The "Spring" Classic

I was fortunate to cover a few games of the World Baseball Classic in Miami this past week. It was an interesting experience, but not much different than covering an All Star game. One of the cooler things was that the fans were so much more vocal during the game, not just after a big play. There was a ton of Latin music being played in the stands by fans that brought their own instruments. There were at least 4 sections that had these impromptu bands playing around the stadium.

In my opinion shooting this type of game is more difficult because there is so much more to pay attention to. When a country's All Star pitcher is pitching to a different country's All Star hitter, they can both be equally important to be shooting, so you have to decide who to key in on all during every at bat.

I was happy to have a decent spot to shoot from which also helps in covering the game and not missing the action. For my first game I walked around and shot elevated for a little while which game me a nice angle on my first play at the plate. My next 2 games I was on a 3 foot riser outside of the 3rd base dugout, and I also got to shoot through the screen behind home plate for one inning during each game. In the Puerto Rico vs. USA game I ended up with a great angle on my second play at the plate which I really liked because no other photographer had the angle that I had.

When David Wright hit his game winning single he hit to the opposite field and watched the ball the whole time so I never saw his face, but I stayed on him and then he turned towards his teammates which made for a nice shot. Then the mobbing began and I just kept watching for Wright and stayed on him. I was happy with my coverage of the 3 games I shot and I thank USPresswire for giving me the opportunity. My next blog will probably show my favorite images from this Spring Training, thanks for reading.