The World Series champion Giants get their rings

Posted on April 11, 2013

Pablo Sandoval #48 of the San Francisco Giants shows off his 2012 Championship Ring during a pregame ceremony honoring the 2012 World Series champions before their game against the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park on April 7, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)

 

This past Sunday was a special day for the San Francisco Giants organization and their fans. The players would be receiving their 2012 World Series championship rings during a ceremony on the field before the game against the Cardinals. For the second time in three years the Giants would be getting Tiffany rings for being the best team in Major League Baseball. Who saw that coming a few years ago?

I was on assignment to shoot this game for MLB Photos, and for the first time in a million years I was allowed to be on the field to shoot a pre-game ceremony. I had to wear black so my large body would be less distracting on the field. Yeah right! Luckily Giants team photographer Andy Kuno was kind enough to be my guide on the diamond and show me the ropes. I was super conscious about trying not to block other photographers who had to shoot from the photo boxes, but I am afraid I still ruined everyone’s pictures. I am so sorry!

I am not exactly known for shooting pre-game ceremonies. My great friend and Chicago White Sox team photographer Ron Vesely is the king of this kind of stuff. There is a ton of pressure to move around the field quickly and try to capture some little moments on the field with a wide angle lens that you can’t shoot with a 400mm lens from far away. After trying to get a few decent frames during this ceremony that seemed to be over in 90 seconds I have a HUGE new found respect for all my buddies who do this every day.

The combination of the Giants wearing their special gold-trimmed uniforms and the cloudy skies overhead made for a great opportunity to get some good pictures during the festivities. When everything ended the team gathered at the pitcher’s mound to pose for a team picture showing off their rings (see above). That was a very cool and rare photo opportunity. I was so glad I was on the field and able to shoot it for MLB Photos.

There was still a game to shoot after the field was cleared, and although the Giants got drubbed by the Cardinals 14-3 it was the ring ceremony that everyone was talking about when they left the park. I shot so many fun pictures that day I stayed up past midnight editing and captioning my images for MLB. It was well worth it. A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a long-time Giants fan like myself. Who knows when this will ever happen again?