ASG2015/4

As a part of this year's All-Star Game on-field ceremonies, MLB honored the four greatest players from each franchise (as voted by the fans) for pre-game recognition.  MLB labeled the honorees as the "Franchise Four."  You can view all of the honorees by clicking here.  All we care about here are the Redlegs!

First up, the greatest catcher of all-time, Johnny Bench!

Next, the greatest Moeller High School shortstop of all-time, Barry Larkin!

Barry and JB shared a "special moment."

In the days after, there was some sports talk radio discussion about the inclusion of Barry Larkin over such luminaries as Frank Robinson, Edd Roush (OK, that was just me), Ted Kluszewski, Ernie Lombardi, Vada Pinson, George Wright (OK, that was just me again).  Since MLB drew the line at four, worthy nominees would necessarily be excluded.  Yet Larkin checks all the boxes which merit his inclusion:  MVP, World Series champion, National Baseball Hall of Famer, a Cincinnati native and a Cincinnati Red for the totality of his playing career.

Perhaps more significantly for the hometown fans, with the ageing of our Big Red Machine idols the torch of living-legend Redleg must by necessity soon be passed on.  The Larkin's and the Davis' and the Browning's and Rijo's and Griffey Junior's and Votto's and Bruce's and, yes by God, the Adam Dunn's will one day, perhaps all-too-soon, carry that mantle.  Time and tide waits for no man nor Cincinnati Red.

The most vivid and melancholy example was next up on the Great American Ball Park All-Star Game stage:

"Little Joe," Joe Morgan, the greatest second baseman of all-time!  Yes, I just typed that.  Joe has been beset with linger ailments and isn't as mobile as he was once.

All kidding aside, it took Joe a while to amble out to where JB and B Lark were waiting.  Joe's spirits haven't been outwardly dampened by his frailty.

Last to be honored, but by no means least, was you-know-who!

Pete!  Pete!  Pete!

Pete was greeted warmly by his former teammates (yes, including Larkin) and with thunderous acknowledgment from the fans:

What's that?!  Pete received a warm tepid embrace from Johnny Bench!

JB doesn't need sympathy from anybody.  He's the greatest catcher who ever lived, he's been a smashing success off the field for half a century and he has an out-sized ego surpassing those even of medieval kings.   Yet one can't feel a small bit of sympathy for the greatest Red of all-time (arguably; Frank Robinson must never be overlooked) who has always stood, at least partially, in the shadow of the hometown Pete Rose.  JB being eclipsed only in Cincinnati is a reality of Reds Country. 

Next in ASG2015;  More pre-game ceremonies.  Yes!  More!  [What year is this, now?]

Roll the credits!

ASG2015/3

Soon after team photos concluded, the sun came out, the dark clouds were swept away on a light breeze and blue skies abounded overhead.

The tarp was rolled away and players took to the infield for batting practice and fielding grounders.  There was Bryce Harper:

And wherever Bruce Harper was, the Cubs' Anthony Rizzo could be found nearby.  Rizzo must have a man-crush on Harper.

Rizzo was all over Harper's jock!  Speaking of Joc....

Home Run Derby runner-up Joc Pederson warmed up wearing his cap at a jaunty angle.

Pitchers headed to the outfield to shag fly balls during batting practice:

The Pirates' ill-temped Garrit Cole, the Giants' Madison "Mad Bum" Bumgarner and the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (three-time Cy Young awardee and 2014 N.L. MVP) made the long walk together (more or less).  As did the Cardinals' Michael Wacha and the Mets' Jacob deGrom (2014 N.L. Rookie of the Year):

Infield practice was dazzling:

Not that you could tell by watching these five National Leaguers.  Following batting practice for the Senior Circuit, the National League All-Stars were waved off the field to make way for the American Leaguers (boo!).

Bring it in, boys!

Max Scherzer stopped by the MLB Network desk to hit on speak to MLB Network eye candy journalist Heidi Watney (oh yeah, and Ken Rosenthal too):

A game of Musical Chairs ensued as, evidently, the MLBN production crew couldn't figure out where to seat Scherzer:

That matter settled, the Junior Circuit got down to infield business:

Meanwhile, back at the MLBN desk:

Cincinnati Red and 2015 Home Run Derby champ Todd Frazier was taking his turn in the barrel with Ms Watney.

The approach of game time suddenly felt real when the National League's starting catcher, the Giants' weak sister Buster Posey (2012 MVP), made his way out to the bullpen to begin warming up the NL's starting pitcher:

Somebody allowed Reds' broadcaster Thom Brennaman onto the field with a microphone and pre-game ceremonies were officially underway in a long, annoying and unnecessarily verbose manner.

Next in ASG2015; On-field ceremonies!

Roll the credits!

ASG2015/2

Team photos completed, but with the tarp still on the infield, players then began warming up.  The Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer (the 2013 A.L. Cy Young Award winner) started getting loose immediately:

Max threw two no-hitters in 2015, missing out on a Perfect Game when he hit a batter with 2 outs in the 9th inning.

For Lou and I, the star of pre-game warm ups was Aroldis Chapman:

In 2015, the 63 highest-velocity pitches thrown during Major League Baseball games were thrown by the Cuban Missile.  All of 'em.

