The baseball off-season is a time for us baseball fans to reflect on the past season. Many will analyze team records and player statistics. During the off-season, I frequently look back at the moments I saw through my camera. From youth baseball to pros here are some my favorite photos from the 2013 season.
The thought of spring training is what gets me through the cold winter months. The Rochester Red Wings train at Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers, Florida, the spring training home of their parent club, Minnesota Twins.
Former Red Wings’ and current Minnesota Twins’ second baseman Brian Dozier, takes a few swings in one of the many batting cages at Hammond Stadium. Fans are able to get up close to their favorite players at spring training.
Early in the season, we saw that Red Wings’ infielder Eric Farris was going to provide a lot of excitement at Frontier Field for the 2013 season.
Frontier Field went through two historic transformations in 2013. The first one happened in May when the downtown ball park became the Field of Dreams. The PepsiMax Field of Dreams game saw baseball legends like Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson and Ozzie Smith, to name a few, take the field in a very special exhibition game.
Rochester’s Mr. Baseball, Joe Altobelli, emerges from the corn field in right field during pre-game introductions. The 81-year-old is a true living legend to Rochester baseball fans.
Boston Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez reacts to his first strike out of the PepsiMax Field of Dreams game.
The Red Wings got off to a terrible start in 2013 but by July, the team really began to heat up. This photo, taken on July 28th, of Chris Parmele, with the Kodak Tower looming in the background, became one of my favorite images of the year.
Rochester baseball fans saw some great future and former Major League talent come through on opposing teams. Freddy Garcia of the Norfolk Tides delivers a pitch against the Red Wings, with his distinctive wind-up.
Some of my favorite pictures have been captured away from the playing field. There are many different emotions that take place in the stands during a ball game. This young fan is desperately trying to get his baseball signed by the players. When I look at this photo, I see a child who is in awe of the players with a hint of intimidation.
During long Red Wings road trips, I found the need to keep shooting baseball. Along with shooting some youth games here and there, I also became interested in photographing a collegiate team called the Rochester Ridgemen of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. This league is funded in part by Major League Baseball and it serves, for these young ball players, as an opportunity to make the necessary adjustments in going from aluminum bats to wood bats in anticipation of a possible pro career.
Nothing beats capturing kids on the diamond having fun. They remind us that this game is a joy to play. When shooting kids playing baseball, I’m always looking for their care-free happy attitudes to show through.
James Beresford crushes several batting practice pitches out of Coca Cola Field in Buffalo, as the Wings start a run for the playoffs at the end of August.
Celebration returns to Frontier Field on September 2nd as Jermaine Mitchell gets the party started by hopping out of the dugout to join his teammates as the Red Wings clinch the wild card berth.
From hot summer nights at Frontier Field to the historic Frozen Frontier outdoor hockey festival in December, Frontier Field is transformed for the second time in 2013.
On December 13th, Rochester sports fans gladly filled Frontier Field, in the frigid cold, to cheer on the Rochester Americans as they beat the Lake Erie Monsters in an exciting 5-4 shootout, on the baseball diamond turned hockey rink.