I have to say I was honored to be included in this year’s media day at Coca Cola Park and the opportunity to meet the 2011 Ironpig’s team. All this is still pretty new to me and I was a little reserved when I arrived at The Coke this afternoon. I do have a day job ending at 2:00pm each week day so it was a nice treat to have this planned for the afternoon.
The ballpark was like a beehive when I arrived. The overcast 62 degree day gave me a nice feeling of the summer ahead. Cleaning crews were wiping down seats, artists were painting new signs. All over were construction workers hanging or removing, building and refreshing. Ironpig employees were urgently moving about the concourse in preparation for tomorrow night’s exhibition game with the AA R-Phils. Also noticed that the old style clock, which disappeared during the 2010 season, has found renewed life in the place of the former All Star game countdown sign.
These 3 Not-so Little Piggies were in good spirits for the 2011 season! (L to R, Jeff Larish, Mike Zagurski, Brian Bass)
Myself with Ironpig's Manager Ryne Sandberg
Got to meet some good folks today as well. Some familiar names and got to put faces and handshakes together for the first time. Mike Keller of DiscoverLehighValley.com and Mike LoRe’ of the Express Times. Don’t forget to join in the Ironpig Chat session Wednesday night at 7:00pm. I’ll be there.. will you?
So altogether is was a great day. Many thanks go out to the Ironpig’s media department for including me in this fine day! Opening day is Thursday!!!
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Great job Dan ! I truly hope you are ready for the season ! I’m jealous that you were invited to media day. I’m really excited for Tuesday and Thursday !!
So, how does it feel to be considered ‘media’? Some people I know (who have blogs) are still waiting for that distinction…
I don’t know if the chat will still be going by the time I get on our PC (~8pm), but I’ll sure try to get there.
I believe it was a one time thing… but still very thankful for the opportunity!
Great job Dan. Still jealous that you got to go, but I’m soooo glad you did.
KUDOS to you Dan! Nice pictures and great job. Regardless of whether or not it was a one time event, savor the moment!
Speaking as an old journalist, I can tell you that P.R. flacks don’t really care what your medium is (print, broadcast, Internet, whatever) as long as you publish something about whatever they’re promoting. If you give ’em good coverage, they’ll keep the press releases and event invitations coming. Be sure to Tweet and Facebook your blog post, and try to get something cool that nobody else has — fun candid shot, striking environmental portrait, unexpected interview (a chat with the equipment manager would probably be interesting), clever quote, whatever — to attract readers and give them a reason to like your post, retweet it, etc. Print out the post and snail it to the media department for their clip file, too. People appreciate that.
Great information! Thank you! I owe you a beverage when you come out to visit us! OinK! 🙂
🙂 Message me if you want a little advice on interviewing. I’d love to see you one-up all the Chicago sportswriters who blamed Sandberg’s reticence for their own inability to cultivate a reluctant source.
DUDE—-YOU’RE A ROCK STAR
ROCK ON, BROTHER MAN!