James Venes

Here’s a nice, round number: 300

Not only is 300 a highly successful movie from earlier in the year, it’s also the final total of photos uploaded from the Triple-A All-Star Fiesta in Albuquerque last week, about a third of them coming from the game itself. Of the handful of games I’ve worked with media credentials, this is by far the most high-profile event of them all. It’s an experience and opportunity I’ll never forget.

The way things worked out with the assignment from scout.com, it really helped me place an emphasis on getting as many players accounted for as I could, though there were a couple I was unable to get. It was a lot easier to shoot most of the hitters because of the batting practice and infield drills they took. Many of the pitchers could only be shot during the game or around the dugouts. Anyhow, here are all four galleries:

7/9/07: Triple-A Home Run Derby

7/10/07: Triple-A Workout/Media Day

7/11/07: Triple-A All-Star Pregame

7/11/07: Triple-A All-Star Game, Pacific Coast League vs. International League

I hope you enjoy them. I sure did.

Being that baseball is a sport dominated by stats, here are a few pertinent ones of my own:

* 3 days

* 17 hours at the ballpark

* 5+ miles walked

* 90° or higher each day

* 1,250+ photos taken

That’s a quick and dirty recap of my time in and around Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, but it doesn’t even come close to telling the whole story.

Simply put, I had a blast.

Monday night’s home run derby was won by an ex-Isotopes player, Robert Stratton, who is now a local real estate agent. Think that might help drum up some extra business for him? He beat out the likes of Craig Brazell (in a slugoff after they finished the final round in a tie – basically, they did a repeat), John-Ford Griffin, Scott Seabol, Shelley Duncan, Mike Hessman, Valentino Pascucci and Mike Marshall. Yes, that Mike Marshall, the one-time Dodger.

He apparently hadn’t swung a bat in about ten years, yet he still went deep twice. He reacted like he won it all and had a great time in the process. That was fun, but in the end Stratton may have surprised everyone with the win. Then again, he took the crown in the 2003 Triple-A home run derby in Memphis so maybe this wasn’t such a shock.

Once night set in, a strong wind shifted to blow in from right field so left-handed hitters Griffin and Brazell had to change their approach and wound up belting most of their drives to left field. It worked pretty well for them. After Stratton launched three in his last round, Brazell made four quick outs before putting two over the wall to create some last-minute drama. His final swing had the distance but the ball sailed foul down the left field line and Stratton was the champ.

Tuesday was a batting practice/media day and Isotopes season ticket holders had the opportunity to get autographs from the players up on the concourse. Team photos were taken near the grassy hill in center field, dubbed the ‘Tope Slope. A few of us inspected the challenging twist and personally, I love it. Some people hate quirky things like that but I enjoy seeing things that are unique to a ballpark. It’d definitely take some getting used to, though.

After his round of batting practice ended, I caught up with the lone Sacramento River Cats representative, 1B Daric Barton, in the Oakland A’s system. My interview with him can be read here. It was the first one I’ve conducted with a professional athlete and he gave some excellent answers. That’s the best anyone can ask for.

Wednesday, of course, was what we were all there for: the game itself. The first few innings saw lots of scoring, with the International League on top 7-5 after just 4 innings. Hessman and Brandon Moss hit back-to-back homers in the top of the first to help stake the IL to a 4-0 lead, but local favorite Pascucci cut the deficit in half with a blast of his own in the bottom of the inning. Unexpectedly, neither team would score again the rest of the night after the 4th as the pitchers took over.

Timo Perez took home game MVP honors, while Manny Acosta and Pascucci were also recognized. I stuck around to pick up the end-of-game stats, listened to the managers being interviewed about the game, then it was back to the hotel to get ready to fly back home the next day.

The whole experience was great. I had the chance to meet people like Tony Perez and Andre Dawson, I got to see Steve Garvey and Tommy Lasorda toss out ceremonial first pitches and best of all, I was able to see a nice mixture of talent – ranging from a few players with more time in the majors than the minors, others who have had a brief appearance at the top, and some yet to make it to the big club – play in an entertaning game, and I came away with some pretty nice photos out of the whole thing. There are a few shots I’d have done a little differently, other things I would’ve focused on more than I did but that’s all part of getting used to doing things from this side, from down on the field.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that the game was played in a real gem of a ballpark. Albuquerque’s got a winner in Isotopes Park and their staff helped make everything run smoothly from my point of view.

On scout.com, you can see an initial gallery I put together Thursday night, and there will be more shots of all the players made available to each team site within the network for them to pull from. You’ll also be able to see the rest of my work here, starting with Monday night’s home run derby.

After the fun (and game), all I can say is I can’t wait for the next one.

Putting a few things together before my flight to Albuquerque tonight, I’m taking a moment to think about a word:

Opportunity.

Wednesday night the Albuquerque Isotopes play host to the 20th Triple-A All-Star Game and I’ll be there as a photographer for scout.com thanks to a couple people going to bat for me.

Over the last year I’ve had the opportunity to step up a little and work a few minor league games in San Jose and Stockton, and the experience alone is a thrill. As someone who loves baseball and photography, just being able to work a game and know I’m doing it because someone else thinks my work is worth it – that’s a good feeling.

A couple weeks ago, one of my friends and I found out at the last minute that we’d be working the Single-A All-Star Game in Stockton. That was a one day event and definitely a lot of fun.

Now, I’m about to spend a few days in New Mexico working the game featuring many of the top prospects in their last stop on the road to the Major Leagues. This game includes the likes of Daric Barton, Clint Barmes, Adam Jones, Delwyn Young, Mike Hessman, Shelley Duncan, Chad Harville, Jim Brower, Craig Brazell and Luis Rivas, people who have either had major league experience or are knocking on the door. Sometimes, as is the case with Matt Garza, a player is selected but winds up being summoned to the majors prior to the game. For some in Stockton, one of the first things they learned after the game was that they were being promoted to the next level.

In that sense, a minor league All-Star Game can be very different from the one at the major league level. It’s still an Event, it’s still big for the players, team and city hosting it, but it’s on a smaller scale and while it’s a highlight for a player, they’re not at the top of the mountain yet. There are over 150 minor league teams in the United States but outside each area, the amount of attention paid to them pales in comparison to the teams in the majors. Still, attendance has been on the upswing and minor league baseball gives fans a fun and inexpensive option, especially in areas that have no major league club.

It provides opportunities to players (obviously), but also members of the media. Not many people have the ability to do something like this. Even fewer ever get the chance to do it at the highest of professional levels. This will be a lot of fun for me, definitely the highlight of any sports photography I’ve done so far, but it’s not just fun and games. It’ll feel like it, though. Being able to enjoy a game from where I’ll be, there’s not a whole lot that compares to it. I’d like to think that if I’m still doing anything like this twenty years from now, I’ll feel the same way I do about it today.

Bring on the game!

On the technical side, I’ve been in the process of getting my own webspace together to host a blog and my photo galleries. While the gallery page, Last of the Ninth, is not yet up and running due to unexpected delays, the old galleries – ie: the stuff not yet moved over – can still be accessed here. Think of it as Last of the Ninth, version 1.0. The new and improved (but similar) version should be here soon, reachable from this blog or on its own.