Miguel Sano - Third Base - Beloit Snappers - Minnesota Twins Number One Prospect 2012 (Baseball America)
I was at Fifth Third Ballpark on a cold November day in 2007 when this sign was unveiled. Five years later former Tiger, and Whitecap, Curtis Granderson is still honoring Brian Bluhm. Thank you Curtis…
Colin Kaline - Third Base - West Michigan Whitecaps - Grandson of Hall of Famer Al Kaline
Yesterday was the home opener for the West Michigan Whitecaps. It was a pretty, but very windy day at Fifth Third Ballpark. The Whitecaps won 4-0 over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. The new Whitecaps played well. Hopefully that will continue all season.
I didn’t get a ton of photos. A good portion of the ballpark is under a shadow as the game starts. Getting action shots in the shadows can be tricky. Hopefully I’ll get some better shots in the days ahead.
I’ve started my 2012 Whitecaps set on Flickr. Feel free to check it out periodically throughout the season.
Yesterday I spent my afternoon at Kobs Field in East Lansing, watching the MSU baseball team take on Michigan. It was the largest crowd ever at McLane Stadium. Unfortunately the guys in green and white lost to their rivals 4-3.
I had an amazing seat directly behind home plate. It was a beautiful day. The only bummer was the loss by the Spartans.
My MSU Baseball photo set is available on Flickr.
Yesterday I visited my summer home, Fifth Third Ballpark. There was an open workout featuring the 2012 West Michigan Whitecaps. The day started out wet and dreary, but ended up being sunny and nice. There’s some players returning from the 2011 team, as well as some new ones. The news media was there and their coverage was of the players with famous relatives. Names like Kaline, Avila, Leyland, and Lemon are associated with this team. This also means that I’ll have to explain this crap multiple times to casual fans whom I may encounter this season.
There’s also some new things at the ballpark as well. There’s new siding in the press/suite area. The Fifth Third logo has changed and that’s reflected throughout the ballpark. The sign by the big highway has been updated. Most importantly there’s a two new scoreboards. There’s a nifty new manual scoreboard. They also installed a massive new videoboard out in left center field. It’s big and pretty cool. Opening day is the ninth and it’s supposed to be cold. That doesn’t matter though, it’s just great to be there.
I got to see my first live baseball for 2012 yesterday at Michigan State University. It was also my very first MSU baseball game. It was a pretty cloudy day. The wind was really bad. The temperatures dropped as well. I only stayed for 5 innings because of those conditions and I was dressed for warmer temperatures.
Kobs Field is right on the campus of MSU. I got to see a little bit of the campus as well It was big and beautiful.
The Spartans won in the bottom of the ninth over Central Michigan, 6-5. I missed the walk-off win. Oh well. Very soon I’ll be heading back to see the Spartans take on their arch rival and nemesis, Michigan.
Go Green and Go White!
It was another beautiful winter/spring day with temperatures in the high 70s/low 80s. It’s amazing how buds are already coming out. It’s great to me because the awesomness of spring will be here soon. I love the blue skies, the green trees, and smell of fresh cut grass. Hopefully this great weather will crossover to the start of baseball season.
We’ve had some crazy weather the last couple of weeks here in West Michigan. We’ve had a snowstorm, hail, freezing rain, regular rain, thunder, lightening, etc.. Temperatures have fluctuated from the 20’s to the 40’s. According to the forecast that’s for this week, it’s supposed to hitting the 50’s.
It snowed yesterday and this cardinal posed for about 2 minutes for me. I haven’t taken a photo that was worthwhile in a long time. That’s going to change soon.
I just got my Survival Guide Wildcat record. The color of the vinyl is so gnarly! I love this band.
