A Sternwheel, a levee and Lexington

This place ain't so bad.

A simple and relaxing week to head into a crazy month of June.

Memorial Day for me was a lot different than in past years. No picnics, no food on the grill. Just a relaxing day to recover from a brief homestand. I just about finished season two of Parks and Recreation on Netflix. My roommate's girlfriend was here for the weekend and they cooked great chicken and rice for dinner.

I was told that there would be a homestand meeting Tuesday at 9:30, so that's when I showed up. To a mostly empty office. So I just went to the press box and began working on my Top 10 Plays from the previous homestand video. (Top Ten Link)

When I finished my Top Ten video, I began preparing videos for the next homestand. I came in early the next day to get try and finish everything that I needed to do. It was a good thing I came in early because my to do list grew once 10:00 came. I spent the morning shooting and editing a commercial for the Budweiser Party Deck. It was a Top Five Plays video playing off the Homestand Top Ten videos. It turned out better than I expected, plus I got free food out of it. We shot one of our food and beverage guys flipping burgers on the grill. Somebody had to eat them.

"Wait, there's a bun underneath?"

About a half hour later as I began to edit the video, we went out to shoot one of our cooks making a new sandwich that we are going to serve at the park. It is called the Sternwheel to honor the old Charleston Wheelers team. I didn't think it was possible to fit so many things on one bun. This is the sandwich:

A bratwurst aligned with fries topped with coleslaw, pulled pork, jalapeños and Korean barbecue sauce.

It was incredibly good. Amazing.

Thursday was the day Jay, Mike and I traveled to Lexington, KY for a Lexington Legends game. We took the Power Street Team car to Lexington around noon to visit the Class-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

When we arrived in Lexington and finished eating at a pizza place downtown, we walked around for a little bit and came across a church turned antique shoppe.

The inside of this church
 turned antique shoppe

The people in Lexington were generous and showed us great hospitality. We arrived, got our media passes and got a tour of the ballpark that started in their video board control room. Lexington has two video boards instead of one. Their right field board shoots flames from the top.

Their board meeting room is a corner suite in the park and has a tablet that controls everything in the room from the fans to the TV to the lights. With our media passes, we decided to catch the game from a few different angles and that was definitely one of them. We started in the press box, went to

the suite, got food and stood at a couple different places and finished in the front row behind home plate. While we were watching the game from the suite, a foul ball actually went out of the stadium and ended up underneath our Street Team car. We ended the game where we started in the control room and said our thanks and goodbyes.

My media pass for the evening

On the field

Players from the Greenville Drive warm up
The Class-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox

From the press box and A/V control room

 

The board meeting room suite

From behind home plate

I had off Friday but still went to the stadium to get a couple extra things done. I had nothing else to do, so why not? I still find it weird calling this "work." In the evening, me and a few of my intern

friends went to Live on the Levee, a free outdoor concert open to the public every Friday night in the summer downtown. It was a great atmosphere with good music and a beautiful sunset. A great way to end the week.

This week and the ones that follow should be interesting. I have one scheduled "off day" during games in the month of June, our busiest month. This coming weekend is a road trip for the team, but we are hosting the high school state baseball tournament.

With the month of June around of the corner, May is almost done. I'm writing this on my half-birthday, May 30. The first month down here flew by and the last six months have gone by even faster. It's mind boggling to think that I've been out of school for over a month too. I'm happy to say that I have fully enjoyed the first month here.

West by God Virginia ain't so bad.

Because, why not?
Josh

The sunset from Live on the Levee

Hours May 23-30

5-24 Sunday: 12-8 (8)
5-25 Monday: Off - Memorial Day
5-26 Tuesday: 9:30-5 (7.5)
5-27 Wednesday: 9:30-4:30 (7)
5-28 Thursday: 9:15-12:45 (15.5) (Lexington trip)
5-29 Friday: 10-1 (3)
5-30 Saturday: Off

Total: 41

Families

I've learned a lot about myself in the past week. The week ended similarly to how it began and everything in-between was great. I have recapped my week in the past two blogs starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday. This week, I will start on Sunday and end on Sunday. 

