I confess I tire of baseball sometimes. The other day I nearly missed the first pitch because I was wrapped up in a French lesson. To be fair, it’s challenging to waste time on Facebook when it’s all in l’Francais,…
Author: olabner
Welcome! I've followed baseball since I was 8 years old and started this site to illustrate the beauty of the game in prose, poetry, and photography.
I have a Master's in Creative Writing at Missouri State University. For my thesis I wrote a collection of nonfiction micro essays about working in remote Alaska fishing lodges for five summers in my 20s.
After graduation I worked as a northern lights guide in Bettles, Alaska, for 8 months. You can find my favorite aurora photographs at bestnorthernlights.com
I am a freelance writer and photographer. You can find my portfolio at maryellenchiles.com
I picked up my very own press pass and, having forgotten a lanyard, bought one for ten bucks at the team store. So much for objectivity. But the only person I know from Midland, TX, is a former president, and…
The walls are bright blue and seem 20 feet high. I visit the concession stand and buy a cheeseburger and fries for $5.50. The cashier doubles, so to speak, as the catcher for the Villains. He redshirted at Fullerton (Ca.)…
I can look him up. He’s already given me his number. It’s on his jersey. I didn’t notice his expression until after I clicked through my camera to get rid of shots filled with clouds and foul poles, jersey buttons…
A child stood on the Springfield dugout, scanning the stands for a man dressed in a red and white striped shirt and stocking cap, though the temperature hovered in the 80s. The crowd pointed and shouted, trying to help the…
I asked for a press pass for this site, and I got it. (During the recent college season I represented the university.) When the Bears played at Hammons Field I sat where I wished. The local Cardinals affiliate, a Double-A…
After the final out I stood in the dugout and watched TCU celebrate, keeping an eye out for a 6-foot horned frog hopping around the field. Kool and the Gang blared over the PA system, reminding me of dancing at…
Hunter Steinmetz tied the game at 1 with a solo home run – – but that was the final run the Bears scored all year. Unfortunately for them, TCU added seven and will continue to play. I’m still such a…
“You don’t have a photo well?” I repeated. “Sometimes a photographer can shoot from the dugout if the team is used to you,” a sports information assistant repeated. “Wait, like that section by the dugout?” I said and waved my…