Play ball!
Baseball season is here, starting last night, with more games scheduled today. I am not, and never was, a huge baseball fan. During the regular season I’ve stated that watching baseball is like watching paint dry. But during the playoffs, there’s nothing more exciting. I do enjoy the challenge of photographing it.
Baseball photography requires patience and concentration. A good understanding of the game is important as well. Unlike football, basketball, and other sports with near-constant activity, baseball can be slow, explode in a moment, then quiet again. There aren’t as many chances to make interesting photos.
As a staff photographer for The National Sports Daily, working in the Chicago bureau during the short life of the publication, I was fortunate to work two major events involving the Chicago White Sox. The last game at “old” Comiskey Park in 1990, and the home opener of the “new” and current Comiskey Park in 1991. The first game in the stadium was Thursday, April 18th. A sold out crowd of 42,191 watched the Detroit Tigers obliterate the Sox, 16-0.
My boss, friend, and fellow photog, Barry Jarvinen, had moved to Washington D.C. to work at the newly-opened bureau. I would go it alone for this assignment. There was pressure, as my role was to capture as much of the festivities and game action as possible in a new stadium. It was not the typical “show up, get the action photos and get out for deadline” of most jobs.
This meant arriving early to get a “feel” for the new place. The photo shooting positions, what lenses might be used, etc. To do a good job one has to be prepared. So there we all were, Chicago area newspapers, television, etc, a loose mob walking around the infield, the photo bays, and dugouts.
Eventually, players began making their way from the clubhouse tunnel to the dugout to wait for batting and infield practice. These times can make for some cool moments as, early on, it’s just the players on hand, the gates for the public have not yet opened.
Bo Jackson was with the Sox at this time and he was a very hot commodity. When he came into the dugout and sat down the media pack immediately gravitated towards him. A semi-circle of approximately 15 of us bunched tight, standing on field level and making photos down into the dugout, documenting the loose atmosphere. I had a good position and was favoring a 35mm lens to allow for some context and getting more than one player in the frame.
Ozzie Guillen came around. Ozzie was the super star short stop for the Sox. A fan darling and a true character. Wild, fun, and unpredictable. Ozzie loved being in the limelight and he knew how to play those moments. But in this moment, everyone was interested in Bo Jackson, Ozzie was second fiddle, and my theory has always been this. Ozzie needed to take drastic measures to swing the attention back to him…so he did.
It happened in a flash. Figuratively and literally. Ozzie turned his back to us and dropped his pants for a millisecond to “shoot the moon”! The reaction from his teammates and those gathered around was a combination of laughter and shock. Bo Jackson and Ken Patterson sat smiling, bemused. Ozzie had gone out on a limb here. It was funny for us, but MLB might not find it so humorous. I got one frame because I was prepared, never taking the camera from my eye during all the goofing around.
Later, back at the office, I told Phil, an advertising sales rep, what had happened. “Nooooo, he probably had some kind of super thin undergarment on.” Phil was stunned when he saw the image.
What to do with a photo of a famous baseball player showing his bare ass? You sure can’t put it on the front page of the sports section the next day. You really can’t publish it anywhere. It became a “novelty shot” for me. Valuable but worthless. I’ve shown it around from time to time, sold a few copies, and did submit it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for a photo contest. Someone told me they saw it displayed there but I have doubts. “Look kids, there’s Ozzie’s ass.”
One person who did purchase a print from me was able to get both, Ozzie and Bo, to sign the print, and both signatures have been authenticated. When Rich presented it to Jackson, he said Bo’s reaction was something like “Oh my!”
I have two “versions” of the image. The original, and one where I have removed the bat from between Guillen’s legs. This blog has the edited version, Rich is holding the original version in the second photo.
I do not know who else got the moment that day. I have not seen, nor heard, of any other copies. I never heard any other examples. I am 99.9% certain I have the only frame.
The working title for this picture has always been “Ozzie’s Full Moon.”
