2009 Season Opener

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- "Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don't, then you are wasting your time on Earth".”

- Roberto Clemente
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I was watching PBS last week and on their American Exerience program they were featuring a piece on Roberto Clemente. I certainly enjoy being educated. That was one fine program. I knew Clemente was an incredible ball player for the Pittsburg Pirates but wasn't really aware of his politics and humanitarian work. Plus the discrimination faced by blacks and Latins in pro ball was still significant. But what caught my ear was this:

"Clemente after baseball games [...] signed autographs till the last person had his baseball signed[...]"

... and it made me immediately think of Mitch Canham and this shot from 2007:



As the players come and go there are those few who always stand out and this scene of Mitch, standing alone signing autographs long after all his teammates had already hit the showers, made a strong impression on me. A touch of class. And a touch of class displayed by an earlier baseball great. Do you like the comparison Mitch? Now you just need to move to the outfield, get a tan and start speaking with a Puerto Rican accent... get 3,000 hits, win 2 World Series, get named to the All Star team 12 times and win the Golden Glove award 12 times. Plus... you need to devote your career earnings towards helping those in need... Mitch is a good kid and a great fan favorite and I hope his career goes well. As I do for all these young guys.



Going on my 3rd season as the Ems' photographer has definitely broadened my view of pro baseball. From being a little kid in Bakersfield attending the Bears' games with the family to my trips to Chavez Ravine to see the Dodgers or Anaheim Stadium to watch the Angels, I've loved baseball. I'm not a fan of big ticket prices and overpaid athletes. But the game... aaah, the game...

Here are a few pics from Opening Night:



Trevor and Steve



"Smokey"



Eager fans line up at the gate



Rid signs an autograph for a young fan



Register-Guard photographer Chris Pietsch



An 8 year old throws out the first pitch and smokes it over the plate! (and he really did)



introducing the 2009 Ems



Cal Coleman and Shelley James sing the anthem



are they talking about me? "The uh, hippie with the camera is in foul territory"



Another Beban unleashed on an unsuspecting world!

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Of Ducks and Ems...

A game of great charm in the adoption of mathematical measurements to the timing of human movements, the exactitudes and adjustments of physical ability to hazardous chance. The speed of the legs, the dexterity of the body, the grace of the swing, the elusiveness of the slide - these are the features that make Americans everywhere forget the last syllable of a man's last name or the pigmentation of his skin.

~Branch Rickey

Just a few pics for today. The U of O Duck showed up to throw out the first pitch in Sunday's game against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and I've posted the promised pic of Jonathon Stewart riding a tricycle. Brian Lauderdale's mom showed up in the press box and I was honored to meet her... nice to see the family side of the game, Lori is proud of her son and glad he has Greg Riddoch as his manager. Mitch Canham is out w/ an injury so this is a non-playing shot of him at the dugout between innings; Greg Riddoch coaches 3rd and gets lonely... And of course, more kids...


The Duck does baseball; Jonathon Stewart in the tricycle race


Lori Lauderdale


Isabel snacks and baby Kolbi hangs out on Dad's arm


Mitch Canham........ Riddoch waits for company at 3rd

A few days off...

"I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did."

- Yogi Berra

The Ems are gone on a road trip after a pretty successful homestand including a 3 game series against the Vancouver (BC) team in which the Ems won 2 and lost 1 and scored 34 runs in those 3 games. The second game of the series the Ems scored 18 runs and every starter scored at least 1 run.

Here are a few pics from that series, including one I really like of Mitch Canham signing autographs at the Ems' dugout after the game. All the other players have gone and Mitch stands alone with a crowd of fans. Thats class. Something I'm thinking Ems' Manager Greg Riddoch is gonna be pretty good at instilling in a lot of his players.

Also posted today, Eric Sogard and Keith Conlon being interviewed; what it would look like if Eugeneoids stayed home and didn't go to Civic Stadium; what the crowd looks like when the fans do show up; good guy Josh Bidwell standing w/ his teammate in the bag toss (they lost against Luke Ridenour and his teammate and this poor kid was really sad. Good job cheering her up Josh!); almost always (not when he's pitching) Jackson "K"zada smiling; and... Justin Baum and Ems fans gawking skyward as the Airship Radio Theatre's hot air (boy howdy!) Airship passes over Civic Stadium.

And as a treat for you U of O Duck fans, I'll soon be posting a rare picture indeed... the U of O's Jonathon Stewart on a tricycle.

Until next time... enjoy.

Sunday morning...

I like my Sunday mornings. Yep.

What a game last night! Dang... Mitch Canham's first homerun as a pro and it is a Grand Slam, an over-the-scoreboard-no-doubt-about-it kinda hit. He has quickly grown as the "hometown" favorite. It could be he is the best received Beaver (OSU) ever in Eugene (UO, Ducks). I can't be sure about that because I haven't been here forever...

And another crowd pleaser is Brian Lauderdale, out of Roswell, GA. Back from last year's Ems team, he is one of my faves too... he had a whale of a game, getting 3/4 of a full cycle with 2 singles, a double and a triple. The lack of a homerun is hardly a fault in a game like this, where the game went almost 4 hours and it took 8 runs for the Ems to win against a stubborn Vancouver (BC) team. Anyways.... Lauderdale... engaged in a version of baseball you only get to see once in a while at home plate or close to home... played Tackle Baseball!

I mean I'm a multi-sport kind of guy, I love baseball, basketball and football and play all 3. Ice Hockey... well, its too darn cold and if maybe I'd been introduced to it at a younger age... Soccer? Nah (even tho' I realize it is almost THE international sport). But, as a multi-sport guy, when the opportunity arrives to mix things up... have you ever tried to dribble a football? or played basketball in a pool? Lauderdale was on his way home and had no chance to beat the throw to the plate. He didn't beat the throw, but he sure decided to take the shortcut to the plate. Which (and you won't find this on any map) meant he had to go through the catcher. He almost made it. Almost...

Nice job Brian!

As a solid object the Vancouver catcher gave up some ground and ended up flat on his keester, but managed to hang on to the ball. To his credit. I mean it was, truly, a full blown, shoulder down, "I'm-on-my-way-and-you-ain't-stopping-me" collision. And the visiting Canuck catcher is not a big guy... lucky for him Brian is only 5'10 and 170 pounds.

So... here is the next gallery, from the series that ended Friday night with the Everett (WA) Aquasox, featuring another with those un-celebrated groundskeepers, Russ Eisenstein (the radio voice of Ems baseball on 1120 AM), beautiful women and handsome men, some Ems fans having a good time, an inflatable giant bat, Luis Durango airborne, another gorgeous Oregon sunset (which to me is when Civic Stadium is its most beeootiful)... and more!

Enjoy:

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.