2010 World Series: Game 1

Posted on October 28, 2010

Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers pitches against the San Francisco Giants during Game One of the 2010 World Series at AT&T Park on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)

 

The 2010 World Series got under way tonight in San Francisco and I was thrilled to be on assignment for Major League Baseball Photos, who hired me to shoot the Fall Classic for them for the 11th year in a row. This year’s Series between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants began with the Giants taking Game 1 by a score of 11-7 on a beautiful night at AT&T Park. The Giants jewel of a ballpark must have looked great on television with all the boats in McCovey Cove and the fans packed with orange-clad fans.

This day started out very weird for me as I was able to drive my own car from my house to the ballpark for the World Series. I am so used to flying to the east coast and staying in hotels for over a week while our crew covers the Series. Being able to stay at home before we fly to Dallas on Friday morning is really nice, and bizarre at the same time. Last year Game 1 was at Yankee Stadium. That really felt like the World Series. The vibe at the park early this afternoon was very Bay Area laid back. No east coast tension. No one yelling at me. It was really nice. It was my home ballpark!

After shooting pre-game features outside the ballpark I settled into one of my favorite shooting positions at the corner of Third and King: High home. Our three-person crew of Rich Pilling, Ron Vesely and myself rotate positions every game and I was able to start the Series in a super-fun overhead position where I have shot from many times over the past decade. From this great spot with the television cameras directly behind home plate in the upper deck I can see everything. I rarely get blocked and am able to cover the entire field. With a beautiful emerald-green canvas sitting below me I was ready to go when Tim Lincecum threw the first pitch at 4:57pm.

After a shaky start Lincecum settled down, then the Giants bats took over and knocked Rangers ace lefty Cliff Lee out of the game in the 5th inning. The Giants scored six runs in that frame, highlighted by Juan Uribe’s three-run jack. The rest of the game involved some back-and-forth garbage time that ran the score to 11-7. As a Giants fan this game ended up with me in a good mood after the win, but a little disappointed at the lack of any real good pictures.

This was one of those games with no great plays on the bases. It was a game where most of the pictures were guys pitching and guys swinging the bat. Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez was the big offensive star, belting out three doubles and a single, but how many pictures of a guy swinging the bat can you use? When a guy like Sanchez has a big night it is always fun to try and get good images of him doing something offensively without a bat in his hands, so I was happy when he sped home and made a nice picture for me late in the game (see above).

There is much optimism in the Bay Area after this Game 1 win for the Giants. However, the Rangers are a real nice club with a likable group of guys who can really swing the bats, especially at their home park in Texas. Right now I am just looking forward to Game 2, when I will be back on the field trying to tell the story of the 2010 World Series. There is nowhere else I would rather be.