Jul

29

Sights and Sounds from the ‘07 All-Star Game

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Games | 

I arrived at game time to the All-Star Game in Wareham. As I was driving in at about 5:30pm, the national anthem was being played and I was being directed by volunteers to park in one of the last few spots in the back of Wareham High School. I was reminded of the large Wareham crowds at the playoffs last season.

Make sure to watch the All-Star Game on NESN at 7pm on Monday night.

Here is a video of Dennis Raben’s Home Run:

And here is a video of the controversial call at the top-of-the 9th. It appears to be an infield fly but I did not hear it called by any of the umpires and I will watch NESN tomorrow out of curiosity to see if it was ever called. The fact that the ball was caught outside the infield does not matter as per the definition of the Infield Fly Rule:

Any fair fly ball that could have been caught by an infielder with ordinary effort is covered by the rule, regardless of where the ball was caught. [Wikipedia]

The East didn’t end up needing any extra runs, but Manager John Schiffner (Chatham) looks like he wanted some insurance:

Here are some of my favorite photos I shot from the game (click here for the complete set):

Pre-Game Helicopter Aaron Crow (Missouri) of Falmouth Matt Hague (Washington) of Falmouth and Kids Watching the Game East Division All-StarsKevin Hoef (Iowa) of Bourne Catches a Fly Ball Shane Peterson (Long Beach St.) of Hyannis Holds Dennis Raben (Miami) of Orleans Christian Friedrich (E. Kentucky) of Falmouth on the Mound The KsUnder Armour's PresenceDecorated Press BoxBehind Home PlateRefreshments Board Chris Hicks (Georgia Tech) of Wareham Shaking Hands Aaron Crow (Missouri) of Falmouth Wins the West MVP

Comments

4 Responses to “Sights and Sounds from the ‘07 All-Star Game”

  1. Greg on July 29th, 2007 8:01 am

    Andrew, great photos and video. Did anyone ever get a clear call on the 9th inning play at short-stop, which Andrew captures in video here? It appears to be an infield fly rule, which led to a double play that retired the side. But others in the stands were debating that call.

  2. CapeMan on July 30th, 2007 7:22 am

    What a day!! It has been mentioned more than once on these pages that the Wareham organization just “gets it” and boy did they shine on Saturday. I never saw a “white shirt” volunteer rest for a second. (The Under Armour white shirts read “All Star Committee Member” so I assume there were mostly from the Gatemen organization)…and the “blue shirt” volunteers that looked like mostly interns from Wareham among other also deserve plenty of credit. Here are my notes:

    1. I can’t think of a better place among the Cape League fields to hold such a large-scale event. Plenty of places to sit with the “stadium-like” feel. The space that they have behind the pressbox and along the third base side provides a perfect setting for the many tents, merchandise booths, walking room, inflatables, etc. If Under Armour remains a sponsor and the CCBL continues to welcome all of those sponsor tents, etc., it is hard for me to imagine that type of setup in many other locations.

    2. I really liked the 6:00pm start. It allowed for more time during the day to relax and probably allowed the Gatemen organization to have plenty of time in the morning.

    3. John Wylde should be the announcer for every All-Star Game.

    4. One disapointment….I know it is a long season and Spillane Field gets lots of use…. (The Baseball Factory HS Classic was the day before)…but I was a little disapointed in the playing surface condition. The outfield seemed fine the the infield looked worn; especially around home plate. This field is brand new this year correct?

    5. Maybe everyone at lunch before they came OR there were too many free hand-outs but you didn’t have to wait long for a hot-dog!!

    6. The Gatemen fed the scouts and volunteers…class act!! The large tent at the far end of that grass area had signs indicating Scouts and Volunteer Hospitality. I saw many a scout and blue shirt volunteer eating sandwiches, having Gataroade, etc. They were also running water out to parking attendents, 50/50 raffle folks, etc….I even saw a case of water get delivered to the scouts on the first base side.

    7. Did anyone notice that the backtop includes a “gate” that opens up for a television camera up on the “deck” of that pressbox? Should make for some great shots on the NESN broadcast tonight.

    8. Peter Gammons was on the field for about an hour and 1/2 during batting practice…was taking many pictures with players, etc.

    9. Under Armour certainly had a presense. Inflatables, signs..even the MVP Awards were named the Undeniable Player of the Game..an Under Armour phrase.

    10. Parking was handled with perfection. I didn’t hear one complaint throughout the crowd and traffic moved smoothly afterwards.

    11. The Coast Guard helicopter was terrific…maybe a little late…but brought chills to my back.

    12. Where is Luke Murton during the regular season? I wonder if that show of power helps his draft position next year? He hit one in the championship against YD last year at Spillane that went above the bullpen out in left…but over the bleachers???? Wow….

    13. Reese Havens might be the best player on the Cape…in my humble opinion. I was told at the game by a Gatemen staffer that he hit two homeruns last week against Wareham at Spillane Field….the 2nd of which went up and OVER the light tower in right field and as he explained…”was still rising” as it went over the light tower.

    14. Where were about 1/2 the teams under the merchandise tent. I only saw Wareham, Hyannis, Falmouth, YD and Chatham.

    15. They ran out of balls during the homerun contest because the kids “shagging” balls were throwing them to kids on the other side of the fence…very funny.

    Great time…great game….great day.

  3. Andrew on July 31st, 2007 7:57 am

    Great comments CapeMan… Here’s my quick response to some of them.

    1. Agree. Parking is tight at all the fields, but I think that Hyannis is probably the only other field that can really handle both all of the booths and the parking (infinite parking along Main St.). Bourne could also certainly handle the parking, but I don’t know where all the booths would go (maybe beyond the outfield fence and on the pavement?). We’ll see what Bourne does during the playoffs. Parking at Y-D last year was a bit tight, but they managed to squeeze a lot of cars in.

    2+3 Agree.

    4. I noticed that as well, but it was my first time in Wareham all season and I still think it’s better than last year.

    5. I was impressed too. They handled the hot dogs well by having a separate tent to get them from. It’s a good strategy. I think they do that every game.

    6. I noticed that water get delivered too. Greg and I were sitting right below the scouts.

    9-12, 14 Agree.

  4. CapeMan on July 31st, 2007 10:46 am

    Bourne would be tough for parking actually. That parking lot is about the size of the Wareham parking lot next. However, Wareham also has use of many other lots around the school campus that make all the difference in the world. Perhaps they could shuttle people in from other lots.

    Using the fields behind the outfield would be terrific. I think Wareham has set the standard for the space needed to host an All-Star game. Bourne deserves an All-Star game after putting together such a nice field…let’s just hope they can manage the logistics.

Leave a Reply