Baseball

Camera: Chinon Genesis III CO Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Coaching for the Rockford Cubbies in 1998; CO Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan. Camera: Nikon N90s

Battle Creek Yankees pitcher Jaime Saldana pitches to Demetrius "Meatball" Heath of the West Michigan Whitecaps on April 12, 2003, at Battle Creek's C.O. Brown Stadium. The obviously-alert second baseman is Gabe Lopez. Photograph taken from Box 20, from which I've watched many a ballgame. I took hundreds of similar pictures this summer, documenting the way the BC Yanks looked on the field. Until yesterday, a sampling of those pictures was available on my other website, but I've taken them down because they were part of a failed experiment in--well, blogging. I've got a soft spot for this pic, and have saved it from the bit bucket.

Fort Wayne Wizard shortstop Matt Bush reaches for a line drive early in the game at Lansing's Olds Park. Great game. Lansing's Casey Janssen didn't let anyone on base until the sixth, and no Wizard got a hit until the relievers entered in the eighth. Michael Eckstrom pitched nearly as well for Fort Wayne.

Massive Centennial Bridge changes the perspective, a little bit.... West Michigan Whitecaps at Quad City River Bandits, John O'Donnell Stadium, Davenport, Iowa, on May 19, 2003.

Patrick Cottrell of the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays steals second base against the Fort Wayne Wizards in a game played tonight at Battle Creek's delightful C.O. Brown Stadium. This was one of the few plays which worked out well for the Rays in an extraordinarily bad ball game. Battle Creek's team lost by an 11-4 score and perhaps played even worse than that. Despite three errors, ten of the eleven runs were earned; that's quite an accomplishment.... Fort Wayne catcher Colt Morton--a huge person--chipped in a truly impressive home run that completely left the yard. Just thought it deserved mention. Took a break from the Luggies tonight so I could visit the friends I mentioned a few days ago. The familiar drive to BC was pleasant--I've made the trip hundreds of times over the years--and the ballpark visit was fun despite the poorly-played game. Sat in my old seat (the box has been renumbered to 11), though my ticket was for another (in Box 10). The team's made some interesting renovations: The box seats have been reworked (no longer are there side rails defining the sections; there is, however, now a rail at the screen), and there's a picnic area where the third base bleachers used to be. They've also named the picnic areas after Carl Pavano and Johan Santana, and the best seating area now sports Roy Oswalt's name--good moves, methinks. The staffing seems improved, too, though it might just be that I prefer my ushers to be young women. They smile, they dance, they say hello. I approve. The park's best feature remains the ballpark itself, though. This is a great place to watch baseball, even if it's not all fancy and new. And I'm hopeful about the new ownership. Put in a bid on Matt Carson's jersey. Should know tomorrow if I won. Original version of this photograph here .

On July 11, 2003, members of the Society for American Baseball Research took a break from our convention to watch the Rockies host the Dodgers. The Rox came from behind to win a rather sloppy but interesting game; since I took about a hundred pictures, it's safe to say I "saw" the game without paying close attention to the action. I do know that Todd Helton had two homers, and made two errors on a single play. Refreshed by the ballpark air, we returned to our committee meetings and our presentations. A good time.

West Michigan Whitecaps pitcher Josh Kauten balances on his front leg just after releasing the ball. Kauten's got a strong overhand motion and looked quite impressive tonight; he got the win. Very pretty pitcher. That's Jody Roughton at first base. Part of the fun of watching Kauten was watching Roughton set his defense up in parallel with Kauten's movement. The Whitecaps won by a 9-2 score. Second baseman Brooks Colvin had a great game at the plate--five hits, two doubles, three runs scored--and looked pretty impressive on the field as well. The Luggies collapsed completely in the sixth, and never recovered.

Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Bobby Magallanes (Angels system) encouraging his batter from the third base coaching box during the first game of an April 25 double-header at Lansing's Oldsmobile Park. The Lansing third baseman is Christian Snavely, and Ryan Klosterman's the shortstop; they're Blue Jays farm hands. Lansing would lose this game, though the finish was still a couple hours off when I shot the picture. Lansing came back hard to win the nightcap. Most Midwest League managers coach at third, which exposes something of their personality to those of us who watch the games from that side. Bobby's a little intense; it's like he's watching six things at once, only some of which are under his control. This is about as relaxed as he gets.

Two of the many things I enjoy about watching baseball at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek show in this photograph: * The odd corners and edges in the place, particularly down the left field line. * The extremely accessible bullpen areas. I'm not one to collect autographs, but I like getting close to the players and taking photographs. This picture, of Rockford Cubbie players, was shot during pregame warmups in, I think, 1998. For some reason, the Rockford pitchers were the only MWL team who habitually sat on that wall. Not sure why this was. This photo was likely taken the same day as the Manny Trillo photograph I posted a few months back. Camera: Nikon N90s

I rather like this one.

Darrell Evans bats while Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg look on during a pre-game home run derby at the 2003 Midwest League All-Star game, held at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park (near Grand Rapids), Michigan. Dawson, still remarkably fit, won the contest. No contest. ================ An odd thing about this photo: It gets lots of page views in June, as folks search for (big league) All-Star pictures and find this intriguing title in their search results. Happened last year on Dabbler's Journal; happened this year on flickr. Original photograph here .

May 15, 2004 @ Battle Creek. South Bend's Chad Scarbery is pitching. The Yankee batter seems to be Eric Duncan, which would make this the fifth inning (as you can see, I didn't take notes). The Yanks are far ahead, and Scarbery's about cooked. Dunc is about to poke one over the left field fence.... Explored! #220 on Flickr [July 23, 2007, but no longer in the day's top 500. So it goes.] Thanks!

David Malamut requested this photo.

Cubs pitcher Mark Prior on a rehab assignment to Lansing, June 20, 2004. That's Brian Dopirak at first. Camera: Olympus Camedia C50 Photo by Joel Dinda More information

Battle Creek's CO Brown Stadium in April of 2003; Fort Wayne Wizards at Battle Creek Yankees. Camera: Nikon N90s Photo by Joel Dinda Commentary on a dabbler's journal

Southwest Michigan infielders Chris Nowak & Reid Brignac chase a foul into the bullpen as the pitchers (& catcher) scatter. Olds Park, Lansing. It's worth noting that both infielders had stumbled across the bullpen's pitching mound just before I shot the picture. The ball fell into the stands.... Brignac had a great game, both on the field and at the plate. I'd guess they'll convert him to a third baseman as he progresses; he's got the reflexes and the arm. My personal favorite of my 2005 baseball pix.

Downtown Lansing, Michigan, from the top of the right field wall in Oldsmobile Park, taken during tonight's game. (Ugly game. Ryan Dempster started; looked OK, but it wasn't a men-among-the-boys outing you might have expected. The umps and the Luggies seem to have issues. Lansing won, regardless; Joan's seen Randy Wells pitch twice, and seen both of his wins.) The buildings beyond the ballpark: The large white building is Lansing Center. The tall building used to be Michigan National Tower, but now has another name. The large building to the right is the Board of Water and Light's no-longer-functioning Ottawa Street Station. The Radisson Hotel Lansing is visible behind Lansing Center. The State Capitol's Dome is barely visible, peeking over between the Radisson and the power plant. That's Olds Park in the foreground, of course. Kane County's outfielders are warming up before the bottom of the fourth inning.