First, if you haven’t read it yet, please check out Part 1 here. We briefly reveal this special ball in the first article. But most importantly we share much of the story behind the land, the people, the ballpark and the partnerships which this new logo and commemorative baseball represent.
Last week, a rare opportunity was presented to us at BigLeagueBaseballs / OfficialGameBalls.com to take part in the news release announcement for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies new inaugural season at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick official MLB game baseball. The first part of this two-part story covered the new facility itself, and all of the details about its meaning and the history of the land on which it’s constructed.
As part of this project, we had the privilege to speak with several members of the D-backs front office staff. Presented below is an interview, offering baseball collectors something we’ve personally been seeking for years: An inside peek a at team’s process of producing an Official commemorative MLB Baseball, from concept phase to completion.
First, a huge thank you to the entire Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies organizations – we’re grateful for the opportunity to provide baseball collectors a little background on their new Cactus League facility and these baseballs. They should be commended for recognizing the demand of collectors and baseball enthusiasts with this special ball, and of course for the new ballpark itself, and all the planning and hard work that went into that project.
Additionally, BigLeaugeBaseballs received a shipment of half a dozen of these special event baseballs, along with an engraved Inaugural Game Commemorative Ticket to display. We’re going to share in our good fortune by offering of few of these baseballs to site visitors and forum members – likely through an upcoming contest. We’ll be sure to post an update on that. Onto these great baseballs and their story…
The name of the new facility is quite unique, and needs some explanation, especially if you bypassed part 1 of this article. Direct from the D-backs website, and the official Salt River Fields at Talking Stick website:
The name defines the location of the new baseball Spring Training complex and speaks to the Community’s cultural heritage. “Salt River Fields” alerts baseball fans that they are visiting the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The word “Fields” refers to the 12 practice fields located within the facility and also the Community’s rich agricultural history while the term “Talking Stick” is a historical reference to the traditional Pima calendar stick on which carvers recorded significant events and milestones.
The name arrives with a new logo that is based on a concept by local Pima artist and calendar stick carver Royce Manuel. Manuel chose to incorporate a rattlesnake to symbolize the D-backs and a mountain to symbolize the Rockies. The logo also emphasizes the scenic mountain ranges that surround Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and illustrates the role of the rattlesnake in southwestern Native American legends.
“Salt River Fields at Talking Stick will offer our guests a unique experience when they see elements of our culture blended with baseball, a great All-American pastime,” said SRPMIC Vice President Martin Harvier. “Fans will attend Cactus League games and get a glimpse of our rich heritage and the panoramic desert and mountain landscape that makes the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community a unique location to watch, play and enjoy Spring Training.”
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) Vice President Martin Harvier
BigLeagueBaseballs.com interview with Arizona Diamondbacks senior director of special projects, Graham Rossini.
The story behind the Inaugural Season Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Official Game Ball:
OfficialGameBalls.com: We understand the facilities will be shared with the Colorado Rockies. Have these two franchises previously shared facilities in the Cactus League? Is it common for teams to share spring training facilities?
Graham Rossini: “It’s much more common in the Cactus league than Grapefruit League,” said Graham. He added: Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida is only shared site in the Grapefruit League – between the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins. “There are 10 venues in the Phoenix area, including five that are shared. The D-backs previous spring training facility in Tuscon, Ariz. was also shared by the Chicago White Sox from 1998-2008. The White Sox left in 2009.”
OGB: I’d like to learn more about the meaning of the logo to the franchise. What do the creative elements of the logo represent?
GR: It’s a neat concept that came together quickly for us. “We considered a couple of options for the complex name. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is the owner and operator of the facility and they had a lot of input in the name and logo. Royce Manuel [local Pima artist and calendar stick carver] came up with the concept – incorporating both teams into the logo. HKS Architects used FocusEGD, a Dallas-based design firm, to take the original logo from Manuel and refine it. It subtly references the two teams using the complex. It encapsulates everything important, including the “natural beauty of surrounding areas.”
OGB: Did both clubs work together to approve the concept, and how did Major League Baseball factor into the design and approval process? And where else will fans see this logo used?
GR: The approval process was solely between the two teams and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. It really wasn’t much of a back and forth process. “Manuel and FocusEGD put together something that’s amazing. It will be used on base jewels on all three bases and home plate, the lineup cards in dugout.” It’s not really an element that will be used on baseball jerseys, but will be found everywhere in the ballpark’s signage, directionals, maps, scoreboard; it’s seen in a couple hundred locations throughout the entire facility.
BLB: Can you take BigLeagueBaseballs.com’s readers through the process – deciding to make a commemorative game ball, all the way through production, and receiving these baseballs?
Graham noted here his own interest in collecting special event baseballs, particularly from events and games that he’s attended and those in which the D-backs have participated (We applaud him!) Those include:
GR: “Yankee stadium baseballs, the Target Field Inaugural Season and Metrodome Final Season game balls, and several All-Star Game baseballs.” Graham’s first event ball is the 2004 Houston All-Star Game Baseball (a personal favorite of mine, and similar in lace color to the Arizona Diamondback’s own upcoming 2011 All-Star Game Baseball).
(Back to the process for the Salt River Fields Ball)
“Further along the stadium construction process, we decided, ‘why not do this for spring training? Why not commemorate and celebrate the hard work that everyone has put into this great project.’ The next step was to talk to MLB Properties, which would typically need to approve league-wide event baseballs and logos, such as the All-Star Game event balls. “We bounced the idea off of them, and they were completely in favor of it and excited about it. They gave us the go ahead to talk directly with Rawlings.”
With Rawlings, “it was a very smooth process; as simple as sending Rawlings the artwork.” They then sent the D-backs an image to proof and review.
BLB: Who else gets the final decision on the logo, and who has creative imput – just the team, or also the league and Rawlings? Additionally, does the approval process include prototypes with different logos? Do you have photos of prototypes you can share?
GR: We presented the idea to Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO, Derrick Hall. Rawlings put together a PDF and sent it for our feedback. We didn’t change a thing, it was exactly what we wanted so there was no need for prototypes. We gave it immediate approval. Our lead times were a little tight too, so we decided to pull trigger in November of 2010.
BLB: (We want to give a lot of credit to Graham and the rest of the D-backs front office here. Clearly, there are collectors and fans of commemorative baseballs within this organization who were able to suggest the idea of a special event baseball and help make it a reality!)
So where all can we expect to see these baseballs used? Will fans have a chance to snag a few, perhaps some extras will get carried back to Chase Field to be used in batting practice and warm-ups during the regular season?
GR: We received 800 dozen (9,600) for team use. These baseballs will be used throughout MLB and MiLB spring practices, and all spring training games. “We won’t use them for regular season games. We’ll exhaust that supply before the end of Spring Training. When baseballs are thrown to fans in the stands at Salt River Fields, they will have this logo. It gives our fans something else to look forward to.”
We hope to be able to keep in touch with Graham on future projects for the D-backs. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for the upcoming All-Star event baseballs. In mean time, anyone who won’t have the chance to attend a Cactus League game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick can order this special game ball from the stadium’s three team shops, located at 7555 North Pima Rd., Scottsdale, Arizona 85258. Call Salt River Fields at 480-270-5000 to be connected to the team shop.
Once last thank you to the Arizona Diamondbacks for all their contributions to BigLeagueBaseballs.com, and to the D-backs, Rockies and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for their joint efforts in bringing fans and players a state-0f-the art facility and a one of a kind fan experience… and for making another great commemorative ball possible!
