I knew yesterday would be a good day because, for one it was Mother’s Day and I was going to be doing what I absolutely loved on “my day” by covering the Nationals swinging pink bats to raise awareness for breast cancer research, and on the way there the display on my XM radio suddenly came back to life. I was a bit groggy from the rain-soaked late win the night before, but I pumped myself full of coffee before kissing my kids, thanking them for my adorable homemade cards, and heading to RFK (the coffee ultimately was probably a mistake). Same drill as before – links will open photos and overlay the page, so click freely! I think I need a production crew to help me out with post-game stuff! I’m late to the party after finishing and editing yesterday’s vodcast and uploading photos (which I had to label via the scoresheet three times because the upload failed and died – ugh!). [Full Photo Set]
I knew the players were doing something with their mothers on the field before the game, but didn’t have any idea what. Because of the late game the night before, neither team held batting practice and the number of folks on the field was sparse when I arrived. Whew, and there I thought I was running late and going to miss something! Jon Rauch’s mom and dad were the first parents to arrive on the field. The first thing I noticed were his mom’s very cool shoes! Both his parents were really friendly, and his mom actually told me the same story his dad told SBF about the minor league game they saw in Rauch’s early career. She said they watched the sun rise and the players were leaving footprints in the dew as they ran across the grass. Since SBF already told the story, I won’t repeat it in its entirety!
Bonus! Players’ mothers weren’t the only one getting a special field day with their sons before the game. Fathers, wives, brothers, and babies were all in attendance! Brian Schneider, Nick Johnson, and Jon Rauch all posed with their baby girls for a while. They looked totally relaxed and thrilled to be with their girls – no game faces there!
Ryan Church’s mom was so nervous about throwing out the first pitch! She threw it right to Church, so obviously was an old hand at tossing a ball and the moment was over quickly. I wonder if she got to keep the ball as a souvenir? What a cool day for that family! I really didn’t mean to leave out his dad being there when talking to Ryan and his mom! (I was totally focused on the mom thing – come back for Father’s Day!).
I covered most of the pre-game ceremony in the vodcast, so on to the game! Sideline reporter Debbi Taylor noticed that her prop pink bat had a heart on the end of it. We wondered if all bats were like that, but probably not ones with hollowed ends.
Going through yesterday’s lineup, I count seven players who swung pink bats (at least that I got photos of). I asked Nook Logan if he was prior to the game, and he said the order for his got messed up and so he didn’t end up getting one. That’s too bad!
Nats swinging hot pink bats: Felipe Lopez, Cristian Guzman, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Church, Austin Kearns, Robert Fick, and Jesus Flores. Ryan Langerhans and pitcher Jason Simontacchi were the only starters in the lineup not swinging pink bats, and I would imagine because Langerhans arrived too late to order any and Simontacchi was well, the pitcher!
A couple game notes:
Simontacchi again did that whirl and throw thing to pick off Dan Uggla at 2nd base for the third out in the 3rd inning. Very cool!
In the top of the 4th, Mike Jacobs struck out and his bat went sailing through the air and appeared on a direct trajectory to me. Kinda freaky! It landed in the dirt in front of me, but the distance has been as widely debated as the grassy knoll. I do have to say, it’s quite intimidating to see this thing coming at you!
Jon Rauch stood in for his first save opportunity since Cordero left to be by his grandmother’s side in her final moments. Jesus Colome and Saul Rivera did their parts before him. Rauch definitely held up his end of the closing deal! He walked one, but no harm was done as Uggla struck out on a foul tip (duh!) and was walking back to the dugout (with his own pink bat) as Flores chased down the ball that got away and threw to first.
So Woo! Three in a row to complete a series sweep of the Marlins as the Nats won 6-4 after a monster 2nd inning! Maybe I’m not as much of a bad luck charm as I thought because I’m two wins for twice in the photography pit. Heh! Now what could be better?
When I arrived home, I found some Mother’s Day joy spread all over the garage and sidewalk. Awww!
