Yankee Baseball from the Pit

Last week, I was on an assignment for (201) Magazine to photograph Jack Curry, commentator for the YES Network. Jack had made arrangements to do the shoot on the field at Yankee Stadium...and I couldn't think of a better place to set the context for the story.

Jack was so genuine and approachable. We worked together to get some shots of him talking to Joe Girardi, manager of the Yankees. Got some others of him around the field and in the Yankee's dugout.

The issue of (201) should be out in June. In the meantime, below are some shots I got of the game that night. The LA Angels were in town and with former Yankee, Hideki Matsui on the team, the Japanese press corp was also there to follow his every move.


I got to see how the pro sports photographers work. They shoot from either side of the dugout in a pit. The fence in front of the pit prevents foul balls from breaking their expensive lenses. And these things cost over $5,000 just for the glass!

In between the action, they scramble to a back room to upload their images and beat the other photogs standing next to them. I made the mistake of taking some shots from one of the photographer's "spots" while he was in back uploading. There seems to be some unwritten rule about where each shooter can stand. I'm sure it has to do with seniority or some other law of the land. Having just arrived from the other side of the field, I hadn't realized that he had occupied that place along the fence. He firmly explained that fact to me on his return but was pretty friendly after he realized that I wasn't trying to grab his turf. Like many things, the photographers around me seemed to take their situation for granted...guess that's part of being a seasoned professional.

It was great to be so close to the action.

Here are some warm up and game shots.