Justin’s Senators hat.
Then we made our way to the gate by the Senators dugout. Senators’ photographer, Steve Eddy, took time out of his hectic schedule of gathering photos for the 09 card set to talk with us.
When Steve left, a member of the Senators front office came over and asked Justin if he wanted to say “Play Ball!!!” to started the 2nd game. Next thing you know we’re on the field. As we were waiting for the Play Ball moment he became more fascinated with playing in the dirt then being on the field and around the players. When his time came, like a true champ, he yelled “Play Ball!!!” In my biased opinion, it was the best so far this season and will no doubt be the best all season.
We exited the field and made our way to the 3rd base side for some food. With a hot dog and fries in hand we found seats down the 3rd base line. We ate our food and enjoyed the first inning of the second game. When the inning was over we left.
When we arrived at home we watched “The Office” and “30 Rock”. As I put my son to bed I looked back on our evening and I realized the joy the game of baseball brought to us that night. I will always cherish the memories from that evening.
I also began to reflect on my job as a sports photographer. How I strive to be the best that I can and provide the highest quality photos possible. I started to realize the time, effort, and research I put into each game. My continued pursuit of taking my photography to the next level has become some what of an obsession. Basically, how serious my job as a photographer has become.
As I continued to reflect, I realized how serious the game of baseball has become; not only for me but for others around the game. How the game of baseball has become as politically motivated as state government; I’ve worked around politicians every day, all day long for 9 years so I am qualified to identify them.
First and foremost, baseball is a GAME. Yeah, I love photography. I love to see my photos on cards, websites and so on. In some ways it has become addicting to get my photos used more and more. Somewhere along the way, in the highly competitive, very demanding, and political charged game of baseball, I lost the true reason why I started to photograph baseball….because I love the game. Last night I got a little bit of that love for the game back.
Last night a learned a few things, so my goal for the remainder of the season is to still take the best photos possible, but to lose the seriousness and the political aspect and just enjoy the game. Most important, I need to take my son to the field more often.
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