P.S. Now I’m not so fond of rain delays as it turns out someone did in fact outbid me on Church’s jersey when we went back into the stands. Oh well. I got a free ball with Nick Johnson’s autograph and a ton of fun out of it, so I can’t complain. I still need a new jersey, though!
P.P.S. I mentioned in the vodcast (you really should watch it!) that the players’ moms got to share in and enjoy a little fame of their own signing autographs (darn! I forgot to track down a package of those cards). Well, to whoever called out my name and waved to me, thank you! I had my own moment of feeling a little fame! Keep it coming!
I very proud to see you got the opportunity to take pictures on the field as real pro. Nice effort. Excellent Job. I am very happy for you.
Thanks, SBF! I was proud to have earned the opportunity :-) You know, I probably should have told the Churches I am “misschatter” and they might have known who I was, but I just said I have an “internet fan site”. Doh! I still need to work out a graceful introduction!
Hey, that was me who waved while I waited in vain for some autographs. Do you have press passes to all home games now? How do the player’s react? Ryan Church seems a little standoffish when you were talking to his mom.
Yeah, I like to say hi and thanks to the blogosphere when I can. You all offer great access and/or insight to the experience. You and SBF (whom I’ve met in a swing-by of 320)are the most recognizable because your pictures are in most of your posts. Chris and Basil, not so much.
Thanks, Mick! Were you successful getting any autographs?
No, not all games – only a handful. I don’t have full access either, so I haven’t had much of a chance to interact with players. I thought Church came off a little stand-offish in the video too, and I’m not sure why (and I have got to remember not to giggle so much with the camera rolling!). He was totally cool and agreed to be on video during spring training and knew who I was then. Maybe he didn’t recognize me this time as I was talking to his mom before he came over and he probably wouldn’t expect me to be credentialed so maybe that’s just how he is around media? I really don’t know. Logan’s really the only other one I’ve *briefly* talked to. I have mostly been trying to be a silent observer with the camera. I’m actually quite shy/paranoid of doing something wrong, so I don’t just go right out there like SBF! My knees were totally knocking just talking to Ms. Taylor and Church!
Thanks for sharing your photographs! They are wonderful. It was a great weekend for baseball in D.C.
Suz
Great posts and a great ‘cast from a wonderful Nats weekend.
One little technical point about Uggla’s K for the final out of Sunday’s game. His bat did not contact the ball, because if a ball is foul tipped and touches the ground it cannot be strike 3. It is just a foul ball. The commotion on the pitch was whether or not Uggla had actually swung at the pitch, and the hand gestures by the home plate umpire were to indicate that Uggla had swung at the pitch. Uggla had already begun walking toward the visitor’s dugout (he appeared to have been miffed at the first two strike calls), so once Flores picked up the ball he had to throw to first to record the out.
Ah, you’re right – I’m terribly overtired! After I wrote/said that, I had this nagging thought in my head that that couldn’t be right (because it would be a foul). Bah. Blame the lack of sleep!
Well, you did great. And I think saying you’re Miss Chatter will help. Sites like yours and Nats 320 are player-friendly, and direct lines to the fans. So they don’t need to be on their guard as much as they would around a beat reporter looking for a story, you know.
Yes. I did get Nick Johnson’s autograph. And some photographer caught me in my full starry-eyed fan-boy glory. Humiliating:
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=nationals&tcount=55&scount=24&gallery_id=684622&image_id=23
My son, on the other hand, is looking at him like:
“Hey Gimpy, stop signing autographs and go take some ground balls, would you?”
Ha! That’s a great photo!
Are you at any of the games this weekend? I’ll hook you up with one of those free t-shirts if you really really want one.
Aww thanks! I’ll be at Sunday’s game (in fact, arriving in grand style – but more on that afterwards!)
[...] stools directly in front of the MASN curtain. I waved hello to Debbi who seemed to remember me from Mother’s Day. The setup here differed from the radio booth. No rear counter existed. A large TV sat on the floor [...]
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