Dino.

"Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino hits a walk off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, September 28, 2011 in Baltimore. The Orioles won 4-3, eliminating Boston from making the playoffs."
"Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino walks leaves the field after hitting an RBI walk off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, September 28, 2011 in Baltimore."

In 2009, on my last day as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles, Nolan Reimold hit an eleventh inning walk-off home run to give the Orioles a 5-4 win on the final game of the season. I remember that day perfectly. What better way to end a fantastic internship than a feel-good win to send me off?

Last Wednesday, nearly two years to the date of that last game in 2009, the Orioles again ended their season in dramatic, walk-off fashion, as Robert Andino hit a ninth inning walk-off RBI single to knock the Boston Red Sox out of the playoffs. 

I don’t want to sound old, but in all my years of playing, watching, and shooting baseball games, this is among the most memorable. The circumstances couldn’t have been scripted any better. The first shot here is Andino’s winning hit. The second is of him alone in the dugout after all the other players had cleared into the locker room. But for how much I’ll always remember that night as a whole, what happened in between these two moments is a complete blur to me. I always try to shoot without emotion, but in this case, that was just impossible. 

My celebration shots are garbage, to put it bluntly, but I was happy to capture this quieter moment in the midst of chaos. Dino has always been one of my favorites since I’ve been here. He’s not the biggest guy out there, but I’ve always loved his hustle. 

This last game’s “Thing I Learned:” It’s nights like this that make taking photos so enjoyable.