Batting Practice 1994

I've noticed in recent years that I never see batting practice when I arrive early for a baseball game at Coors Field. Years ago, this was always something to look forward to. People would hang out in the outfield to catch a souvenir ball, and you could wander the stands freely until the start of the game, taking fairly close up photographs of the players. I took the photo on the left back in 1994 of Colorado Rockies stars Andres Galarraga (on the left) and Vinnie Castilla (on the right) standing in front of the batting cage at Mile High Stadium, the second year of the team's existence. This was the year before Coors Field opened, when enthusiasm for the team was at its height. I hope to get to the ballpark early one of these days to see if I have just been too late for batting practice, or if the public is no longer welcome for this event. If it is the latter, that would be a very sad thing indeed.