CRYSTAL BALL

The oft talked about crystal ball that offers a glimpse into the future is a pretty concept (although I am not sure I would want to know what my future holds). One of my most treasured belongings is a different kind of crystal ball. It can't tell me the future, but this Waterford crystal baseball was given to me years ago by a very dear friend. The faceted baseball graces my coffee table, plays with the light and reminds me of my boys of summer, the New York Yankees.

A YEAR

I began this blog exactly a year ago with an entry called Another Season. Of course it was baseball themed and I am still particularly fond of that photo. It seems fitting that I close out the year with a baseball photo...literally. I spent yesterday touring the new Yankee Stadium and today touring the Mets new stadium, Citi Field. In a few short weeks the season will begin again and both teams will play in new ballparks on new grass. One of my favorite quotes is by the late A. Bartlett Giamatti, who was commissioner of baseball. "The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." Thanks for stopping by to look, thanks for all your comments too. This blog has been a good discipline for me. Frankly, I can't believe I posted daily for one year. Because of it I took pictures I might not have taken. I have learned a lot from the process. I am not jumping ship, just taking a breath and thinking about where the blog goes from here. I don't think I will be posting daily, but I will be posting.

SPRING TRAINING SQUIRREL

Like many of us, this plump little guy wonders how long until pitchers and catchers report. In Tampa, the New York Yankees pitchers and catchers report on February 13. I am willing to bet this guy is a Yankees fan. If he wants to remain in my backyard, he better be!

A SNEAK PEAK

I had a lot of mixed feelings today as I walked into the new Yankee Stadium for the first time. Of course I was curious about the new stadium but I felt guilty as I walked past the "original" Yankee Stadium en route to its replacement. I almost felt I was doing something wrong. I watched as the sod was installed on the Yankees' new field of dreams---about 90% is done and you can see where the rest will go, along the third baseline and left field. I walked around trying to take it all in as I imagined what it will be like to go to a game there, what kind of history will be made there. I decided since I documented my last visit to the original stadium, I had to document my first visit to the new stadium. My friend and colleague Charles took the photo!

A SAD GOODBYE

I was up at Yankee Stadium today. I know it will probably be the last time I am in the stadium that has been so much a part of my life and the team that my family has embraced for longer then I can remember. As I got ready to leave, I had to go out to the field and take it in for one last time. I took my camera with a super wide lens and tried to take a picture of myself on the field. A tv cameraman I know was on the field taping. All of a sudden he yelled to me and said let me take the picture. He was kind enough to come over and take the picture. I will miss this stadium. My parents courted here and even saw a 1943 World Series game, it was here my Dad took my brother to his first Yankees game (Mantle hit a homerun but my brother was inside getting a hot dog) and I saw my first game here too. The Yankees made history here, but lots of ordinary people made their own kind of history.

THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT

The House That Ruth Built looked alive and full of life tonight as night fell. This legendary stadium has been center stage for some of baseball's greatest moments. In less than a week the Yankees will play their last home game and Yankee Stadium's doors will close. Next year they will play in a new stadium across the street, but still in The Bronx. The current stadium holds so many memories for me. I have been here countless times and it will always have a special place in my heart.

CATHEDRAL OF BASEBALL

I admit it I am a diehard New York Yankees fan. I think it is genetic. Sixty five years ago one of my parents first dates was a 1943 New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals World Series game. If you were born into my family, it was predetermined that you were a New York Yankees fan. Anything else was not only unacceptable but heresy. Today as I looked up at the stadium's facade I thought of the countless times I have had made the trek to 161st Street and River Avenue to see the boys of summer play America's pastime. Today with storm clouds forming over the Bronx, my heart felt heavy because next year the Yankees will play in a new stadium. My only consolation is that the new stadium is right next door and thankfully the Bronx Bombers will remain in the Bronx.

ANOTHER SEASON

The off season for baseball is over. My off season is over too. Curiously, baseball ended when the Fall Classic did in October, almost precisely at the same time I stopped posting. As I see it we both experienced an off season. The 2008 Major League Baseball season officially began today in Japan where the Red Sox played the Oakland A's. But on a corner lot in the Bronx just a block or two away from Yankee Stadium three young men played baseball as a mural of Yankee legends looked on. The season ends, but the passion endures. That's how I feel about photography. I stopped posting for awhile, but I never stopped seeing. Baseball is back and my blog is too. I find a certain symmetry in that.