One had to feel a sense of alarm for the guy warming up Chappy when the Missile, sufficiently lathered, cracked a diabolical grin as he made his final throws as if thinking to himself, Let's see if you can catch this 105 mph fastball!

Get out of the way!  Don't try to be a hero like Mr Heavy Artillery!

I shot only 1 video clip throughout the totality of ASG week and it was a 27-second clip of the Cuban Missile heating up.  You may view the Heavy Artillery Film Studios clip by clicking here.  Even with the crowd noise, music blaring and being some distance away you can still hear the baseball popping in the player's glove when he catches Chappy's throw.  Glad it wasn't me.  By that point I had enough ASG bruises, thank you.

Next in ASG2015; Other players warming up!  Contain your enthusiasm!

Roll the credits!

ASG2015/1

As reported before, the All-Star Game's week (Friday-Tuesday) of festivities went unscathed by inclement weather save for a brief, light shower during Sunday afternoon's Futures Game.  It was hot and humid most afternoons yet the city's baseball visitors were not inconvenienced by rain, wind or lightning.

That said, on our walk from the All-Star FanFest at the convention center to the ballpark on Tuesday afternoon for that evening's 86th All-Star Game, Lou and I encountered a bit of weather [intentional understatement].

Our plan, as executed, was to depart FanFest, drop off assorted items in our parked vehicle in a lot on Central Avenue (under cover of Fort Washington Way) and then make the five block walk to Great American Ball Park.  While replenishing fluids in our vehicle, with bright sunlight shining down upon River City, we heard ominous rumbles of thunder.  Looking west we then saw an oncoming storm of Biblical proportions.  Black skies, mountainous thunderheads.  Luckily for us, so we then thought, our walk from parking lot to ball yard could be made totally undercover of flyovers, overpasses and then - for the final leg - the city's Central Parking Garage save for about one block directly along the north side of Paul Brown Stadium on West Pete Rose Way.  Lou and I set off whereupon almost immediately entering the only unprotected section of our journey, the deluge hit with a vengeance befitting MLB's punishments of the Hit King himself.  That portion of West Peter Edward Way has no sidewalks but what it does have is a steep, rock-strewn ravine that slopes away from the street and down to a chain link fence around the perimeter of Paul Brown Stadium and - barely - under the cover of an overhead pedestrian plaza.  Lou and I, pelted by giant raindrops and buffeted by a gale-force wind, scrambled down the rocky ravine and plastered ourselves up against a massive pylon that supports the plaza.  There we remained, unmoving, for several minutes as the hurricane-like storm roared around us and through Cin City.  

Above you see the view from our vantage point at approximately 4pm.  My left shoulder is hard up against a towering concrete pylon, the wind and rain is blowing almost horizontally from left to right (west to east) and I'm peering up over the rocky ravine and across West Hit King Way to the north side of the street.  And did you see that?  Look again, through the gap in the shrubbery:

Two Young Urban Professionals were similarly caught in the downpour, across the street from where we were sheltered, but they had no evident overhead cover..... and the rain is so heavy that you can just barely make out their forms.

I turned my camera towards downtown to capture the scene:

Trust me, downtown Cincy is there.  Can you find the venerable old Central Trust Building?

There, inside the red box, about four blocks away.  And nearly completely obscured.  The Carew Tower?  No chance.

Once inside the ballpark, the rain had let up but the skies still threatened:

Worryingly, the tarp remained on the field:

Nevertheless, intensive photo taking commenced!

The field was wet, but players and members of the ground crew milled all around the tarp-covered infield.

Aroldis Chapman was, no surprise, a favorite target of our camera's lenses.

Certainly this most dominant of pitchers was primed and ready for play!

Is the Cuban Missile rubbing his shoulder?!  Ruh-roh!  Trade him before his shoulder blows up or he punches out car windows, fires off gunshots in his house and/or allegedly beats up his mamacita!

Here the Missile pleads his case.  Is that Reds media relations dude Rob Butcher at right?  [Correction:  No.  In fact this was not Butch, as was called to my attention by one of my sources deep within the Reds organization, but rather clubhouse manager Rick Stowe]  And is Rob Rick Stowe reaching for a 9mm tucked into his waistband?  What's up with these gangstas?! strange individuals who I'm somewhat unfamiliar with?!

Todd Frazier sails past, hoping to go unnoticed.

Frazier is, alas, spotted by Rob Butcher Rick Stowe.  Butch Rick Stowe, it turns out, was there to assist in corralling players for their National League team photo do God only knows what.

This gave us our first opportunity on All-Star Game day to photograph many of today's brightest stars:

Pittsburgh Pirates veteran pitcher AJ Burnett, in his last Major League season but his first All-Star Game, walks alongside Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.  Lou and I were, back in Donnie Baseball's playing days (1982-1995, all with the New York Yankees), big fans of his and we remain so today.  And Donnie Baseball, unlike today's players, knows how to wear a baseball uniform!

Say "fromage!"

The defending World Champion San Francisco Giants brought enough guys to field their own team.  Jerks!  In the background, Chicago Cubs youngsters Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo fangirl over Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, posing for a photo with the eventual 2015 NL MVP.  At right, the St Louis Cardinals also brought a flock of jerks.

Next in ASG2015; On-field warm ups.  Exciting!

Roll the credits!