Tag: baseball

Thanks Vin

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"Thanks Vin" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO800
 “Thanks Vin” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Hello, how’s it going?

The highlight of today was watching the Dodgers clinch the NL West title in Vin Scully’s last game at Dodger Stadium, with a walk-off homerun in extra innings. It was pretty amazing, and yet another storybook ending.

Like most people who grew up in Los Angeles, Vin Scully was a constant fixture in the summertime, his voice broadcast over the airwaves whenever the Dodgers played. I remember listening to him call games along with Jerry Doggett and Ross Porter, and then Don Drysdale. You could always count on Vin.

It’s hard to believe that he won’t be calling games next year. It is sad, but this graphic sums it up nicely:

dr-seuss

It’s funny that my kids love the Dodgers as much as I do, being that they were born here in Texas. Here’s a photo of us celebrating the Dodger win today:

"Dodger Fans" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/13 sec, ISO800
 “Dodger Fans” Cedar Park, 2016

I know next year will be strange since we won’t hear Vin any more, and the Dodgers won’t seem the same because of that. But I’m happy that he enriched our lives over all these years.

Thanks, Vin!

Changing Season

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"Swirling Clouds" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/10, 1/750 sec, ISO200
 “Swirling Clouds” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Did you know that it’s already Autumn? It’s been so hot lately that I thought it was still Summer! How time flies.

Today’s photo was taken this afternoon, looking straight up. There was a swirling cloud right above our house, and it was changing so rapidly that for a moment I wondered if it was the beginning of a tornado. 🌀 But no, thankfully it was not.

Today my sons and I watched the ceremony the Dodgers had to honor Vin Scully. It was great, and I had a tear in my eye a couple times. Scully has been announcing Dodger games for 67 years now, but this will be his final year. For so many people who grew up in Los Angeles, Vin’s voice was the soundtrack of Summer. He will be missed!

"Vin's Ceremony" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/10, 1/4 sec, ISO800
 “Vin’s Ceremony” Cedar Park, 2016

Have a great weekend!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Catching a Ballgame

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"Kids at the Game" Arlington, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/1250 sec, ISO200
 “Kids at the Game” Arlington, 2016

こんばんは！

Today we drove up to watch the Texas Rangers play the Oakland A’s in Arlington. It’s a bit of a drive to get up there from Austin but it was fun because all six of us (my family plus our friends Matt and Kumiko) drove up in my mini-van. 🚐

The weather was blazing at the park ☀, and the seats that I had bought were in full sun… it was way too hot and we only sat there for an inning before relocating to a shadier part of the park. In fact, the women didn’t even venture down to the seats in the sun! I don’t blame them. 😩

Must remember to only buy covered seats for the day games!

"Spectators" Arlington, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/640 sec, ISO800
 “Spectators” Arlington, 2016

We then found some other seats in the shade, and watched the rest of the ballgame. Too bad the Rangers lost, but it was still fun!

After the game, it was time to head over to Kula Sushi for dinner. That was a great experience! Kula Sushi is a kaiten-zushi, or conveyor belt serving style. But Kula takes it even further, because you can order anything on the menu via a tablet, and it will be prepared and sent to the table via another conveyor belt which is above the main belt. It’s very hi-tech! Loved it!

"Sushi Time" Carrollton, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
 “Sushi Time” Carrollton, 2016

Anyways, that is all for today. It was a long drive back home, and now it’s late. In fact, I need to cheat a little and set the posting time an hour back so that I can have a Sunday post. 😜

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Baseball in Miami

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"At the Marlins Game" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO1600
 “At the Marlins Game” Miami, 2016

Hello! How’s it going?

Today a few of us decided to catch a Marlins game while we had a free day. The Mets were in town visiting and we got some great seats on the right-field side. I had forgotten that Ichiro played for the Marlins, but when we got to our seats we noticed there were a lot of Japanese fans in the seats. Then I realized that we had the chance to see the great Ichiro!

Unfortunately he wasn’t in the lineup… All the Japanese fans were bummed, I’m sure. But happily, in the 8th inning Ichiro came up to bat as a pinch hitter. He ended up striking out, but it was cool to see him play at least a little bit. ⚾️

I’m happy I have gotten to see some great ballplayers during my lifetime. Besides Ichiro, I have seen Derek Jeter, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Piazza, Tony Gwynn, and Ozzie Smith among others. Hall-of-Famers!

It’s so fun to visit the different MLB stadiums around the country. This was the 7th MLB stadium I have been to, and I’ve been to 3 in Japan.

In the end, the Mets beat the Marlins 0-3 but we still had a fantastic time. I’m so glad we went!

"Baseball Panorama" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Baseball Panorama” Miami, 2016

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Note: This post was written on 8/1/2016

Cage Work

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"At the Cages" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/15 sec, ISO800
 “At the Cages” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！

Well, the weather is heating up around here. ☀️ I received an email from the electric company asking us to try not to use lots of energy between the hours of 2pm and 6pm. They recommend setting the thermostat to 80° F and not to use appliances. I guess setting the thermostat to use less energy is a good thing at all times, right?

Today’s photo is of my son Koa at the batting cages. This session, he did great, and was hitting the balls much better than last time. It was funny because the batting cage facility was crowded with high school girls practicing their softball batting. I think Koa was trying to concentrate more because of the female presence! He usually goofs around more, but tonight he was more serious and the results were that he was able to connect a lot more consistently. One of the softball coaches actually told Koa that he had a good swing!

For the photo I used a slower shutter speed of 1/15 second so I could show some of the motion instead of just freezing the action. The shutter clicked right after he hit the ball, and you can see the white streak of the ball shooting up towards center field.

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

おやすみなさい！ – B Barron Fujimoto