A while back I wrote a piece about the Unwritten Rules for visiting a Big League Clubhouse and semi-sorta promised to write about the Unwritten Rules for a Baseball Field Visit and while I don’t keep all my promises (I promised myself to lose 20 pounds before my high school reunion this summer and the way things are going, that’s going to require a chainsaw and a peg leg) I can actually keep
It's great fun to deal with the groundskeeper. As a commercial photographer, I was tasked several times with photographing corporate brass and other local celebrities at Kauffman Stadium. My favorite time was not long after Trevor Vance took over as Senior Director of Groundskeeping from Toma. We came up out of the visitors' dugout and as we stepped out onto the field, Vance told me, "Stay off the grass." That was going to make photographing the stuff-suited poobah on the pitcher's mound pretty tough, so I pleaded my case and Vance told me to make it quick. We did. Vance can put the fear in you. (I had easier conversations with Toma, who, post retirement, used to walk the outer road at the Sports Complex for exercise. I walked there too, but Toma walked counter-clockwise, while I went the other way.)
For some reason Vance and I got along and I think part of it was I showed up early to watch practice and appreciated having someone to talk with...but he didn't like me to stand on the grass either.
“… when managers actually watched games and reacted to what they saw happening on the field instead of following the recommendations of an intern in the analytics department.)”
I’d like to see a 7 game series between the two managing philosophies, for want of a better term.
Anyway, more good stuff I wish I’d have the chance to use. Thanks.
That used to be more common than it is now; you might see a power team like the Yankees play a speed team like the Cardinals in the World Series, but now analytics has taken over and to some degree, everybody is doing the same thing. A major league scout once told me teams used to drive Thunderbirds or Corvettes or Mustangs depending on their philosophy and now everybody is driving a Camry.
It's great fun to deal with the groundskeeper. As a commercial photographer, I was tasked several times with photographing corporate brass and other local celebrities at Kauffman Stadium. My favorite time was not long after Trevor Vance took over as Senior Director of Groundskeeping from Toma. We came up out of the visitors' dugout and as we stepped out onto the field, Vance told me, "Stay off the grass." That was going to make photographing the stuff-suited poobah on the pitcher's mound pretty tough, so I pleaded my case and Vance told me to make it quick. We did. Vance can put the fear in you. (I had easier conversations with Toma, who, post retirement, used to walk the outer road at the Sports Complex for exercise. I walked there too, but Toma walked counter-clockwise, while I went the other way.)
For some reason Vance and I got along and I think part of it was I showed up early to watch practice and appreciated having someone to talk with...but he didn't like me to stand on the grass either.
“… when managers actually watched games and reacted to what they saw happening on the field instead of following the recommendations of an intern in the analytics department.)”
I’d like to see a 7 game series between the two managing philosophies, for want of a better term.
Anyway, more good stuff I wish I’d have the chance to use. Thanks.
That used to be more common than it is now; you might see a power team like the Yankees play a speed team like the Cardinals in the World Series, but now analytics has taken over and to some degree, everybody is doing the same thing. A major league scout once told me teams used to drive Thunderbirds or Corvettes or Mustangs depending on their philosophy and now everybody is driving a Camry.
Pretty good metaphor.