Friday Night Photos Play Ball! Edition

Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

It's spring and for me that means one thing, baseball. I'm a big fan and yesterday was opening day for the 2023 season so I'm a happy camper. The new season brings with it new rules to speed up the pace of the game. Pitchers are limited in how much time they take between pitches and batters are limited in how many times they can step out of the batters box during an at bat. I really like the changes. The game has a more consistent flow .
As the late, great Ernie Banks used to say, "let's play two". I'm down for that. So grab your glove, get to the ballpark, and root, root, root for the home team.

I shot these at a Padre vs Reds game a few years ago.

Putting the ball in play
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Out at third
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Drama at home plate
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Here comes the fastball
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Making contact
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Pick off attempt at first
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Petco Park home of the Padres
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couldn't find the link to the SNL skit, but found this ..

thanks for your fotos!

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Socialprogressive's picture

@QMS
I remember the Garrett Morris beisbol bit. Loved it. Also love the 30 year old Weekend Update clip from SNL. Some good stuff. My favorite was the Heidi Fleiss line.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

orlbucfan's picture

@QMS Those early skits were brilliant as well as the not-ready-for-Prime-Time krewe.
Smile

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Is that par for the course in San Diego?

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Socialprogressive's picture

@humphrey
Back when I took these the Padres were not that good so sparse crowds were not uncommon. It wasn't hard to get a good seat. These days the Padres are good and there's not a lot of empty seats.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

snoopydawg's picture

I started my baseball watching when I was 3 and my grandpa took me to see the Ogden A's and I’ve been an A's fan my whole life. But I was also a Giants fan and got to go watch them play each other in Oakland. $5 bought a bleachers seat in right field that was one of the best seats in the house imo. $5 for Bart and another for the game…can’t beat that.

I saw Tony Gwynn’s last at bat in SF and I was one of the first to stand up for his ovation!

We’ve had a little bit of snow…

A1461981-A27E-4144-88A7-E1EB60F0836E.jpeg
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2 days of some sun and then 2 more days of snow.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Socialprogressive's picture

@snoopydawg
You sure did get some snow! I bet Sam will love playing in it. We had two days of sun and warm temps on Mon and Tue followed by heavy rain and cool temps on wed and Thu.
I went to a few games at Candlestick Park and the Oakland county colosseum when I was a kid growing up in the bay area.
Tony Gwynn was one of the great ones. San Diego was lucky to have him for his whole career.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

snoopydawg's picture

@Socialprogressive

And all that snow was from last night through noon today. Heavy and wet and I’m not shoveling that crap. It’s melted already because it warmed up.

The cemetery is very saturated with water and Sam has a blast running through it. Water in any form and she’s in it.

Gwynn was one of the last pure players that’s for sure. Bonds ego got the better of him and he refused to play on Sunday even during the pennant race. Boo on him. And just once I’d like to have seen him lay down a bunt or try for a single. He’d rather strike out than do that tho! Boo again.

Enjoy the season. I might go watch the triple A team, but I think I’m done with pro.

Great shots too!

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Socialprogressive's picture

@snoopydawg
do it in San Diego. Petco Park has areas were dogs can bring their owners to sit and watch the game together. I bet Sam would love it.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

so thought I would share this little drama ..

We have a couple of Red Shouldered Hawks nesting in the woods.
Which is great to keep the rodent population down. But, their nest is just
above our compost gizmo. They get very upset when we go back there.
So I put up a small one in one of the raised beds closer to the house for now.
Leave them be. Watching them thru a spy glass to see when the peeps pop.

FN3A8041-1024x819.jpg

The crows, we call the sky police, love to chase the hawks. Between both of their
screaming and scwaking, it is a vivid battle. Saw the crows gathering leaves and sticks,
so I guess they are going to be neighbors?

cheers

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Socialprogressive's picture

@QMS
hawk at the nest. What a great opportunity to see the newborn grow. I see crows escorting hawks out of their nesting territory from time to time.

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4 users have voted.

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

dystopian's picture

@QMS great pic of the Red-shouldered Hawk QMS! Yeah they are inordinately loud around the nest... I always hope they don't nest too close. Ravens are bad too, much worse than Crows around the nest for noise. You will be so glad when those young fledge and leave! Wink

Have fun watching!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

how he modified his car..

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it goes fast, but the sound is slamming

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wonder if travelerxxx has heard of him?

no screeching birds in there Wink

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dystopian's picture

@QMS not an expert on these things... but would guess that is not a factory approved mod?

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5 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Socialprogressive's picture

@QMS
Hope it sounds as good as it looks.

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4 users have voted.

