Thats it, the season is over...

“People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

~ Rogers Hornsby


I could fling the similes and metaphors but... thats it. Wham! Season over. End of story.

Well it was one heck of a ride while it lasted. 2 and a half months of baseball, hot dogs, peanuts and sodie pop, fans' cheers and applause and the national anthem performed almost every time by someone different and usually pretty darn well.

Sunny days turning into lit up nights with grown men swinging sticks and throwing balls and running in circles. Heroes... and clowns, teachers and students and 3,500 or more friendly neighbors rooting the hometown boys on. Its quite a phenomenon this game of baseball and Eugene is lucky to have grand old Civic Stadium in which to play at our local version of this grand old game.

Thanks to Bob and Bryan Beban for letting me, a stranger to them and really, just some old long-haired guy who virtually just wandered in off the street, come into their home and practice my craft. Special thanks to the Padres' Denis Savage for running that ad on Craig's list. Thanks to Rid and Flo, Vazquez and Jimmy, the boyz in the press box, Steve, Steve, Steve and George, the fans who have wisecracked with me or sat patiently while I pointed my camera their way. Props to you all, it was a hoot.

I admit professional sports had made me a cynic about the whole spectacle of grown men playing games competitively. Heck, I can't afford to take my kids to see a Mariners game or the Seahawks, the Blazers... and if I could... I'm not sure I wanted to support the salaries that have gone beyond real. Celebrities with egos that are uber inflated, that really are no different than any of us, had managed to distance me from them. I remember as a kid how wrapped up I became every year in following the Lakers, checking the box scores, hiding my portable transistor radio under my pillow so I could listen way past my bed time to Chick Hearn painting a mental image of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor faking opposing teams into "the popcorn machine," slaying the evil dragons of the east, the Celtics, the Knickerbockers, the 76ers...

But as money took over sport it seemed to become less fun for me. But... watching Greg Riddock and his crew all these beautiful summer evenings at Civic Stadium... sigh... my faith may be renewed. We'll see.

And on a final good note... to quote the governator... according to Bryan "I'll be back." So hopefully I will see you all again next June for another season of summer spills, thrills and yes, heartaches.

Keep watching the blog here (and don't forget to occasionally stop in and share a donut at my other blog, the Morning Donut. I've got plenty of pictures to share through the coming months and I'll keep posting them. If there is someone on the team who you haven't seen here drop me note and I'll find some pics and post 'em. And... as always, these images are copyrighted © and while I'm more than willing to share I also have to raise my kids. Prints... I will always, gladly, sell, contact me @ allan_e@efn.org

Enjoy your winter folks! Peace...

... oh yeah... here are some more images, from the last game of the season, enjoy:



Hungry fans line up for pre-game feed and one happy young fan posing with Andy Parrino



One of the little Ems fans' favorite games, the Prince Puckler Ice Cream toss, and the crew that keeps our playing field looking great, Casey, Joe, Dave and Mark



The Ems' fans (with some Salem-Keizer fans mixed in...), Greg Riddoch with the Ems' batboys, Scott and Trevor



Bryan Beban doing the play-by-play on 1120 AM



The guys in the Press box, Steve Mims, Steve Wolf



George McPherson and Steve Brown



And finally... Jose Flores, Ems hitting coach and Greg Riddoch, Ems manager

Thanks all!

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.

More pictures, less words...

"who's on first" Abbott and Costello on you tube...

...have fun.
~~~~

And thats just what the world needs, Abbott and Costello and taking out competitive urges, with a ball, on a field of play instead of in other, more destructive and less-than-satisfactory-to-us-reg'lar-folk kind of ways... ya know?

I'm really liking this set of pics. I'm also enjoying the opportunity of working in such a great atmosphere. I hope it shows:






Two great shots of Justin Pickett really guarding the plate.



... and Pickett signing autographs (coach Jose Flores and catcher Luis Martinez in the background signing as well)... . There is a lot of that going on at Civic Stadium. Here is Luis Durango doing the same thing:





Usher Barber Dan and young Tyler



Former Duck and NBA star Luke Ridenour participating w/ a fan in the Bean Bag toss, playing against Josh Bidwell, participants in a post-game Fellowship program.

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.