Notes: Gordon poses for MLB game

02/23/2006
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Tom Gordon sat motionless in a spinning chair, as what looked like gamma rays probed his face and full uniformed body.
A special camera took roughly 150 pictures as the chair whirled around, and made a grid of his head on a screen. The intention is to turn these photos into a 3-D video game version of Gordon for "MLB 2007 -- The Show."
When it ended, Gordon spent a few uneasy seconds trying not to see white dots before his eyes.
"It was pretty wild, like an MRI setup," said Gordon. "This was the first time I've done that."
This was photo day with a high-tech twist for the Phillies on Thursday morning, as players made the rounds for standard posed photos for baseball cards, mug shots for newspapers and things like MLB GameDay and scoreboard images. Added to the list was a wrinkle called 3-D image screening.
The state-of-the-art technology will to be used in video game for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and Xbox, and will likely to be released this fall.
"I put my uniform on three different times today," said manager Charlie Manuel, laughing.
Each player wrapped his hands around the back of a rotating chair with a blue pad pressed against the back of his head. The chair spun and stopped numerous times as a camera flashed different patterns on the player's face. The images were recorded by Eyetronics, a Belgium-based 3D scanning company, and eventually will be compressed into a digital image for the video game.
Former minor-leaguers helped with the game's design to aid with the realism, and the company used satellite photos and schematics to re-create each ballpark. For the most part, players were into the thought of this latest technology, and especially enamored with the idea of playing the game with their kids. Call it a perk of a high-profile job.
"I'll be one of the first ones in line to get it when it comes out," said reliever Aaron Fultz. "I don't play a lot of baseball video games, but I'll get this one, for sure."
Video game recollections for the Phillies date back to Nintendo NES, and long nights playing "Tecmo Bowl," "Blades of Steel" and "SNK Baseball Stars," where every player and stadium looked the same. Others, who shall remain nameless, recalled Colecovision and the Atari 2600.
"'Blades of Steel' was a great game," said first baseman Ryan Howard. "The graphics were better, and the screen would enlarge just so you could fight and actually punch. Then, there was 'Ice Hockey,' where you could pick the fat guy or skinny guy. The fat guy would check everybody. I would have 100 checks a game."
Those games were nothing compared to today's technology, when players can play as their alter egos, with each other, and their kids. It represents a new thrill.
Gordon delights in watching his two sons play baseball. His younger son, Nicholas, 10, routinely beats his other son, 17-year-old Davaris. Nicholas usually plays as Roger Clemens, but somehow gets his dad into the game.
"It's something else, the way the technology is now," Gordon said. "The player actually looks like me. They have me taller. I definitely like that. They have fun with it, so I like it."
Even Manuel made a representation of himself for the game, and later recalled playing video games, proof that fun spans generations.
"Bald Bull," the manger exclaimed, referencing 'Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!' "Glass Joe was too early. If you couldn't beat Glass Joe, you hung it up. I also used to play 'Pac Man,' and still play 'Tetris.'"
Third-base coach Bill Dancy felt left out of the morning, and wondered why the game didn't included coaches.
"That would really add to the program," he said. "It would be really big there, in more ways than one."
Wall of Fame: Fans will again have a voice in which former Phillies player, manager or coach is selected to the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2006.
From Feb. 24 through March 24, fans can vote online at phillies.com for their top three choices from a 20-man ballot of Phillies Alumni. A first-place vote is worth five points, second place three points and third place one point.
The top-five fan consensus choices as determined by total points will serve as the final official ballot for a special Wall of Fame Selection Committee, which will choose this year's inductee.
Phillies players with five or more years of service are eligible for induction, while managers and coaches need four or more years of service. All candidates must be retired for three years before they can be eligible for the 20-man ballot.
Induction ceremonies will be held at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 11, before the 7:05 p.m. ET game against the Reds, when a cast bronze plaque will be added to the Wall of Fame display in the Memory Lane section of Ashburn Alley.
The 20 Phillies Alumni who appear on the online ballot are:
• Pitchers: Larry Christenson, Jim Konstanty, Jim Lonborg, Al Orth, Ron Reed, Dick Ruthven, Rick Wise• Catchers: Darren Daulton, Spud Davis• Infielders: Don Hurst, John Kruk, Fred Luderus, Juan Samuel, Pinky Whitney• Outfielders: Lenny Dykstra, Tony Gonzalez, Von Hayes• Manager: Dallas Green, Gene Mauch• Coach: Mike Ryan
Philling in: Disregard a report on a Web site that said the Phillies and Chase Utley set an end-of-the-month deadline to work out a contract extension. Utley can't be a free-agent until after the 2009 season. While the team might consider a long-term contract to buy out his arbitration years, there's no urgency to do so. ... Once Ryan Howard and Utley agree to contracts, a formality, the team's payroll should exceed $94 million, slightly below last season's record-setting $95 million. The team's search for a left-handed hitting fifth outfielder shouldn't change that number too much. ... Alex S. Gonzalez, Abraham Nunez and Tomas Perez spent their second day shagging balls in the outfield during batting practice.
Quotable: "[Ryan] Franklin looked good. His stuff is good. Switching leagues and a change of scenery could help him. I think if he consistently goes six or seven innings, he'll win some games." -- Manuel

Source: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/