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

dystopian's picture

Hi all, Hey SP!

GREAT baseball pics SP! Action shots are hard to do. I can't imagine having something like 'burst mode' as a tool. We got one chance in the old days.

I don't follow the sport any more, but growing up in 60's saw virtually all the super stars of that era, saw Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays hit homers. Saw Koufax and Drysdale pitch. It was a great era, and fun. Bleachers were about a buck for kids. And yeah I have my high school varsity letter in baseball and basketball... a nice big Green and Gold BP, for Big Pine, (CA). LOL. Actually logged playing every position during league play. Only hit one offical league play home run but stole a lot of bases. The strikes and steroids ruined the pro game for me.

Two of my teammates there who were good friends, had a little brother we had to drag around all the time, he was such a pain. My friends were Bart and Buff Williams, the little PIA rugrat, Matt Williams, who you may have heard of.

Thanks for the great shots... I was never happy with my baseball pic attempts.

Just one quick pic
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Sunrise

Have good ones all!

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8 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Socialprogressive's picture

@dystopian
Very nice sunrise silhouette.
There's great stars from every era of the game. That's one of the things that make it great. I remember falling asleep on summer nights listening to Lon Simmons calling Giants games on the radio. Oh to be a kid again.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

@dystopian

What a sight the sunrise is. Nice for you, and vicariously us.

You must have been very fast to steal all those bases, the 'Clyde' of baseball ; ).

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I stalked a wild turkey to take a picture. The turkey kept walking around and stopping to pose for me with some object between us that made the photo op a miss. The bird had no concern about me. It was concerned about exercise, I think.
On the way back to my cottage rental, a hummingbird flew into my face, hitting my chin. It flew 3 ft. away, hovered, and I sort of backed away. I got too close to a nest I never saw.
I wanted no confrontation, since I only brought 2 Band Aids in my luggage.
Thanks for the great pics, friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

dystopian's picture

@on the cusp Turkey are gobbling now so the Toms are pretty bold. We can hear one up the hill but we could never sneak up on them here. Some places they are fairly human habituated and tamish. Wow the hummer encounter OtC! Were you wearing some hot red lipstick? Wink Not kidding, they will react to it. A red hat, artwork on a shirt, they ID red with nectar.

Are you over Austin way or ??? I am south central Edwards Plateau I guess you would call it. The locals here call it the hill country too. Some Austin folk often scoff, as if they are the only... The canyonlands definition is good as they extend all the way around the east to south edges of the Edwards Plateau, a canyon on each river drainage, which why it is so hilly and everything takes twice as long as it looks on a map. The Balcones Fault is the step from flatlands up onto plateau. There is a Nat. Wildlife Refuge over near Austin called Balcones Canyonlands I think supposed to be nice.

Have a great visit!

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5 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

@dystopian Wish to hell we could avoid Austin. Next time we come here, we are going to map out some way to get around it. We would rather add miles, even time, than to drive through it.
My camera is red! Good grief!
You are in gorgeous terrain. Lucky guy!
Last baseball game I attended, Nolan Ryan pitched for the Astros. A friend gave me a ticket.
I lost interest in it when Pete Rose was caught cheating.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Socialprogressive's picture

@on the cusp
Don't you just hate it when something gets in the way of a good shot? Hopefully you will get another chance for a photo op. I've never seen wild turkeys in San Diego county but I was talking with a friend the other day and he said he saw wild turkeys at a nearby county park. I need to check it out and see if they're still there.
Enjoy your time in the hill country.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

@Socialprogressive

Since I live in a no hunting area they are relatively tame and picking at the droppings from the bird feeder.

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Socialprogressive's picture

@humphrey
That's pretty neat.
Lately all I ever get are House Finch's and Lesser Goldfinch.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

Was when the Detroit Tigers we're hot ..

1968 I think it was ..s-l640.jpg.png

Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Denny McLain, Bill Freehand, Dick McAuliffe, Jim Northrup,
Gates Brown, Mickey Lolich and Norm Cash -- what a team!

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Socialprogressive's picture

@QMS
Lance Parrish behind the plate. Jack Morris, Dan Petry, and Milt wilcox on the mound. Backed up by Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell ,and Kirk Gibson in the field. They won 104 games that year and kicked the Padres butts in the world series.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

Great action shots! It’s wonderful to see how your still photos of birds and baseball players capture such a strong sense of action in a single frame. Depending on the game, they might even be more entertaining ; ).

My father cried then got angry, as if he was jilted by an unfaithful lover when the Dodgers left Brooklyn. His next love was with the NY Knicks. Walt Frasier (Clyde) was his favourite player, mine too.

