And more pics...

When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball."

~ Willie Stargell

Wow... the Ems are on a real skid. They got blown out last night after holding a 5 run lead for the first 5 innings of the game. 13 - 6... ouch. I feel for the boys, I really do. But one must keep things in perspective after all. The Ems are the rookie short season A league team and they've had over 50 roster changes this season. Catcher Mitch Canham is already gone in a short stay here in Eugene. Ray Stokes has been out since early on in the season...

These young men are learning at a level beyond anything they've encountered to date and it is an intense experience where baseball happens virtually every day... its a tough grind and I'm sure team chemistry is a tough thing to maintain when guys keep coming and going with such regularity.

The Emeralds are a farm team of the Sun Diego Padres and the Pads are in 2nd place in the Nat'l League west. Salem Keizer, NorthWest League leaders, a farm team of the SF Giants, lead the NWL and have had very few roster changes... of course the Giants are in the cellar of the Nat'l League West, 12 games behind Sun Diego... so... hey, its hard to argue with the successful end results at the top of the chain. Lets see... hmmm... short season, A league champs or contenders in the MLB race? Tough choice for a professional sports organization.

There is just about a week left of baseball for the Ems and I'm going to be posting many more pictures in the next few weeks (I figure I've shot well over 2,000 images for the Emeralds this season and there are plenty I haven't posted here, some real good stuff. So here is today's offering, enjoy (and if you're interested in reprints, allan_e@efn.org):



"Voice of the Ems" Russ Eisenstein's last hurrah as he leads the 7th inning stretch singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in his last game at Civic Stadium before heading to Idaho to be the "Voice of Idaho State" & Matt Latos multi-tasking... chewing gum and running the radar gun...


Joe (top) from the groundskeeping crew races his brother Matt (maybe thats why Latos has the radar gun?)


Greg Riddoch and Jose Flores... thanks you two for making me feel at home while I've sat perched with camera in hand on my step by the dugout! It truly is my pleasure to have made both your acquaintances. Kellen Kulbacki in a play at 3rd that is about as close as it gets.


Seth and Katrina


(L to R) Lexia, Frankie, Tanya, Angie, and Coleton...


Nate Stewart, Ems' athletic trainer


And finally, the Knights of Columbus color guard... thanks gentleman.

Me and Luis...

Speed is a great asset; but it's greater when it's combined with quickness - and there's a big difference.

~Ty Cobb

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a fan of the Ems I've been attending games for the last 5 or 6 years, mostly w/ one or both of my kids.

This year, somehow, I am the Ems photographer. I work with a Pentax *ist DS digital camera and 2 lenses. Primarily for the sports work I use my 50 - 200mm Pentax zoom lens but on occasion (like the team picture this year) I use my 18 - 55 mm Pentax zoom. Ideally I'd have a longer and faster telephoto without the zoom, a 300mm or longer... but those puppies are spendy. Maybe next year.

Back when I was young... and we only had film... I owned fixed lenses (wide angles, telephotos) that were top of the line because of lens quality and speed. I was nervous about digital because it meant new camera gear. I was raised on film and had used it for decades. And I'm always leery of new technology. After I had taken about my first 500 or so images I knew digital was for me. No film, no processing... in that 500 image space I had saved enough from not having to buy film and pay for processing and I could see them right now!

The art and business of photography has not changed, the manipulation of the camera in achieving a desired (or often accidental) end work remains the same. F stops and exposure... focal length and film speed (ISO)... its all the same. So now I have Civic Stadium and all its thousands of people as my task to visually record. And that my friends, from this photographer's view, is pretty darn cool indeed.

So now in 2007 I am an Ems fan armed with a camera and decades of developing my eye and technique. And this year's team is a fan's delight. Loaded with talent, the Ems are chasing 1st place Salem-Keizer, a real good and tough team to beat. One of the reasons for the Ems success is the always exciting Luis Durango:



Listed at 5' 10" and 145 pounds Luis Durango is about as quick with the bat as any batter I've seen. When he is at bat the defense knows who Luis is and what he can do and what he does. He bunts , bloops and blasts. He can drop a bunt down either line and be to 1st base before the play is even close or he can rip one over the outfield in the holes for extra bases. The infield plays in for a bunt and he bloops singles over their heads and in front of the outfielders. Which means he gets on base. A lot.

Last week Luis was number 3 in the league with a .353 batting avg, he was #1 in total hits w/ 47, he was #4 in on base percentage at .430, he was #3 in runs scored with 30... and he was leading the league in triples with 5 (thats those over-the-outfielders-heads blasts!). And to go along with all that, credit Luis with 2 homers and 14 RBIsAnd he is a burner on the bases. Luis' uniform is usually dirty before the end of the 1st inning.

So here in pictures is the Luis Durango of the Ems' first half of the 2007 season (and as always, these images are copyrighted, reprint w/ permission only). Enjoy the pictures. Better yet come out to Civic and cheer Luis and the boys of summer on! Its a great tradition and a wonderful family experience. Baseball, on a summer's eve? Nothing better...

Thur, July 11 Ems win 4-3

A few from last night's game, featuring Jimmy, Jose and "Javi" Flores, Richard WIlliams working out his arm on the opening pitch, Mitch Canham's first Civic Stadium game standing for the pledge of allegiance w/ a couple of excited fans, Chris Perez doing the same on the mound, and the forgotten heroes of modern baseball, the folks who make our stadiums glorious and green... the groundskeepers.

Its here, I like it!

Howdy!

Welcome to all you Eugene Emeralds' fans. My name is Allan Erickson, I'm doing the photography for the Ems this year, as well as for the San Diego Padres scouting team.

A big thanks first off to Bryan Beban of the Ems and Denis Savage of the Padres and MadFriars.com for putting their trust in my work as a photographer. Hopefully this year's pictures will be satisfactory to all entities.

This blog will be primarily for my pictures w/o a whole lot of blah blah blah by me. I know there are a few fans of the Ems who won't mind dropping in and making some comments on the team. As a fan I can say that the '07 edition of the Ems is ripe with talent and seem to be a fine bunch of young men.

I'm enjoying my interactions with them, the wonderful fans and the Ems' coaches and all staff: ushers, media folks, vendors, grounds crew...

And a big tip o' the hat to skipper Greg Riddoch, who is a joy to watch as he deals with his players and the Eugene fans.

I may do some commenting on the possibility of the Ems home, Civic Stadium, being shut down. A tragic loss that would be for the people, the city of Eugene and baseball itself.

Anyway, here's hoping the pictures will make for enjoyable viewing. And if anyone, player, players' families, fans, staff or whomever, wishes to purchase any of these images, please contact me.

So... today's post is just an intro... I have to go work the Willie Nelson show at Eugene's gorgeous Cuthbert Amphitheatre. Pics up by this weekend sometime!

(post edited to add:)

Woohoo! Here are a few from the 4th of July game and fireworks show. I do believe a good time was had by all.

I am not watermarking these images. A watermark is added to prevent people from just copying an image and making their own prints. What I have done here and will continue to do is post them in a small format, from a small file size so that they can be copied but an enlargement would be of an inferior quality.

I would love to sell these pictures, its how I intend to feed my family and I hope everyone can respect that. If you do want to purchase an image, contact me!

allan_e@efn.org

And please post any comments you may have, or email me with comments, suggestions, kudos or criticisms. Thanks and enjoy!