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Saturday, June 03, 2006

Ballfield geometry


Safeco Field, Seattle

On the surface, there's nothing extraordinary about a couple of guys hosing down the field before a ballgame. Fans filing into the stadium at this time are typically focused on the players warming up. They're also concentrating on finding their seats and finding some food, generally not in that order.

But I noticed no one was watching the two guys with the hoses. I thought they painted an interesting picture from my admittedly high vantage point. The perfectly cut grass and finely sorted dirt made a perfect backdrop for these two workers and their shadows. The curving hose added an interesting counterpoint to the otherwise-linear geometry of the scene.

Colors, lines and shadows...isn't this an ideal way to kickstart a long-overdue visit to a ballpark?

Your turn: What images from a baseball field do it for you? Why are ballyards magical places for some?

19 comments:

  1. ho, hum...... maybe because i've never been inside one!?

    though i have spent some time travelling in america, i have never been to a game, and in the uk and turkey we don't play baseball.

    but i do like the imagery. the funny kits and the beautiful green.

    lovely fresh photo. and i love the unusual feeling of space it gives me.

    seattle appears to rock.

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  2. oops sorry here via michele again!

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  3. Carmi, YOU ROCK! for me it was sitting low enough that I could see the curve of the ball when the infielders were throwing warm up to each other. Seeing how they can make the ball move, blew me away!
    michel is a straight fastball type, I think, except for her curves, ifya knowwhat I mean.

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  4. You're talking to a guy who didn't understand the concept of 'keep your eye on the ball' until he was 26 years old.

    I'd also drive my dad nuts, when as a catcher, I failed to throw my mask off to try to field foul balls.

    Magic? It's the same reason I love the rink. "It's one of the few places and times we can act like little kids."

    I might have said this before, but I stick to that mantra.

    here via michele today, bro.
    p

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  5. Michele sent me, Carmi.

    Maybe I have some latent urges or something but to me it looks like that guy is peeing.

    I've not been to a pro baseball game yet this season, Carmi, though I've watched a number of them on tv. The best park I've seen a game in is the one in Phoenix but I suspect I'd love Camden Yards even more. I've never been there tho. For me, the magic is in the history--and even new parks can gather in that magic if they construct the park in a way that reflects the history of the game.

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  6. Food and drink are the images I like best. I'm not a sports fan. Been to a few baseball games, though, which I think are quite festive. I don't drink beer, except for at baseball games. If it's not warm and in a plastic cup, I probably wouldn't like it.

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  7. Carmi, are you sure you weren't in a helicopter or blimp when you took this? LOL You were really high up!

    I do not like baseball, so the only thing that would do it for me is the green of the grass and the blue of the sky.

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  8. The grass looks so green and healthy!!! Yet another great photo!
    Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I will definitely be popping around more often though!

    Michele sent me today.

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  9. I just love the atmosphere...and prefer being on the field, not watching!

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  10. EVERYTHING about being in a stadium is special to me. I try to see a baseball game in whatever city I happen to be visiting (often on business).

    Of course, my favorite place in the world is Yankee Stadium. I recently posted about how my son's dad did manage to get his ashes spread there...so I think about that every time a Yankee hits one out of the park now.

    Here via michele today, and always glad to visit.

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  11. Oh, and Utenzi/Dave? I thought it looked like he was peeing too!

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  12. Did you sing "Take me out to the Ballgame" at a 45 degree angle?

    It's a good thing a baseball isn't shaped like an equilateral equilangular convex polygon.

    heh

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  13. Michele sent me again, Carmi.

    I had another thought about the baseball topic, Carmi. I lived in Atlanta for a number of years including their historic worst-to-first season and the very best thing in baseball--as well as other stadium sports--is the chanting and "spirit" when a crowd of 30,000 people all want one thing and want it LOUDLY!

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  14. I don't mean to be nationalistic, at least in the sense of placing one profesional ball club above another (I am a fan of the Yankees), but there is something magical about being in Yankee stadium. It has nothing to do with the amenities either, they are far below standard, or the view of the field, there are seats where you cannot see everything, but, and I realize now that I am not going to be able to put my finger on it, the whole package stands out as remarkable. Maybe it is the idea of all of the great baseball moments that have happened there over the last century.

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  15. As a mom who sat in the bleachers for many years watching her boy play baseball, the field to me says...memories of days gone by! My little boy is now grown up and one day will hopefully have a child of his own and I hope to sit again in those bleachers and watch a youngster play ball again!

    Great picture, Michele sent me!

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  16. Hi Carmi!
    I love the patterns they make in the grass. Makes the nosebleed section a little less boring. Here via Michele as always.

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  17. Hi! Here from Michele's. Cool to see you are from Ottawa. I live in Winnipeg.

    Will bookmark your site. :)

    Come visit mine too.

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  18. another awesome pix... what kind of camera do you have? i'd love to know more about your photography talent!

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  19. I love the patterns mowed into the field. I like to mow my yard on the diagonal. If I had the cash to invest in a grass roller, I’d love to do the tiny checkerboard patterns followed with a border of large checks….but I’m a little too into lawn care--to the point that i've thought about submitting a video game.

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