Not a ball, but a sphere …

Enjoy the weekend all

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soryang's picture

@janis b My mom worked part time in the summer at Ebbets field as a receptionist. She knew Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and the other players. She loved the Brooklyn Dodgers. My uncle was crazy about them too. I think he moved to Vero Beach after he retired because even after the Dodgers moved to LA, I think they did spring training there. That's the story my cousins told me, if I remembered it correctly. I tried to verify that, but was unable to do so.

My mom died just before the movie 42 came out, unfortunately. After I saw the movie, I realized some of the reasons my mom was the woman that she was. I wish she could have seen the movie, but she saw it in real life.

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語必忠信 行必正直

janis b's picture

@soryang

since he told us he entered Ebbets Field over a wall on days he should have been at school ; ).

I was curious where the name Ebbets came from ...

Ebbets Field was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 to 1957. It was named after Charles Ebbets who started out as a ticket taker for the team and eventually became its owner. Ebbets began purchasing land in 1905, 1,200 parcels in total, before having enough land to construct a ballpark in 1912 that stood on one square block to include McKeever Place, Sullivan Place, Montgomery Street and Bedford Avenue. It was surrounding on all sides by homes and shops.
https://asliceofbrooklyn.com/memories-of-ebbets-field-in-brooklyn/

Thanks for the memory.

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soryang's picture

@janis b @janis b Thanks Janis! "McKeever place" I'll have to look into how that was named when I get a chance. I have a personal connection to that name as well.

(edit) great photos at the Ebbets link too!

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語必忠信 行必正直

janis b's picture

@soryang

that McKeever shared equally in the ownership of the Dodgers and the building of Ebbets Field.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_McKeever_(baseball_owner)

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soryang's picture

@janis b I had no idea. That was such a surprise. Thanks for the McKeever info. I wonder if my mom knew this. My dear childhood friend was a McKeever, but his father was a policeman in NYC. Believe or not his mother was a native American. I never heard how they got together, an improbable pair. Their family loomed so large in my mind from my childhood, the three beautiful daughters, and two strong sons. They were some of the nicest people I ever met.

I was trying to look him up recently and found out to my sorrow he had passed away a few years ago. I was pleased to know that he became a successful businessman. I saw two of his sisters and his son in a photo posted online at the memorial service. I will always think of him and their family fondly.

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語必忠信 行必正直

TheOtherMaven's picture

@soryang

Lots of Mohawk men went to the Big Apple to work on the high iron, they having culturally no fear of heights (almost the opposite). https://www.history.com/news/mohawk-skywalkers-ironworkers-new-york-skys...

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

soryang's picture

@TheOtherMaven Thanks for bringing out this interesting aspect of Native American history in NYC. I really wasn't able to imagine (my ignorance) how a native American came to be living in our suburban Long Island neighborhood. I was led to believe in grade school that the native Americans who originally inhabited our immediate area, hadn't been seen in a couple of hundred years. It was never really discussed how they came to be eliminated.

TheOtherMaven, you've really opened my eyes. I just found that there are two Native American reservations in Suffolk County as well, apparently not Mohawk. I used to go to Shinnecock Bay when I was a child to stay with my cousins. I knew it was an "Indian name," but had no idea, Native Americans still lived there, right off the bay.

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語必忠信 行必正直

@janis b

you have a good way with stills emulating movement

BTW, are you on the north or south Island?
Traveling around the world in search of radio stations.
Found a pretty good one in Christchurch.
RDU 98.5 FM

thanks!

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janis b's picture

@QMS

I'm in West Auckland on the North Island, 600 miles north of Christchurch.

I will check out the radio station, CC seems to have a lively music scene. I see that Jackson Browne will be performing this month, and Don McLean the following month.

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Socialprogressive's picture

@janis b
I've tried shooting smoke trails a few times. The results were horrible.
In the early 80s I use to work with a gentleman from Brooklyn. He never forgave them for moving west and refused to call them the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

@Socialprogressive

Your friend's response is very familiar.

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orlbucfan's picture

Great action shots, Sp. I love your pic, janis. That smoke curling up makes it look just like a painting. Smile I never got into baseball though I recognize some of those players' names. I like NFL football hence my username. I sure hope that rain/snow helps replenish the Great Salt Lake a little bit, snoopy. Anywho.....Rec'd!!

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Socialprogressive's picture

@orlbucfan
I used to watch the NFL all the time but lost interest in the game about 15 years ago. That was about the same time as my interest in photography kicked into high gear. Maybe that had something to do with it.

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When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

@orlbucfan

I remember years ago looking up what an 'orlbuc' fan is ; ).

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