Photomerge of Lansdowne Street from left field in Boston’s Fenway Park

Today begins the 2013 American League Division Series.

Posted on October 4th, 2013 under Other. Tags: baseball, boston, fenway park, nikon d7000, panorama, photomerge, photoshop, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Lansdowne Street panorama

SK Wyverns’ player rounds third, salutes the third base coach, and heads for home after hitting a home run

October begins, and with it comes the grand finale in most professional baseball leagues. My A’s are still alive and well in the major leagues. My KIA Tigers in Korea tanked it big time. They were contenders a week or two after I arrived in Gwangju, but have won very few games since. The SK Wyverns lost to the Lotte Giants the night I saw this game despite this home run.

The playoffs are set for the 2013 Korean Professional Baseball (KPB) postseason, and they will not include the Tigers, Giants, or Wyverns.

Posted on October 1st, 2013 under Korea. Tags: baseball, busan, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Rounding third and heading for home

Oakland A’s World Series Champion years

The 2013 Major League Baseball post-season spots are all locked up and the “experts” have all been proven wrong yet again. The Washington Nationals are not going to the World Series (or even the playoffs!). Nor are the Anaheim Angels or New York Yankees. Other big spending teams that came up short are the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays.

Nobody predicted that low-budget teams like the A’s and Pirates would make the playoffs, and yet here they are alive and well despite payrolls less than half many teams that didn’t make it to the postseason. The A’s payroll is less than a third of the Yankees or Dodgers even though the A’s have more wins than either of those teams. The A’s paid about half a million in player salaries per win while the Yankees forked over about $3 million for each victory. The Giants and Phillies won’t come close to winning half their games despite spending about $100 million more than the A’s or Pirates.

Let’s hope the Dodgers, Tigers, Red Sox, and other big spenders make a quick exit this post season.

Posted on September 27th, 2013 under Other. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, baseball, nikon d7000, Nikon TC-17E II 1.7x Teleconverter, o.co, oakland. Comments Off on 2013 MLB Expert Predictions

Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks at strike three from Javy Guerra of the Los Angeles Dodgers (4/12/12)

The odds are a bit better than 50/50 right now that this matchup of the Dodgers and Pirates, which I witnessed early in 2012 at Dodger Stadium, will also take place this 2013 postseason. Javy Guerra was the closer for the Dodgers at the time. Pedro Alvarez, the Pittsburgh batter who struck out on this pitch, has hit over 30 home runs this season (currently leading the National League) after hitting 30 last year.

Posted on September 15th, 2013 under Other. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, baseball, los angeles, nikon d7000. Comments Off on Dodgers vs. Pirates?

Wladimir Balentien hits a 3-run home run for the Yakult Swallows on June 22, 2013

Balentien rounds the bases in Hiroshima

Coco Meter for Balentien just prior to him tying Japan’s home run record

With 23 games to go in the Nippon Professional Baseball season, my Yakult Swallows have no hope of winning the title this year as they are dead last in the standings. However, there is still much excitement for the team as one of their players is almost a sure bet to set the single-season home run record for Japan. I went to two Swallows games this year, and they were both won by the Swallows thanks to the heroics of Wladimir Balentien.

When I saw them in Hiroshima, Balentien hit a home run with two runners on base. The Swallows beat the Carp 3-0 on that day. Yakult also won when I saw them in Tokyo in August, a day in which Balentien drew two walks, was hit by a pitch, and scored two runs in a 2-1 victory. (Unfortunately, the Swallows are 45-71-2 when I wasn’t in attendance; perhaps they should make sure I’m at all of the games.)

The “Coco Meter” projects 65 HRs for Balentien, which will best the prior record (co-held by Alex Cabrera, Tuffy Rhodes, and Sadaharu Oh) by 10 home runs. He currently has 54 home runs for the season.

Posted on September 10th, 2013 under Japan. Tags: baseball, hiroshima, Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600, yakult swallows. Comments Off on Wladimir Balentien – Home Run King?