Baseball in Oakland is always fun

Posted on April 7, 2014

Roenis Elias #29, Robinson Cano #22, and Hisashi Iwakuma #18 of the Seattle Mariners goof around in the dugout before the game against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum on Sunday, April 6, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

The 2014 baseball season opened last week. This was great news for ball fans all over the country, and especially great news for me. After having a fun few weeks shooting spring training last month in Arizona and a few boring weeks at home doing nothing, I was ready shoot some baseball again. The Oakland A’s opened the season at home while the San Francisco Giants opened up on the road. This mean plenty of nice day games for me to shoot at the Coliseum this past week. Thank God!

I shot an A’s day game last Wednesday against the Cleveland Indians, followed up by two day games over the weekend against the Seattle Mariners. The goofy rain that wreaked havoc on the schedule did not screw up any of our day games, so I was able to enjoy three nice afternoons at the Coliseum without having to worry about bringing rain gear or my plunger.

The beginning of a new baseball season is always so much fun, for so many reasons. Being able to get outside and work in our incredible Bay Area weather is always such a blessing. Seeing old friends at the ballpark, like television camera man Tom Atkins, PR folks Debbie Gallas and Bob Rose, A’s team physician Dr. Allan Pont, and security guards Raymond Bathke and Roy Tesconi is always a treat after a long winter break.

The games themselves were pretty uneventful for me picture-wise on the field, but I had a blast shooting pre-game stuff in the visitor’s dugout all three games, and batting practice on Saturday. It is always nice when I can come back home after a game and look at something other than guys swinging the bat or throwing the ball when I edit my take. Being able to look through dozens of frames of guys taking batting practice and screwing around in the dugout sure keeps me smiling well after the game when I am back home in my office editing in Photo Mechanic and playing with my cats Mike and Willie.

Sure I could show you hundreds of nice pictures I got of guys swinging the bat and throwing the ball, but that’s kinda boring. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite images from my games in Oakland.

This week I will be shooting several games in San Francisco, beginning with tomorrow’s home opener for the Giants against the Arizona Diamondbacks. I love opening day and can’t wait to get to the ballpark bright and early and see some of my friends at AT&T Park I haven’t seen since last year. I am so glad baseball is back!