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Game 5 of the World Series ended tonight with the St. Louis Cardinals pulling off a surprising home sweep over the Detroit Tigers. As in game 4, the score was close throughout, providing tension until the final out. Preparing for the ninth inning and the inevitable “jubo” on the field can be an interesting process. The opportunity to get the best picture usually happens in the span of about ten seconds after the final out. There was debate over what lens to use, who to key on…. I was planning on staying on Albert Pujols at the end because he is the star of the team. Another guy I was thinking of keying in on was either Scott Rolen or David Eckstein, because one of them was probably going to be the MVP. Then there is the pitcher and catcher jumping into each other’s arms that is usually quite nice. At the end, keying on Pujols right after the final out, it looked like he just lost his dog. He basically did a quick fist pump and ran to the mound. I immediately went back to the pitcher and catcher before they got together and ended up getting a pretty good frame of them. I must admit that at least from my angle, TV and security was not a big problem. So many times has a police officer just wandered in front of the photo well, blocking the moments on the
field.

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The on the field photos after the game provided some good moments as well, except for the fact that they didn’t bring the World Series trophy on the field, which was a shame. After the owner was presented with the trophy, it really seemed like he didn’t want anyone else to even touch. Usually the manager or star player lifts it up or runs around the field, but not this time. Players started trickling out from the clubhouse to celebrate with the fans after getting doused by champagne in the locker room. The typical photographer “scrum” broke out, with some pretty good moments. A Sporting News photographer went down over a bank of TV lights chasing starting pitcher Jeff Weaver. A Reuters photographer was literally saved from going down by Albert Pujols, who amazingly enough caught him by the sleeve, picked him up and asked if he was OK.

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Overall, the technology, editors and photographers performed at a usual high level; moving pictures in near real time. The moments on the field provided some telling, compelling images from a variety of angles captured by our photographers. The Cardinals staff and MLB did a great job of accommodating us and allowing us to showcase the Fall Classic in images.

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After a rain out the night before the fans and media came back to Busch Stadium on Thursday night for another try at getting game four on the books. With the weather cooperating a bit the game got underway at its normal time and boy was it ever a game.
After covering a few uneventful games, this one came as a blessing (kinda). As I wrote about before from an editing standpoint boring games are no fun to cover because there are no photos to send. The opposite is true about an exciting one, especially a game that comes down to the last innings where deadlines are tight. While photos from these games are awesome to look through, it can be stressful when five photographers are all shooting that awesome game, all have awesome photos of that game, and clients are waiting for those awesome photos.
Game four came down to a hit by David Eckstein of the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the eighth inning that scored Aaron Miles to take a one run lead over the Tigers. Photos from that play were what picture editors across the country were waiting for. Thanks to the miracles of modern technology we were able to provide the following two images and many others to our clients around the world minutes after they happened.

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ST LOUIS - OCTOBER 26: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after defeating the Detroit Tigers to take Game Four of the 2006 World Series on October 26, 2006 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals defeated the Tigers 5-4 to take a 3-1 series lead.

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ST LOUIS - OCTOBER 26: Curtis Granderson #28 of the Detroit Tigers dives and miss an RBI double hit by David Eckstein #22 in the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Four of the 2006 World Series on October 26, 2006 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

To see our MLB post season coverage thus far click here.

Cover Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Front page of the St. Louis Post Dispatch on October 24, 2006.

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Front page of the USA Today on October 24, 2006.

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As we arrived under a light drizzle and gray skies to Comerica Park four hours before first pitch, most of the talk was whether or not the weather would hold up for the game. Some people, including myself, reserved a flight on Tuesday in anticipation of a rain out. Luckily, the game went off on time and the rain only appeared for a brief period. The position I was shooting from today, was in the first level concourse under an overhang that covered me from the brief rain showers. The only thing this position didn’t protect me from was a constant breeze and the well meaning, but highly inebriated Detroit fans.
At one point, a group of about ten state troopers, sheriffs and other law enforcement officers standing below me, were doused from the second deck from what looked to be at least one full beer. Needless to say, they were not too pleased, and more than half went to look for the culprit.

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The Tigers took game two in a fairly close game. Former Oakland Athletic Kenny Rogers pitched like a man possessed (pine tar?) There were a couple of decent plays at second base, but for the most part, the story was Kenny Rogers. Our team as whole, as always, produced some very strong images that were sent out on our wire before anyone, because of the fact that the two field positions were wired directly to our editor’s positions, which eliminated the need for a photo runner. With deadlines being tight because of the late start time, having this technology is a definite advantage over our competitors.

Tomorrow, the team heads to St. Louis for games three, four and five. I have a feeling that neither of the two teams will go down without a fight. Strong pitching on both sides will probably lead to and tight series, and chances are, we will be heading back to Detroit at the end of the week.

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Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

The Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals began game 1 of the World Series tonight in Detroit. Having swept the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS, the well rested Tigers took on the St. Louis Cardinals who were coming off a gut wrenching seven game victory in the NLCS over the New York Mets. In a surprise victory, the Cardinals took 1-0 victory on the Tigers home turf. The top stories being the amazing Albert Pujols, who hit another home run and the previously unknow pitcher Anthony Reyes, who pitched into the ninth inning.

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Photographically, the game provided few opportunities for pictures…With every photo agency and newspaper carrying 5+ photographers, space was limited in the photo wells. I was shooting in the third base photo well with AP, Reuters, Sports Illustrated, EPA, Wire Image, Mickey Palmer and MLB Photos, plus an MLB film guy. With space as tight as it was, you were physically forced to shoot what the other photographers were shooting or you could be blocking the guy next to you. The challenge is to come up with an image that the person next to you doesn’t have, which is often difficult to do when you are shooting shoulder to shoulder. Having covered a total of ten World Series, this seemed to be the most tightly packed photo well yet. On top of security and the roving Fox camera man, covering the World Series has become more difficult than ever. But still, the job always seems to get done, and done well by Getty Images. Working with colleagues that we have, from the editors to the photographers never really seems like work.

The post game spread was great by World Series standards. Compared to the Yankees, which serves Bud and stale hot dogs, the Tigers, despite the loss, still rolled out the fresh shrimp and crab, and sliced roast beef that was delicious. The open bar for three hours after the game never hurts.

If experience counts for anything, I think we are in for a long series, possibly even seven games. Despite the long hours and hard work away from loved ones, that wouldn’t be a bad thing, considering what a great game baseball is, especially when in comes to October. Stay tuned!

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