Circus of Light

This summer I have the opportunity to work with the Florida Collegiate Summer League, a six team summer baseball league based in Orlando, FL. The league held its First Pitch Reception, an event where sponsors, coaches, staff, and supporters of the league get together before the start of the season. My favorite part of the evening was listening to Jeff Triplett, the mayor of Sanford, playfully gloat about how the Sanford River Rats won last year’s championship. Mayor Triplett is a funny, unpretentious man; you would never guess this person is a mayor because of his down to earth demeanor. He even touched on the Trayvon Martin story; when being interviewed about the story, he joked about how he wanted the cameraman to focus on the trophy the River Rats won, to show something good about the city of Sanford. Mayor Triplett seems to be the kind of politician a city would want: matter-of-fact, honest, and approachable. 

I’m excited about photographing for this league. I feel that this could be the start of something special, something that will help me grow as a photographer.

Florida Citrus Sports held its annual Member Celebration this past Monday. This year it was at the Orlando Science Center. At the event, FCS acknowledges members for their community work, and the new president of the non-profit organization is introduced to its members. Personally, I don’t think this organization or the Citrus Bowl gets enough credit for the amount of good work (and revenue) it does for Orlando and its surrounding community. I’m incredibly fortunate to work for this organization.

I’m a little late with this one considering baseball season has already started, so I’ll just say, excellent time, perfect way to end my Grapefruit League tour.

ticket: $8
parking: $6
hamburger and coke:
Egg McMuffin meal w/ OJ: $4.79
total miles (hotel in Ft. Pierce to Port St. Lucie to NSB) 158 

This is the second to last park I will visit in my Spring Training 2012 run. And it takes top honors. This was the best spring training experience by a long shot. Not only was it a beautiful day, good vibes were present from the start. Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL is a very friendly family park. Both the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals call this stadium home. On this particular day, I watched the Cardinals host the Mets. Players from both teams signed autographs for the fans throughout the day. You can also get really close to the players. Even Hall of Fame pitcher, Bob Gibson came out and signed baseballs for a few moments. What I liked most about this park was how the berm was mainly for children and their parents. There is a line near the bullpen wall that only kids 12 and under may cross. The players also signed autographs throughout the entire game. They wouldn’t do it while the game was in play, but between innings the players would turn around and sign memorabilia. 

And the ushers here are the best. They checked tickets and made sure people didn’t block the aisles, but they allowed me to move around and take photos. As long as you weren’t interfering with other fans’ enjoyment, they took a more casual approach to their job. It seemed like they relied on people to be smart and kind toward each other, and I never saw the crowd take advantage of their hospitality. I loves me some Cardinals spring training. Thanks, Jupiter!

As for the hotel, yikes, filthiest room I’ve ever stayed in. That’s what I get for choosing the cheapest hotel room I could find. 

ticket: $15
parking: $8
cheeseburger, fries, coke:
hotel: $50.18
Wendy’s bacon deluxe combo: $7.02
post game drinks/snacks: $5.20
total miles (NSB to Jupiter to hotel in Ft. Pierce): 224 

This became the last day of my Grapefruit League west coast tour. I originally planned to see the Yankees in Tampa, but I discovered that their game wasn’t until 7 pm and was sold out already. I still planned to go and get a ticket one way or another, but I checked out the schedule and saw that the Detroit Tigers were hosting the Atlanta Braves at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, FL during the day. I considered seeing two games in one day, but after the first one I wasn’t in the mood to go to another game. Also, Yankees games are kind of expensive, and after 5 games in 5 days my body is wearing down and I’m feeling a bit sick. It looks like I won’t be able to work in a Yankees or Twins game before spring training ends. I won’t be able to see a Marlins game either, but they play in the same stadium as the Cardinals so I will see where they play.

What I noticed most about this experience was the crowd. While the Phillies brings out the ladies, old people love the Tigers. Yes, lots of elderly come to spring training games, but so much more seemed to be here. The stadium’s handicapped parking is HUGE. It’s twice the size of regular parking (only half joking.) And it’s needed because the stadium was packed. One woman was celebrating her 100 year birthday, and I would bet she wasn’t the only centenarian here. 100 was probably the median age on this particular day. (kidding, but the average age of the crowd was closer to 100 than 50. Still kidding…) One plus was that there was more energy at this game than any of the ones I’ve seen. Usually the crowd at these spring training games are a bit sedate and nonchalant, but the people here were cheering loudly for the Tigers. 

