My First Press Pass: Dayton Dragons vs. Clinton LumberKings

Last night I reported live from Fifth Third Field in beautiful Dayton, Ohio, covering the Dayton Dragons game.  This was my first game that I’ve ever covered with an official press pass.  My emotions have been all over the place today.  I was too proud to ask my friend and editor Matt Sussman what to expect tonight as a member of the press, so I went in with a plethora of questions spiraling through my mind: 

• What should I wear? 
• How should I introduce myself to people? 
• Where do I go to pick up my press pass? 
• Where’s the press box? 
• Would it be uncouth to eat sunflower seeds there? 
• What if my cover is blown and I’m exposed for the hack of a writer that I really am? 
• What if I’m too nervous to blog in front of everyone? 

I’ve only been here for 15 minutes, and I’m already in love.  As soon as I arrived, I picked up my first ever media pass.  Since I write under a pseudonym, I brought every communication document that I had with the Dayton Dragons over the last several months, in case questions were asked.  To my surprise, the staff didn’t even ask for anything.  I don’t think it would be quite this easy with a major league franchise. With the media credentials in hand, I strutted to the gates like I had a pass to meet Bono.  I asked the ticket attendant if I was allowed in and gave a few of the straggling, waiting fans a nod, a nod that said “I’ve been there before.”

Before I went up to look for the pressroom, I watched a little batting practice, hoping to catch my first live glimpse of Jay Bruce.  Bruce, selected 12th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2005 first-year player draft, was one of my primary reasons for covering the game.  In an article written earlier this week by the Dayton Daily News’ Marc Katz, Katz felt that Reds’ general manager Wayne Krivsky felt comfortable about trading Kearns because of the talented Bruce.  Katz went on to say:

Both Kearns and Bruce were No. 1 draft choices by the Reds, and in their first two seasons (at about the same age), Bruce is off to a better start. Kearns hit 14 homers and had 62 RBIs in his first season-and-a-half. Bruce has 22 homers and 98 RBIs — 60 so far this year — with a month-and-a-half to play. Bruce also has 36 doubles for the Dragons, the same number Kearns hit at Rockford, Ill., in 1999.

I knew my mission was to get a report of this young stud.    Watching Bruce taking batting practice was like watching a young Andy Van Slyke.  Bruce sprayed the ball over the ballpark.  But more impressive than that performance was Bruce’s demeanor.  He appears to be a guy’s guy, laughing and joking around with his teammates.  When the team had to pick up after batting practice, Bruce was right there to lend a hand.  Bruce, only 19 and a millionaire, has not let his early successes go to his head.  Bruce is looking more and more like a guy that I can root for. I decided with only an hour and a half before the first pitch that I better make my way to the press box; especially if problems arise (i.e. I can’t find the press box).  It was easier to find than I thought.  After a quick detour through the party deck, I was in the secret, behind-the-scenes hallways that I’ve never been given access to before tonight. I was holding out hope all day that Katz was going to be covering tonight’s game, and there he was sitting alone in the room with his laptop. Katz was very pleasant and cordial to this nickel and dime writer.  I explained that I write for Blogcritics and that I was a big fan of his.  I told him after reading his article this week about Bruce that I had to cover him.  This led to a ten-minute conversation.  I thought my head was about to explode.  I’m sitting here talking to Marc F-ing Katz, getting insider information on the Reds.  He’s taking me into the mind of the Katz, and I was drooling over every word like a freshman girl talking to the star senior quarterback.After the game, Owen Serey, broadcaster for the Dayton Dragons, walked me back up from the locker room.  Serey, with Katz, took me down there and showed me the way.  I followed Katz around at first, as he interviewed Dragons’ manager Billy Gardner Jr., winning pitcher Fisher, catcher Craig Tatum, and leadoff hitter Habelito Hernandez.  I was amazed with Katz’s rapport with Gardner and the players.  I somehow managed to ask Gardner if Hernandez’s bunt was called from the dugout.  Gardner said that Hernandez did it on his own. Katz was just clutch the entire evening.  He continually asked if there was anyone in particular that I wanted to talk to. That set up my interview with Jay Bruce.  I thought Bruce was going to see through my “hack job” of a reporter right away, but he either missed it or was too nice to say anything.  He politely answered every question that I threw his way.  I asked Bruce if he felt pressure after the Reds traded Kearns away, potentially creating a spot for him in a year or so.  Bruce said, “I can’t look at it that way.  I have to continue to put up the numbers, play hard everyday.  I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t think about it, but the bottom line is that I still have to produce.”  I appreciated that honesty from Bruce.  A lot of times athletes will say that they don’t read the papers or listen to the radio at all, which seems like it would be a daunting task.I asked Bruce if he put pressure on himself.  He said, “No, I try to stay even keeled without getting too high or too low.  I try to stay mentally focused at all times.”      My final question for Bruce was which gaming system he preferred, Playstation or Xbox?  Bruce told me he has an Xbox 360 and usually plays it alone.  I asked him if he ever created himself in a game, and he told me he did in Tiger Woods Golf.  “I’m pretty good on the game but not in real life.”  He hasn’t been able to play himself yet on MLB 2K6 The Show, where he is on the Reds. I was in awe of the clubhouse.  It was just like the movies with players busting each others’ balls and cutting up on one another.  I saw a few more dingies than I had bargained for but that’s the price that I have to pay for VIP access.A little after ten o'clock, I’m was wrapping up my night here at Fifth Third Field.  It has been a whirlwind of a day.  This experience has been unimaginable.  I was fortunate enough to get my first press pass with a fine organization like the Dragons, where they’ve assisted me and welcomed me from the beginning.  If it wasn’t for the help of Katz, I don’t know if I would have had the guts to go to the locker room.  I know I probably wouldn’t have been bold enough to talk to Jay Bruce.  After an emotion-filled day, I feel like I was the one playing nine innings in this suffocating heat.  I know I’ll be able to sleep well tonight.

Article Author: M.D. Sandwasher

Blogcritics' M.D. Sandwasher moonlights as a freelance writer and is an avid lover of sports and music. He regularly contributes to Blogcritics and maintains his own blog.

Visit M.D. Sandwasher's author page — M.D. Sandwasher's Blog