I had an off day last Sunday because the team was on the road. Alex, the box office intern, picked me up in the early evening and we went to help our new friends Kelsey and Rachel, general interns, move in to their new apartment. After about three hours of moving, they cooked us dinner. I then went back to Alex's apartment and we helped his new roommate, Trip, move in. His name is George III, but he goes by Trip. He's a really cool guy and fits right in. 

After the long night, I slept in for the third day in a row and it was magnificent. We met up later Monday night at Kelsey and Rachel's apartment and watched a couple movies. Their apartment is in the downtown area, while Alex and I live closer to the ballpark. It was another nice night hanging out with new friends and getting to know each other. We were becoming our own little family, the five of us. Alex from the University of Louisville, Trip from Indiana University, Kelsey and Rachel from West Virginia University and Josh from Point Park University. 

After a pretty easy day at work on Tuesday which included a homestand meeting where the entire staff gets together and discusses the events for the upcoming homestand, we all got back together and went to a mall where one place had laser tag. When we got there, we learned that laser tag was only available on the weekends. Not on a Tuesday evening. Oops. We played in the arcade for a little while and went back to base to regroup. We decided to go see Pitch Perfect Two that evening at the local movie theater. It was a great way to send us all into a weekend homestand. 

We went our separate ways Wednesday night, or so we thought. I made some phone calls to my friends and family and then my roommate returned from the teams' road trip, only to tell me that we had to go to the stadium at 8:00 p.m. for a tarp pull ahead of an overnight storm. So we spent yet another evening with each other on what was to be our night off from each other. The tarp pull wasn't bad, especially with all the help from the additional general interns. (Unrelated: I cooked a Red Baron pizza in the oven two nights in a row for my dinner. No injuries or fires reported.)

Then came Thursday. 

The tarp-covered field as I arrived Thursday
underneath a gloomy Charleston sky.

Thursday began a four-game homestand. We received a good amount of rain overnight and it rained off and on all day Thursday. We took the tarp off in the afternoon for the Power's batting practice. After they were done, we put it right back on for more scattered showers. In the two hours from the time the tarp was put on the field to the time we removed it, the tarp was drenched. We took it off right before the gates opened at 6:00 and boy was I glad I had water shoes. I wish I had my GoPro strapped on for a POV shot of the tarp pull. I'll add that to my summer bucket list. 

Once the game started and I was in my usual spot in the dugout, I had to find a way to remove an inch of water from my spot so I could actually stand during the game without having to come up for a breathe every half inning. I didn't want to tread water, I wanted to watch baseball. It rained on and off during the game, as it had all day. There was no tarp pull after the game and our weather for the rest of the weekend was perfect.

Friday was a fairly normal game. The only thing that was different was where I stood for the game. Instead of standing in the dugout, I was behind home plate with my camera for the game and the post-game fireworks. 

It's still a great view from up above. Plus, I get a great show from the Toast Man. I stood here for Friday and Saturday's game. 

My family and girlfriend came to visit and see a game on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Their seats were in the front row behind the Power dugout. Oh, and it just so happened to be our biggest night of the year...Redneck Night.

Redneck Night was a headache. A fun headache, I guess. It was a long night, for sure. There was a pre and post game concert, free camo hats and a million redneck videos that I prepared. It was organized chaos. It was great to see my family standing on the other side of the gate. I used "filming crowd shots and camo hats" as an excuse to go see them as they walked in the park. Gates opened an hour earlier than usual for the concert, so I got to see them even more than I would on a normal night. They were able to come and stand around me during the game and take candids of me working the camera throughout the game (see below). Jake and Emily also brought me french fries and kettle corn to snack on during the game. The only thing I didn't have was a hoodie. Once the sun went down, it got pretty chilly pretty quickly. After the game, I filmed more concert footage and showed them my office in the press box area. They met Jay, my boss, and saw where I do my work from. I walked them out to their car and went back to work. I put together my highlight reels for WOWK and the video board and went home to sleep. 

Little did they know...

Shooting B-Roll of the Delmarva Shorebirds' (Baltimore Orioles Class-A affiliate) during batting practice. 

