Len & Bob's baseball blog

One thing I think we all take for granted far too often is how lucky we are to have a great sports crew bringing us the games from Wrigley Field on WGN days. These guys are not only top-notch at what they do, but also share a passion for the Cubs that brings their work to an even higher level. Our cameramen rotate positions on a daily basis. Jim Tianis was kind enough to bring a camera along and give us an inside look at working atop with Wrigley Field scoreboard.

Working on top of the scoreboard at Wrigley is quite an experience. It is the highest vantage point in the ball park and really offers us some great angles in which to cover the game.

There are a few things that need to make the trip to the top of Wrigley Field; a handheld camera, a tripod, a connection cable, a safety harness and a backpack filled with some necessities...bottled water (for those really hot days), rain gear, sun block...basically you need to be ready for anything, because once you are up there you need to be prepared to be there for the whole game and perhaps extra innings.

Although amazing in design, the scoreboard was certainly not built to be convenient for cinematographers to haul broadcast television gear to its' rooftop. After making my way from the WGN production truck to the bleachers, I climb up the bleacher stairs to the the very top of the centerfield bleachers and there underneath the scoreboard is a ladder that leads to a trap door. After carefully carrying each piece of gear up the ladder and through the trap door one at a time, I close the trap door and continue my journey to the top.

Again, piece by piece I carry all of my gear up two more flights of stairs to what is the third level of the scoreboard. At that point only one more ladder and a trap door separate me from the top of the scoreboard. Once I make it top the top we have a few favorite spots that we like to shoot from, one is approximately just above the letter "E" in American, the other is all the way the far left edge of the scoreboard as viewed from home plate.

Both positions offer amazing views of the action inside of ball park as well as much of the Wrigleyville neighborhood. I think my favorite shot from the scoreboard would have to be following a pitched ball in to a batter and then following that batted ball (Home Run) all the way into a fans glove that happens to be waiting on Waveland or Sheffield.

People talk about how difficult it is to shoot golf, and it is, but in pro golf everyone knows when a golfer will be swinging, the basic trajectory, and in general where the ball is going. In baseball we have no idea. A batter might swing, might not swing, might hit a line drive down the right filed line, hit a towering fly ball down the left field line, or try to bunt for a hit...we have no idea what will happen, we just have know the situation, try to be ready for anything, and make sure we have the shot.

Because we are up there for hours at a time and see so much of the neighborhood as well as the ball park we really get to see some funny things as well. Once years ago on a home run that was hit onto Waveland there was a battle between some fans for the baseball, one of the fans involved was a U.S. mailman in uniform making his rounds. While carrying his mailbag he hopped a fence and fought off a few guys to get to the ball, it was such a great spontaneous shot because seconds earlier this federal employee had been hard at work delivering mail... but drop a home run ball in the street outside of Wrigley and anything can happen.

Like much of what we shoot at Wrigley, it was a cool moment that was captured only because unlike other ball parks around the country, the outside of Wrigley Field is visible to our cameras and plays a big part in our broadcasts. The late legendary WGN Cubs director Arne Harris used to say that WGN telecasts are different than others because we are the only ones that cover more than just the game. He would say that there are three stories going on at the same time! -the game itself, the drama in the dugout, and the fans in the stands and outside the ballpark. With the passion that the WGN Camera Crew has for baseball, the Cubs, and WGN, we will try to continue that same style of coverage today, tomorrow and hopefully leave a legacy for Cubs fans that will continue long after we are gone.

Jim Tianis

We're happy to say that we're not sure when Jim will be with us next. He is the proud father of a new baby boy over the weekend and we wish all the best to his family. Make sure you check out the attached photo gallery of scoreboard shots.

bob v