Welcome to the American League, Houston!

Posted on April 18, 2013

Justin Maxwell #44 and Brandon Barnes #2 of the Houston Astros get ready in the dugout before the game against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at The O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos)

 

Yesterday afternoon was one of those April days that we are so lucky to have here in the Bay Area. I headed out to the Oakland Coliseum to shoot the Astros and A’s on assignment for MLB Photos early in the morning hoping to be able to shoot some batting practice. The A’s did not hit, but the Astros did with a morning breeze whipping about under sunny skies. While many parts of the country are dealing with torrential rain or snow there is no way I was going to complain about a little wind. Yup, day games like this are what makes shooting local hardball to much fun.

The visiting Astros were making their first trip to Oakland as members of the American League this week and yesterday was my first chance to shoot this young club in their brand-new uniforms. They have many different combinations of uniforms to wear both at home and on the road. Yesterday they broke out the bright orange tops, which made the pregame stuff I shot in their dugout really pop.

The Astros are not a very good team, but they have many good young players and they were super loose before the game. I enjoy it when young teams like this come to town because that means their dugout usually has a fun vibe to it, resulting in good pictures before the game. Yesterday was no exception as guys like Jose Altuve and Justin Maxwell enjoyed having their picture taken. I love shooting dugout candids before the first pitch. It rounds out my coverage of the game and makes my take so much more fun to edit at the end of a long day at the yard.

Of course the A’s have loved having a new rival in the American League West as they increased their record over the Astros to 6-0 in this young season with their win yesterday. The A’s are off to a great start and are alone atop their division with a 12-4 record. They have taken over where they left off last October, meaning this is really going to be a fun season in Oakland.

Yes I had a good time shooting baseball yesterday. I made a few pictures I liked and enjoyed the nice sunshine. I also semi-liked the Astros orange jerseys. You can’t beat fun at the ol’ ballpark!