The free camo hat and a game-used ball from Redneck Night 

I woke up early on Sunday to go out to breakfast with Emily. We met at 7:30 and went to a very nice diner downtown for breakfast. Friday was our three-year anniversary and at the beginning of the summer, we didn't think we would have the chance to spend it or the weekend of it together. It was great to catch up and share a few laughs over bacon, eggs, pancakes and coffee for the morning. We met back up with my family and I took them around the city to do some sight-seeing. My boss was nice enough to allow me to come in at 12:00, just two hours before game time, so I could spend time with my family. We said our goodbyes and I went back to work. 

Sunday's game had me back in my normal spot in the dugout. The heat was as unforgiving as ever today and the game seemed to drag on and on. The team won three out of four games in the series and sent the fans home on a good note. I sent one little guy home on a very good note after I found a ball in the dugout before the game and gave it to him. He was able to get the ball signed by a few of the players as they walked to the dugout. That was a cool moment to watch. 

I stayed at the ballpark for a couple hours more than I normally would to do some extra work. I had nothing else going on at the apartment, so why not? I made an additional video and organized extra highlights from Redneck Night. 

I said at the top that I learned a lot about myself this week. I am finding that I am most productive at night when most of the people are already gone from the stadium and in the mornings when people are just arriving. I learned that I am smarter than an inflatable mascot. I figured out this week how to put Chuck up without him blowing over every fifteen minutes. I put him up and packed him up this weekend by myself and felt overly accomplished afterwards. I learned that my friends here and the people I work with really are

becoming a second family to me. I was told before I started working in baseball that it would happen. It's happening slowly and it's a great feeling to know you have a support system far away from home. I learned that I really miss being home for the summer. I didn't miss home too much up until this weekend. I'm looking forward to August. I also realized that while I'm almost a month into summer, my brother still has a few weeks left in school. That blows my mind.

I'm getting by just fine in West Virginia. This internship is definitely the hardest thing that I've had to do. I had someone at WTAE who worked with the Altoona Curve for a season tell me that if you can survive a season in the minors, you can make it anywhere. I can see where he was coming from and I hope he's right. 

The Power have consistently posted my videos and also shared them on their social media accounts. A GIF that I sent them received a lot of attention on Twitter this weekend and my highlight videos seem to be well received.

That time when @cotuck was all "Nah, I'm getting a base hit." pic.twitter.com/Da3Ai4gWXk

— West Virginia Power (@wv_power) May 23, 2015

 It is kind of cool seeing the players' parents like, favorite and retweet my videos with their sons in them. It's only a small part of my job, but definitely one of the most rewarding. 

One of my friends asked if I had been recognized yet for my videos. When he asked me, I answered with no and that I didn't expect to. Today, standing in the dugout, I heard from over my right shoulder, "hey, that's the guy that does the highlights." 

It literately gave me chills. I didn't turn around to see who it was right away, but eventually did turn around and see who said it. Besides seeing my family, that was the highlight of my week. Not so much because somebody recognized me, but because people are actually watching my work. People are willingly watching videos that I'm in and that I stayed late after the game to make. And I'm getting paid to do it. I love it. 

Here are the videos from the past week posted on the WVP YouTube page:

May 21 Power Minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO--IrACqHQ 

May 22 Power Minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERcoCLhtfYc

May 23 Power Minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-rW3r3Bl2U 

May 24 Power Minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa8w5cDAOmk

Adecco Den commercial that I directed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOc48zL-WiY

I don't know what this internship will lead to in the future. I do know that it has had its challenges and its great rewards up until this point. This week should be an easy one that includes a road trip and a couple days off. The past one began with my new WVP family and ended with my real family that has given up so much to allow me to do this.

It's a humbling experience and one that I am enjoying a lot more than I anticipated. 

Because, why not?
Josh

Hours May 17-23

5-17 Sunday: Off
5-18 Monday: Off
5-19 Tuesday: 10-5 (7)
5-20 Wednesday: 10-5 (7)
5-21 Thursday: 10-12 (14)
5-22 Friday: 11-12:15 (13.25)
5-23 Saturday: 11-12 (13)

Total: 54.25

Week Two

Before I started working in baseball, everyone that works or has worked in baseball told me that during the season, you loose track of the days really easily. I experienced that in full this week when I thought Tuesday was Sunday. While I may not always know what day of the week it is, I always know what game number in the homestand it is and the actual date. For example, May 11 was game six out of seven in the homestand.

