My first of the season...

April 8th, 2009 - Reds host the Mets.

I will preface things by giving you a little background to understand what I write about, and where I am coming from with things. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I would grow up working for the team that I loved and watched as a kid. My memories of Pete Rose and Johnny Bench,.. Eric Davis.. Chris Sabo.. They all are small in comparison to the memories I have made in this last short year with the Cincinnati Reds.


I remember the day I got the call to come and work for Scoreboard Operations. That night I was dressed in what I normally would have been,.. A pair of slacks.. A nice button up shirt and suspenders. They gave me a mobile headset so I could follow along with what the director was saying and watch it at the same time on the big board. I remember the feeling I got when I first stepped onto the hallowed ground at Great American,.. And how I was 5 years old all over again.


That was a great night for me.. And while I don’t remember who played, I remember long about the 4th inning when my friend Cliff Jenkins, who was running camera at first base, turned to me and said it’s my turn. I believe the first batter I got was Edwin Encarnacion... and from there I proved myself into the position and eventually spent the rest of the summer doing what I loved to do, while watching the team I loved to watch.


Now fast forward to April 8th, 2009.. Its two days out of opening day in which it rained and the Reds narrowly lost to the New York Mets. I have high anticipation for this game... not only because it’s my first time seeing the team in action since October of '08, but also because I know they are in excellent shape this season. The news guys can produce,.. The old guys are excited with a new found hunger.. And there’s just an elevated sense of excitement all over the park. Not to mention our totally new and redone scoreboard looks fierce!


I always park about 9 blocks away from the park and then ride my bike in. not only does it make Parking free, but it also gives me some exercise. I take the same route just about every time from Columbia parkway, usually riding the wrong way down a one way street so I can see what’s coming at me.. And ending up at fountain square before heading down to 2^nd street and taking it to the garage. Every summer aside from the vendors and ticket scalpers, you will see the typical street musicians and the homeless… and there’s one guy out there who is always playing a drum. As the season goes by, you get to know the regulars.. And they get to recognizing you. It was a great feeling when the guy who plays the drum saw me and called out “HEY MAN,.. WELCOME BACK”… yes,… baseball season has arrived for me.

I get into the tunnels and take the elevator up. Get my assignment, check things out and then get something to eat in the cafeteria before our usual crew meeting. I am third base tonight,.. The one place I like the least out of all the positions. Not because I don’t like what I am doing, but because it’s the away side.. And you have to deal with the away fans, and tonight.. Those are Mets fans. All the fans for the away teams are different,.. Some better than others, and I couldn’t remember how Mets fans really were, just that I know that in New York it’s probably a lot different than it is here.



In pre-game the game ball was being delivered by a parachute and he was supposed to land on a big target in center field. When I heard this I thought “This will not go well”, and it didn’t.. He ended up landing.. Or rather crashing between second and first base, but got up smiling before placing the ball on the mound. The Mets players got a big kick out of it.. And so did everyone else after finding out the guy was ok.

In addition to the scoreboard cameras, there are always fox sports cameras 98% of the time. You get to know the guys that run those cameras, and most of them always run the same ones. At third with me was Tom and I was surprised I actually remembered his name because I am horrible with names. We do our best to stay out of each others way because it can get tight on the camera platform… and you can help each other when a foul ball comes at you about 90mph and you’re stuck looking through a 5 or 6 inch viewfinder before you realize it.

And that’s one of the hard things about working the low cameras. Last season I suffered this in the form of a Jay Bruce foul ball which bounced up and caught right between my pinky and ring finger. It hurt pretty badly and to smart it off while I was writhing in pain one of the grounds crew guys ran over and stole the ball.

You’re probably saying “What do you care? You probably get all that stuff all the time and hang out with the players and stuff don’t you?” in a word… NO.

We aren’t allowed to fraternize with the players of either team. They are there to do their job, and we are there to do our job. We rarely get an opportunity outside of sitting in the stands while not working to get any foul balls or anything, we aren’t even allowed to ask for autographs, and outside of getting a pat on the back from Aaron Harang while walking past him one day, and a really awkward experience with Ryan Freel,.. I have never spoken to, gotten an autograph from, or even touched one of the Cincinnati Reds.

So long about the 4^th inning Wednesday night, when Bruce shot a foul ball at me, and I recovered it and put it in my pocket, I was kind of annoyed that the usual cop who works the away dugout came over and made me give it to a kid… but it is what it is and its understandable.

All in all it was a great game and a great back and forth battle. Volquez had his slips here and there, the Mets got some lucky hits, the Reds battled back with their own stuff including a massive home run from Joey Votto. It was amazing seeing the new scoreboard light up like the 4^th of July… I would imagine that from the outside or across the river that the stadium probably looked like an erupting volcano with how red the scoreboard made everything. It was being bathed in fire.

Sadly though, this one didn’t belong to the Reds.. But they surely didn’t go down without a fight.

After the game I bagged up my camera, looked onto the field and smiled like I always do.. And made my way back up to the control room to sign out before making that bike ride back into downtown smiling.

And that’s the thing for me really,.. No matter how many times I step out onto that field before a game, I always feel like I am 5 years old all over again.