The San Diego Padres future is bright and one of the brightest stars was shining extra bright yesterday afternoon as highly touted prospect Fernando Tatis Jr hit a game tying homerun in the 9th.

After the game everyone was waiting for a chance to get some autographs
... me myself I just like getting pictures.

In fact this was that homerun... which by the way was part of a back to back home run effort.
Anderlin just hit a 2 run homerun the at bat before and I was thinking to myself wouldn't it just be amazing if Tatis got another one to tie the game in the 9th... well, he did. I actually don't get a ton of shots of the batting because you take tons of pictures every at bat just waiting for the time they make contact and there's no gaurantee that they do. So as a photographer you kinda get tired of photographing batters.
Also the only way you know that was a homerun ball was because i told you. haha

The shot immediately afterwards is actually just as fun becuase the bat looks way cooler.

One of my favorite things to photograph is the home run celebration in the dugout.

I haven't been around him a ton but each time I see him he's always smiling and having fun.

Here was another at bat earlier in the game.

Here's Tatis and some of the other core group of the Padres that may lead to some big things for years to come. All of them are controllable assets for the Padres for many years to come. The two on the left are still rookies while the two on the right have contracts for 7 and 10 years.

Anyway those are some of the Tatis highlights...

Hopefully I get to be at a game where i can get some more Machado highlights.

THE OTHER PICTURES

Speaking machado and big contracts... he didn't play in the game but I had my first opportunity to photograph at the practice fields. Which btw aren't as easy to photograph at. Sure would be a lot easier with a press pass so I wouldn't have to shoot through a fence. haha

How they perform on the field is very important... but let's take a moment to appreciate how likeable some of these people are. Franmil Reyes seemed super cool and nice.

He just seemed like a happy camper to be there playing ball and that people wanted his autograph. There are dozens of players everywhere during spring training and I was somewhat surprised at how few get asked to sign autographs.

I was perhaps most impressed by the type of person Andy Greene seemed to be. I am no baseball scout or expert... I'm much better judge of personal character. I couldn't tell you if Andy is a great baseball manager. But I have a strong inclination to believe he's a rock solid individual and the type I'd probably most like being around. I didn't talk to him but I watched and listened to him talk to others and really appreciated the way he treated them and interacted with them.

And I think most of baseball or at least Padres fans know just how fun and happy Austin Hedges seems to be. Great smile... seems to be a happy personable person.

Gotta love the dugout shots. I wonder if the actual staff photographers take many of these... perhaps they're asked to keep them limited so that the players aren't always self-concious ... but hey I'm just a random fan. Though I must admit the net was pretty annoying to shoot through.

But I guess the shots still worked out ok even shooting through the net.

How many of these Padres can a padres fan recognize? I guess i'm not a super fan... I don't know the names of any of them. haha.... But i like the picture.

RUNNERS AND PITCHERS

The wind up is not necisarily a unique picture... but I still like them.

Running type plays are way more dynamic

It's kinda fun because the reality is that I'm not taking all that many pictures during the game even though i'm trying to push myself to think about what I could photograph... but I do end up getting pics of some of the more dynamic plays.

NEW FRIENDS

To my vendor friend that i've seen at both games... here's to you. May I see you at the next game. P.s. Probably friday night in Peoria

And to the Grandpa who chatted with me a while at the practice fields thanks for being downright pleasant to be around thanks.

Hope I get to see you again at another game this week... And say hi to Andy and tell him he seems like a great Human too.

See all my pictures here: https://www.jarviedigital.com/People/2019/Padres-vs-Diamondbacks/