Let's start there, at Monday. I wrote last week that I expected to have my first tarp pull during the week. I had my first tarp pull Monday.

The game was scheduled to start at 7:05. After the Power took batting practice, everyone on the staff from upper management to the broadcasters to the interns was in right field prepared to move the tarp onto the infield to protect it from the imminent storm. The full-time staff said that it was the most people for a tarp pull that they had in some time because of the interns.

The first tarp pull was not bad, especially with the bodies that we had.

Screenshot from the video with a player lifting weights

Because the players were off the field and in the clubhouse at this point, we grabbed a camera and headed down to get some footage, because why not?

We got footage of players lifting weights, running on machines and even the equipment manager washing their uniforms. We were trying to make a video showing the preparation that goes into a game.

Screenshot from the video of me getting my ankle taped

We wanted to get the athletic trainer taping a player's ankle. When one wasn't ready to get taped yet, I was volun-told to hop on the table and get taped up. So, needless to say, I hopped on the table and got my ankle taped up

Interns do a little bit of everything.



I was scheduled off for the game on Monday night. I left at 6:00 to go home and relax for a little bit. I still had to make the trip back to the ballpark after the game to put together my highlight packages. The game was delayed until 8:00 because of rain and didn't end until 10:30. I was surprisingly awake and energetic when I arrived back at the ballpark for the final out of the game. I put together my highlights and did some other work ahead of the early 10:35 a.m. start the next day. I couldn't get started editing however until I helped put the tarp back on the field ahead of an overnight storm.

This tarp pull was not as easy as the first. There were fewer bodies and the tarp was a lot messier. We got it done fairly painlessly and I left the stadium at 12:45. Reporting time the next morning was 8:00 a.m. for a tarp pull.

This tarp pull was the worst one yet. We got a good amount of rain from the night before and a lot of the staff was late that morning because of bridge construction. The fewest bodies yet for one of my tarp pulls. We removed the heavy, puddled tarp from the field and the preparation for the game was underway.

It was a "school day game" with the 10:35 a.m. start. Just under 3,500 students from area elementary and middle schools were in attendance. The hottest item for sale was not a cheeseburger or a baseball hat, but a vuvuzela horn. I was placed in my normal spot with a camera beside the dugout surrounded by kids with horns under the 80 degree sun for what would be one of the longest home games of the young season for the Power in their 10-3 win.

During the game, I had at least a dozen kids ask me to get an autograph from players. The kids made finding crowd shots in between innings easier, but also led to more of them yelling at me to put them on the video board.

Coaches from the Pirate's farm system will make their rounds to visit the different clubs. One of them, whose name and title I'm not sure of, came over and stood beside me in the dugout in the middle of the game. The conversation was mostly small talk and him predicting what was going to happen on the next pitch. Then, a kid came down and started asking for autographs for the third time that game and the first with the Pirate's coach standing beside me. His response sent the kid packing to not return the rest of the game. 

"Yo no hablo inglés," he said. 

After the kid left, he chuckled, looked at me and said, "hey, we're playing a game."

A screenshot from my "Top 10 Plays" highlight video from
the last homestand May 6-12:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dzOdrFVZE

He chuckled again and smiled for the first time that game. That was an entertaining moment. 

Perhaps the best moment for me during that game came before it even started. 

Cole Tucker once again came over to say hey before the starting lineups were introduced. He was given the game off for the morning game. He came over just as my Power Minute highlights began playing and he watched the highlights from the Monday night game. He didn't start watching until after my intro standup, and didn't realize it was me yet. He chuckled after he saw himself in the highlights just before I came back on the screen. When I did come back on the screen, he looked at me, back at the screen and said, "oh hey, that's you." 


It was also the first day that the Power posted my highlights to their social media accounts. I had a good chat with our social media manager and he now uploads my videos to the Power YouTube channel and then shares it on Twitter and Facebook. Here is a link to the first Power Minute that he posted: Power Minute aired May 12, highlighting the May 11 game.

