Bobby Crosby is one of the very few (only?) fans to ever have his name mentioned during a game by Vin Scully. Why? Because the season-ticket holder not only catches a ton of homeruns in the front row of the Left Field Pavillion, but films himself doing it. His YouTube channel, Dodgerfilms, recently broke 100,000 subscribers and is the most popular non-official Dodger channel in the world. His infectious fandom, impressive editing skills, cast of left field pavilion regulars, and star-making homerun catches have made him a celebrity in the world of hardcore Dodger fans. We count ourselves among his fans, so wanted to bring you this interview touching his past, future, and present as Mr. Dodgerfilms.
How long have you been attending Dodger games, and when did you first start filming the games?
I've attended games since I was a little kid. Got season tickets in '97, the same ones I have now, front row in the left field pavilion. I first brought a video camera to games in the mid '90s just for home movies, but I didn't start bringing one consistently or sharing my footage with others until May of 2008 when I started up the Dodgerfilms YouTube channel.
How has Dodger Films evolved through the years?
I first brought the camera just to try to get a good shot of myself catching a home run, and specifically a game home run, although I filmed in batting practice just as practice for the game home run catch. Right away I got a few nice shots of catches in batting practice, some of which were aired on various television channels after I posted them on YouTube, and I started to gain a nice little following.
My viewers, especially the ones who were Dodgers fans, kept asking me if I filmed certain big moments that happened in the games, like a walk-off homer or an amazing catch, and I often failed to film these things because I was only filming when big right-handed hitters were up who had a decent chance to hit me a home run. So in the early days, if the bases were loaded in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, I wouldn't even be filming if a little lefty was up to bat, like Juan Pierre, since he couldn't hit me a home run.
But because of all the questions (more like complaints) about if I got big moments on film, I started shooting at-bats that I normally wouldn't, at-bats that had the potential to be game changing, and that led to not only posting footage from batting practice on a regular basis, but also brief highlights of the game. Which eventually led to posting 5-10 minute videos for each game, highlights from my perspective of the full experience of going to a game, with a focus on catching homers in BP and joking around with my season ticket holder friends.
How did the friendships with your fellow LFPers develop? Do you guys hang out outside of the games?
My closest LFP friend, nicknamed Deep Left, got season tickets right next to mine in 2001 and that's how I met him. Moneyball Steve is a big time collector who often purchases important home run balls from the fans who got them and I first noticed him buying a Pujols homer in 2011, which sparked a conversation and a friendship. And I actually met Benny because he was a fan of the videos and got season tickets in the pavilion because of the videos and wanting to have fun catching homers like I do. We rarely hang out outside of the games, since we're already seeing each other 80 times a year at the stadium.
What are your favorite things to do when the Dodgers are on the road?
That's when I catch up on Netflix and HBO, and I watch the road games on TV, of course. I also enjoy playing poker.
Top 5 Dodger Films moments of all time?
At the top would have to be my Alex Guerrero game home run catch from May 24, the first time I was filming while catching a Dodger home run on the fly. Vin Scully called this catch "magnificent" and he even learned my name, saying it twice on the air, which was absolutely incredible. Second on the list would probably be my Aaron Hill game home run catch from May 2, which Scully called the "selfie of all selfies." Other top moments are Kershaw's no-hitter, the incredible ending to Puig's major league debut where he made the best throw I've ever seen, and Deep Left's catch of a Paul Goldschmidt game home run on Father's Day last year with his son standing right next to him.
What's your day job, and how do you balance Dodger Films with work and just general life?
I'm a writer, mostly of comics. I set my own hours, so it doesn't interfere with the Dodgerfilms hobby. Going to every single home game interferes with life in general sometimes, and I'm not fully committed to keeping that up forever (I'm currently on a streak of only about two years without missing a home game), but it's rarely a problem.
Who are your favorite visiting teams?
It's always fun when the Giants come to town. Yankees and Red Sox are fun too, although I hate interleague play in general. I'm a traditionalist.
How would you rate the changes to the stadium over the last 20 years?
Well, the last 20 years covers a whole lot of changes from several different owners, including a horrible rubberized warning track for a brief while about 15 years ago, still can't believe that ever happened. Overall I adore Dodger Stadium how it currently is, and I hope they don't make many more massive changes. The new jumbotrons are incredible. In the old days, for a day game, I couldn't even see what was on the big screen because of the glare from the sun from the angle of my seats, but now I can see it perfectly.
What's your favorite taco spot?
I actually haven't tried many taco spots yet, which I should rectify soon, but right now I'm gonna have to go with Del Taco. I also like putting their fries inside their tacos, which makes them extra good. I put fries in everything, though, like burgers and ice cream.
What's next for Dodger Films?
A lot more game home run catches hopefully! And World Series wins for the Dodgers.
You can find all of the Dodgerfilms videos on the YouTube page.
