2016 World Series: Game 5
Posted on October 31, 2016
Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Chicago Cubs enters the game in the seventh inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
We made it back to Cleveland today thanks to the Cubs thrilling 3-2 win over the Indian’s in last night’s Game 5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cubs were not ready to see their season end at the hands of the Tribe, and neither was I! I wanted to shoot more baseball, and thanks to Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman nailing down an eight-out save in dramatic fashion with his club clinging to a one run lead thousands of people will be making the short trip from Chicago to Cleveland over the next two days.
I photographed last night’s game from unique photo position, in the bleachers in the left field corner near the foul pole next to the FOX television camera operator. I shot with a Canon 800mm 5.6 lens so we could get a different look, since we also had MLB shooters on the field at first and third bases. Shooting from the outfield is always fun and different, but shooting from the outfield at Wrigley Field is especially nutty because the light there is so weird. Lights were not installed at Wrigley until 1988 and all the light banks are behind first base, home plate, and third base. There are no lights in the outfield facing towards home plate, so if you are shooting from out there like I was last night everything is backlit. This makes it difficult to see clearly and to focus. When you are shooting from the field in the normal camera wells you are shooting front lit with the lights at your back and they are bright and fabulous. From my spot last night? Not so much.
The best part of my position is the clean look you get at home plate where the background is nothing but bricks and fans. No advertising whatsoever to ruin your backgrounds. The pictures from out there have a timeless quality. They could have been shot anytime over the history of this magical ballpark. There were not many pictures for me out there last night, but the clean background at home plate came through for me when Cubs slugger Kris Bryant belted the game’s biggest hit, a home run in the bottom of the 4th inning to tie the game 1-1 and start a Cubs rally. The sequence of him hitting the ball and following through was just what I envisioned when I went out there an hour before first pitch. Take a look and see what I mean.
Fans stand outside Wrigley Field before the start of Game 5 of the 2016 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
David Ross #3 of the Chicago Cubs deflects a Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians pop-up as Anthony Rizzo #44 backs him up to catch it for the out in the second inning during Game 5 at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
David Ross #3 of the Chicago Cubs deflects a Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians pop-up as Anthony Rizzo #44 backs him up to catch it for the out in the second inning during Game 5 at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
David Ross #3 of the Chicago Cubs deflects a Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians pop-up as Anthony Rizzo #44 backs him up to catch it for the out in the second inning during Game 5 at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Anthony Rizzo #44 of the Chicago Cubs catches a Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians pop-up, after the ball is deflected by David Ross #3, for the out in the second inning during Game 5 at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs hits a home run in the fourth inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs hits a home run in the fourth inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs hits a home run in the fourth inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Fans cheer in the left field bleachers after Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs hits a home run in the fourth inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Anthony Rizzo #44 of the Chicago Cubs slides into second base after hitting a double in the fourth inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
A Chicago Cubs fan looks on in the ninth inning during Game 5 of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Aroldis Chapman #54 and Willson Contreras #40 of the Chicago Cubs celebrate defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Chicago Cubs fans Fly the W flag in the bleachers after the Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)
Our crew was only too happy to leave our hotel in Chicago this morning at 6am for a flight back here to Cleveland. We want more baseball and we will all have that opportunity tomorrow night when these two clubs square off in Game 6. I will once again be rooting for the Cubs to win so we can have a Game 7. There is nothing quite like a Game 7. If we get to a 7th game I don’t care who wins, as long as the pictures are great!
What Others Are Saying