I also create a 40 second version for WOWK 13 in Charleston. This is that :40 version from the May 12 game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjyUK87cBFg 

After Tuesday's game, a good majority of the staff went to broadcaster Adam Marco's house for the first post-homestand barbecue of the season complete with wings, corn on the cob and ribs. The food was fantastic and I had the chance to socialize with a lot of the staff including three new interns.

One is the box office intern from the University of Louisville and the other two are general interns from WVU. We had a great time and ended up going out to lunch the next day. I think these three are going to be good friends of mine at the end of this summer.

My last big project of the week was to create a Top Ten Plays highlight video from the past homestand. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dzOdrFVZE 

I have a relaxing weekend and start to the week next week before a weekend homestand. The San Francisco Giants are playing the Cincinnati Reds this weekend in Cincinnati. My boss, other intern and the executive vice president of the club are all Giants fans. They all went up to Cincinnati for the weekend for the series and so I was able to leave at 1:00 Friday for a nice half-day of work. I have Saturday and Sunday off, along with Monday. During weekends when the team is on the road, half of the office gets Friday off and the other half gets Monday off. Because I went in Friday, I get Monday off for a long weekend.

I ended Friday at the Charleston Town Center where I was the winner of a $10 Chilis gift card from an Instagram contest.

I started my Saturday with a spontaneous walk to the capitol building, about a 15-20 minute walk from my apartment. The State Capitol Campus is incredibly beautiful, peaceful and calm. Besides the river trail, this is my favorite place that I have found in Charleston so far. I walked around the Capitol Building that was surrounded by monuments, flowers and friendly squirrels. It was like I was in a different world and I went into tourist mode.

Above - The back of the capitol building with a fountain in the foreground.

Below - The front of the capitol with an Abe Lincoln statue in the foreground.

The steps were crawling with students taking prom pictures.

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Above - Part of the trail that wraps around the Capitol

Below - My first look at the Veterans' Memorial

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 Above are two pictures of the West Virginia Female Veterans’ Memorial, built in 2011.

This is the Booker T Washington monument located at the back
end of the Capitol Building

The campus was crawling with friendly squirrels. This one even let me crouch beside it and take its picture. It was very photogenic. I do apologize for the way the pictures are laid out, blogger doesn't like pictures very much. 

When I finished my roundtrip walk on the Capitol campus, I was reminded that you're never too far from a mountain in West Virginia, even in the city.

My roommate went on the road trip with the team and therefore I have the apartment to myself for the weekend. It's quiet, but it's nice having some alone time. The team returns Thursday for a four game series. I have this weekend to relax, catch up on my Netflix watch list and brainstorm new video ideas. I'll probably try and find new music to listen to during my editing days and new background music to put in videos.

Speaking of music, I was keeping track of the number of times I heard "County Roads" while I was here in West Virginia. I lost count this week at 10 or 11.

While I do miss home and I do miss Pittsburgh, West Virginia is slowly becoming a new home. I've settled in and adjusted well to my new surroundings and different people. I like it here in Charleston, country roads and all.

Because, why not?
Josh

Hours May 10-16

5-10 Sunday: 12-7 (7)
5-11 Monday: 10-6, 10:30p-12:45a (10.25)
5-12 Tuesday: 8-3:15 (7.25)
5-13 Wednesday: 10-5 (7)
5-14 Thursday: 10-5 (7)
5-15 Friday: 10-1 (5)
5-16 Saturday: OFF

Total: 43.5

Week One Done

My first week in West Virginia is in the books. I'm exhausted and have done more work in the past week than in any other week in recent memory. It was all very worth it and I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store.

I've met some great people down here and have made great first impressions. We haven't had to pull tarp yet because of the great weather that we've had over the past week, but I expect that to change.

I have had to do a number of different things already here. I've made multiple videos per day for the video board, acted as crowd control on multiple occasions and put up an inflatable mascot, among other things. It's crazy.

During games, I am usually placed in the dugout as a camera operator for the video board. I love standing in the dugout for the whole game, except for the fact that I can't sit down during the games. The usher in my section is very nice. He comes down and chats with me before each game. I want to stash a couple of baseballs down there and give them to a kid before a game sometime.

I have also worked the camera behind home plate. Same story for never sitting, but the usher there always makes sure that I have water. I can't say enough how nice the people are here.

