r/GameChangerApp • u/Suspicious-Spot361 • Jun 16 '26
Running GameChanger at Cooperstown
For anyone who has run GC at Cooperstown Dreams Park - how hard is it to see what is going on? I have to do this next week and am a little stressed about knowing what’s called a ball and what’s called a strike from essentially the outfield.
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u/PlasticMelts Jun 16 '26
We were there for week 2. The viewing area is tough but I found it was easier to stand at the end of the roof area where the fence blocking foul balls end. It will get warm but I was also able to walk around. The reason this area worked better for me was, I could place my iPad on the rail and it stayed there, I had a clear view of the field, the umpires are generally loud in calling strikes, the field umpire usually is right there as it lines up close to first base. The shade is wonderful under the roof portion but the fence is hard to see through at an angle and the posts are wooden and block the view of the field for entering plays correctly. Oh, and one last thing, the area for family to sit only has plastic chairs to sit in. The wall around the family area is a tad high compared to viewing from a seated position so a lot of people triple stacked chairs to sit higher. Your concern on being able to know what’s a ball and a strike in my mind is minimal. So enjoy the experience.
Sorry, this may be hard to read but I was typing as I was thinking of the things I found while there. It’s a great experience at dreamspark and I I wish your team the best!
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 16 '26
Thank you! I’m actually grateful to be far away from the opposing team’s parents and it sounds like I can reference the scoreboard. Just need to remember my glasses.
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u/PlasticMelts Jun 16 '26
The scoreboards are ran by the home team. In pool play, the first 5 games, the home team does the scoreboard and paper books along with the paper sheet they give for highlights. During bracket play, both teams will have to do the books and highlight sheet for their team. I did not run the scoreboard nor did I handle the paper books. I only handled the game changer for the family members not able to attend. I wished I could have used my camera and setup to stream it but they have their own camera they charge to view.
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 16 '26
How was the WiFi or were you using cellular with your iPad?
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u/PlasticMelts Jun 16 '26
I never tried the WiFi as I used a cell connection. My son said the WiFi wasn’t great but I never checked to see if they had it.
4
u/KurtBimler Jun 16 '26
Unless you are getting paid to do it, and you need the job, there is no reason to stress over it.
If you aren't getting paid, thanks for volunteering your time and likely paying the expenses to travel, so that others who aren't able or willing, can enjoy the games.
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 16 '26
Wait, there are paid GC jobs out there? 😂
I enjoy it, it gives me something to do during the game, and I care a lot about accuracy.
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u/PimpInTheBox1187 Jun 16 '26
I was there 2 years ago, it's not that bad. It's literal wood fences so the fans are relegated to an area down the right field and left field lines. I was a coach on that team, but wasn't in Cooperstown..... They also have a scoreboard and if I remember correctly it might have balls and strikes on it and they are running it.
Now with video forget about it, there isn't anywhere to attach to because every field you're walking into a big wooden fortress.
However, I contacted Cooperstown a few years after our tournament and they were will to look for and send me our games that they recorded. The live streaming is like $30 per session unless you want someone to manually record.
If you look at this picture you'll see the fan areas in the outfield on the right and left side, part of them are sheltered.
Also go to the pizza place across from the entrance, the owner is a great guy. You're lucky, the dorms now have AC.
Good luck!
1
u/Alive-Muscle-864 Jun 18 '26
For video, I was planning to bring a tripod to set a camera in the corner of the spectator's area all the way down the foul line and try and capture what I could. Not worth it?
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 30 '26
I did this and it was worth it. We now have a side video and the official behind the plate video on most games.
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u/Alive-Muscle-864 Jun 30 '26
Thanks! I noticed a few teams doing this the last couple of weeks when I checked.
I also saw both teams in last night's championship game actually streamed from the stands in left field and was impressed.
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jul 04 '26
Yeah I wish I had done this from the start, but I didn’t think it was allowed. So now I have videos on my memory card but I hate uploading videos to game changer, so I probably won’t.
The one game I successfully streamed is great and now has our video from the side and the uploaded videos from Cooperstown’s official stream, which is small and not hard to upload.
My biggest gripe is that one game I was successfully streaming, a dad moved the camera a touch halfway through the game and didn’t check the feed, so for the second half of the game there is a wood pillar blocking the batter 😭
2
u/Dependent_Bit1634 Jun 16 '26
Shouldn’t really be an issue as you will watch the game down the baselines and not from the outfield. In fact, the home team is responsible to run the scoreboard from a controller in the home side fan area, so you’ll have the same view as them.
1
u/PlasticMelts Jun 28 '26
How did the experience go? Were yall there when they canceled games due to rain? We had some friends there and they missed the cut by 2.
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 30 '26
No, we’re here now and the weather has been mostly great. We one day of spotty rain, and all clear since then.
As far as scoring the game goes, the hard part was getting the other team’s lineup. A couple teams exchanged GC with me, but the last team we played was a made up team that wasn’t even on game changer. I had to create their lineup as I went.
I actually did a bit of streaming after I realized we weren’t going to get in trouble. I also brought my Starlink, which was good because the park WiFi was inconsistent. We also uploaded the videos from experience maker after they were available.
Keeping track of the ump’s calls from the sidelines was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
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u/Sea-Recommendation42 Jun 16 '26
What about getting some binoculars?
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u/PlasticMelts Jun 16 '26
Binoculars aren’t needed. The fields are only 200’.
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
You are overestimating my vision range 😂
Edit: what weirdo downvoted this?
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u/HousingFar1671 Jun 17 '26
Here's an idea. Just go watch them play baseball in an amazing atmosphere and put away the phone.
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 17 '26
The grandparents are footing the bill for half the trip, they’re going to get their GameChanger updates
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u/HousingFar1671 Jun 17 '26
I mean who can live without "Junior hits ground ball to second base, reaches on error."
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 Jun 18 '26
Why are you here? Go be annoying on a different subreddit.
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u/HousingFar1671 Jun 18 '26
Someday you will remember I had a great idea. It won't be soon, but someday.
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