Interviews
A’s all-star third baseman Eric Chavez takes time to talk about gaming
Ballplayer does motion-capture work for Sony’s 989 MLB
team
Decked out in a skin-tight black suit, waving a bat and going through the
motions of a batter standing in the box during a game, Oakland A’s Eric Chavez
still cut an imposing figure as he was walked through the routines of a home-run
trot or charging the mound.
That he was in a motion-capture studio, being directed by members of the MLB
team for Sony’s 989 Sports franchise hardly seemed to matter. The all-star third
baseman moved with the ease of a pro athlete, as the cameras ringing him picked
up the nuances of his batting style.
Chavez
was on hand to do some serious work for the 989 team, but afterwards spent a few
moments with the media entourage in San Diego for a Gamer’s Day.
Because of the way that the camera’s pick up all the idiosyncrasies of his
approach to batting, Chavez was asked if he was aware of all the rituals that he
goes through.
“I think about it now,” he admitted with a smile. “When I take a pitch and I
step back, I will actually zip up my (batting gloves) … there’s a lot of things
that I probably didn’t think about but that I think about now. I’ll probably
kick the dirt about a thousand times during a game, whether I am in the batter’s
box or at third base, I’m always kicking the dirt.”
However, just because he is more aware of what he does, thanks to the
motion-capture experience, don’t expect much to change. “I’m not going to change
anything, I’ve got my routine down pretty pat. But when I am in the game tonight
(a game against Seattle, where he went 1-4 at the plate in a 3-0 A’s win), I’ll
probably think about something I did today.”
Chavez is more than just a baseball player who is being motion captured for an
upcoming game.
“I consider myself one of the biggest fans out there of videogames,” he said,
“the technology of the last few years has taken videogames to a new level.” He
estimated that there are about eight members of the A’s who currently have PSPs
and link up in the clubhouse for head-to-head contests, and among the top
players are Rich Harden and Danny Haren, while other gamers include Nick
Swisher, Joe Blanton and Mark Kotsay.
He was asked about the process of preparing to emulate game situations for the
motion-capture session and said that “instincts take over, I guess. I’ve done a
couple of things where I’ve had to use my imagination a little bit, but … you
just go, you just react. I didn’t have to pretend and make something up because
what I was doing was natural for me.”
What he enjoys about playing games is that “you get a realistic feel of what
happens and what goes on during a baseball game. … Videogames in general are
good for hand-eye coordination, so that’s my excuse for playing them.”
One writer asked if the folks at 989 padded Chavez’s stats for the game, and he
was quick to say “no. I think I should be a little bit better hitter than I am
though,” and then, laughing “but we’ll discuss that later.”
When he plays a game like MLB, he usually plays as the A’s. “It’s weird for me
to say but yah, I use myself in the game.” But don’t count on him to substitute
himself out. “Actually, when the game was coming out in years before, and I was
batting 8th or 9th, I’d kind of jiggle the lineups a little bit – the way I
wanted it.”
And, of course, as a player in the American League, when it comes to cyber or
real baseball, the team he most wants to beat on is the Yankees. “The Yankees
are the greatest show in town. When they come to town you are always on your ‘A’
game.”
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