Cole Tucker, the Pirates' number one draft pick in the 2014 draft is a really down to earth guy. The shortstop says hi to me before every game and today we had a good chat during an inning the team was in the field. Today he was a DH and didn't have to go in the field so he came over and chatted for an inning. He expects to stay with the team for the length of the season and actually has a friend that was a dance major at Point Park.

My biggest achievement so far is the Power Minute and the Power Highlights. They are highlight clips from the previous night's home games that I put together after the game. The downside to that is that I have to stay until almost midnight after games to get them done. The upside is that they are played on the video board during the pregame show. Also, WOWK 13 in Charleston, the CBS affiliate, is airing my Power Highlight segment on their morning and noon news broadcasts. I put together a 40 second version for WOWK and a 60 second version for the Power's pregame video board lineup.

I film stand-ups for an intro and outro on the field before the game. On Wednesday, my first time doing the stand-ups for a real game, Jerrick Suiter, a 2014 late-round draft pick, was tossing balls at me during batting practice as he worked the pitching machine. I saw the balls rolling past me, and when I turned around and caught him in the act, he started laughing and pointed at me. These guys have fun.

I put together highlight music video on the day of my first game here. I made it in the afternoon and it was played while the players were stretching on the field during pregame. Almost all of them stopped to watch most of the video. When they would see a play that they made in the video, they would laugh and poke fun at each other. It was really cool to see them watching the video I made in a couple hours before the game.

I also made a motivational rally video one day. The first night that we played it, we were trailing in the bottom of the ninth. The team all watched the video and went crazy at the end of it. We came back and won in walk-off fashion. It was incredible.

My roommate is really cool here. He's been really helpful and has made the transition easier on me. He is also the number-two broadcaster for the team. My co-intern is also really cool. He's a hard worker and good to be around. We make a good team. My boss, Jay is a character for sure. An interesting character.

During games, I'm typically at the ballpark from 9:45 a.m. until 11:45 p.m. I get paid minimum wage from 5:30 until 9:30. After the game, I put together my highlight package. Before the game, I make videos and do anything else that needs done around the ballpark.

This seven game home stand is five games in and it's exhausting. They do feed us dinner before the games though and lunch the next day for me is typically the last night's leftovers, so my food situation has been okay so far.

My apartment is very hot and has weak wifi. At least I'm not there too often. The area of Charleston that it's in is decent. It's a short walk to the ballpark and not a bad walk to get to the river and relax. Living in Pittsburgh definitely prepared me for walking everywhere I go.

I have had very little to no free time here. I am allowed to take an entire hour for lunch, but I usually just eat while I'm working. I don't like wasting time. Besides that, I haven't had many breaks. That's baseball for you.

It's one week in and I'm drained. There are only two games left until we get a breather and the team goes on the road.

I am enjoying it so far though and I'm starting to get the hang of everything. I'll post a few pictures of my first week here and my first 12 days of summer vacation. If you wish to send me mail, my address in Charleston is:

1427 Lewis St. Apt. 4
Charleston WV 25301

On a side note, I was just informed that I'll be going on a road trip with Jay and Mike in late may to Lexington, KY for a game to check out their production booth and see how they run things to get a different perspective of a game.

Below is a group of photos from my first week, one that was crazy for sure. A night game and a morning game start kick off this coming week before the team goes on the road for 7 days. For now, we continue to grind. There is rain in the forecast for this week, so expect a review on the tarp-pulling process next week.

Because, why not?
Josh
Sunday, May 10

The view from my desk

Filming my stand-ups on the field

The sunset from the river by my apartment

Editing my Power Highlight package

This is where the "Toast Man" sits

This is the "Toast Man"
Toast Man Article

My spot in the dugout

The giant inflatable mascot I put up every morning

Cole Tucker #2

Hours: May 3-9
5-2 Saturday: Move in day

5-3 Sunday: Explore City
5-4 Monday: 10-5 (7)
5-5 Tuesday: 10-5 (7)
5-6 Wednesday: 10a-11:30p (12.5)
5-7 Thursday: 10a-11:30p (12.5)
5-8 Friday: 10-6, 9:30-11:30 (10)
5-9 Saturday: 2p-12a (9.5)

Total: 48.5