This day would rank higher for me, but the ushers here a bit of a downer. They weren’t jerks about it, but they take their job too seriously. The ushers wouldn’t really allow people stand and wait for autographs before the game unless you had a seat near the wall. They were constantly telling me to move, not allowing me to stop to photograph. I understand the reasoning, but after some of the other ballparks I’ve been to, I found them annoying. This experience was middle of the pack. Perhaps a little below average.

ticket: $12
parking: $7
coke: $4
miles (round trip from St. Pete): 118 

One day after visiting the rundown ballpark of the Blue Jays, I traveled to Bright House Field, the spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Wow, what a huge difference between stadiums. Because these stadiums are so close to each other, when the Phillies and Blue Jays play each other, the opposing team just take batting practice at their home stadium. However, if I was a Phillie I would want to spend as much time at my own park and as little time in Dunedin. This is a beautifully modern stadium with a boardwalk (technically, it’s called a berm) around the outfield and a bar in the back. (It’s similar to the Rays park in Port Charlotte.) I love how you could watch both bullpens at the same time from the berm because they are right beside each other. And Brighthouse Stadium’s cheap seats are actually cheap! The one negative was that I didn’t see any players from either team signing autographs. It might have happened, but I just didn’t see it happening. I enjoyed Bradenton and Port Charlotte (a little bit) more, but Clearwater was a close third.

Oh, and I have to say that the Phillies attract the best looking women to their home games. And that totally makes me want to go to more Phillies games. Even the ball girls were Hooters girls. That’ll do, Clearwater, that’ll do. 

ticket: $13
parking: $10
coke: $3.50
miles (round trip from St. Pete): 37 

I visited Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin, FL to see the Toronto Blue Jays play the Philadelphia Phillies. Although Toronto plays in an older stadium, one without many of the amenities a lot of the other parks provide, it is one of the most expensive tickets around. Their cheap tickets on this particular day was $20 (since they were playing the Phillies,) but today’s game was sold out. I wasn’t going to be left outside the park, so I bit the bullet and bought a ticket from a scalper for twice its original price. Yikes, this day is starting off bad. 

I walk through the gates and discover that this is the worst stadium I’ve been to; it’s a bit dilapidated and rundown. It reminded me of the old spring training parks I visited in the past (like Tinker Field when the Twins played there) so that’s kind of charming, but it’s still a lousy place to play. And the home bullpen is hidden behind the outfield wall, so you can’t watch the Blue Jays pitchers warm up. It’s also too easy for the players to avoid their fans and their cries for autographs, but to their credit a bunch of Blue Jays’ players came out of their hiding hole and appeased their fans. 

One thing that happened that I hadn’t seen at any of the other parks was that the crowd actually sang the national anthems. Usually people just stay quiet while they’re being sung, but the crowd sang both “O Canada” and “The Star Spangled Banner” with the guest singer. That was a pleasant surprise. 

However, this was the worst spring training game I’ve experienced. Even without the scalped ticket I had to buy, for the price you have to pay (most expensive parking too,) this ballpark offers very little to their fans. And I’m sure the Blue Jays notice the stadiums where the other teams play and can’t help but compare. Dunedin, you are at the bottom of the standings. It’s not even close.

ticket: $40
parking: $10
coke: $3.50
miles (round trip from St. Pete): 48 

This is the start of six parks in six days. I begin in Bradenton, FL at McKechnie Field, spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the past 44 years. It was a beautiful day today, hot and sunny but with lots of clouds in the sky so the heat wasn’t punishing. I was really happy with what I shot on this particular day even though I didn’t get any good action shots. 

I really loved this experience. This stadium is one of the easiest places to take photographs. The bullpens are pretty close to where people are allowed to stand, and the players walk close enough to the wall so it’s easier to get their attention (to ask them for a ball or autograph.) It’s also one of the more enjoyable parks to visit. It has a backyard picnic vibe to it. And it’s not in some remote location like most of the stadiums I’ve visited. It made leaving a bit arduous at the end, but I liked how the stadium was in town. Yep, this beats out the Rays game. Best in show, Bradenton.  

ticket: $12
parking: $7
coke: $4
tolls: $1.50
miles (round trip from St. Pete): 53