Vladimir Guerrero is fun to photograph

Posted on October 5, 2009

Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim takes batting practice before the game against the Oakland Athletics at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California on July 12, 2008. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim made their third and final appearance in Oakland this season over the weekend, which meant I had another opportunity to shoot one of the funnest and most photogenic ballplayers in the game today: Vladimir Guerrero. Bad Vlad has been in the big leagues for many years and I had the chance to shoot him in his early days with the Montreal Expos before he came to the Angels.

Though his body has begun to wear down and he rarely plays in the field any more, over the years Vlad struck fear in pitchers with his menacing presence at the plate. His vicious cuts at the plate often make for nice pictures, as he swings at pitches at his feat and near his head, often times making great faces after he hits the ball.

Not only is Vlad great to shoot while at the plate, he is also so much fun to shoot before the game during batting practice, when he often times takes his swings without a helmet on, showing off his hair and his great face. Over the years he has gone through many types of haircuts, but I always think he looked best when he had long hair like he did in 2008 (see top photo). This great look always makes for nice informal portraits of Vlad around the batting cage, and in the dugout as he can always be found before a game spending some quiet time by himself holding a bat and thinking about the upcoming game. This is always a great time to photograph Vlad, especially when his teammates joke with him and he shows off his million dollar smile. This happened on Saturday as I was hanging around the dugout five minutes before the first pitch. Vlad had been by himself, looking very stoic, before teammate Erick Aybar started joking with him. That was when I knew I had a picture.

Because Vlad has played for the Angels the last several years I have had the chance to photograph him many times since his club comes up to the Bay Area to play the A’s three different times during the season, and every few years comes to San Francisco to play the Giants during interleague play. I also get to shoot him every March as he trains with his ballclub in Tempe, Arizona during spring training, where I have photographed him many times in recent years. The Angels Cactus League Park is the beautiful Tempe Diablo Stadium, one of my favorite parks to shoot in. It was the wonderful combination of Vlad and his home ballpark that came together one day a few years ago for a picture that says “spring training” to me (see below).

Luckily I get to shoot Vlad a few more times this season as I am heading down to Southern California this week to shoot Vlad’s Angels play host to the visiting Boston Red Sox in the first round of the American league Divisional Series. Who knows, if the Angels keep playing well I might get a chance to photograph Vlad getting soaked with beer in a World Series clubhouse in November, just like I did below.