Baseball in Bhutan and sweet celebrations.

The Professional Baseball Photographers’ Association (PBPA) has announced the winners of its inaugural photo competition celebrating the best baseball images captured in 2023.

The judges received over 3,600 images from nearly 200 photographers located in nine different countries. The Grand Prize was a Sony a9 III with an FE 70-200mm f2.8 GM OSS II lens which was given to Brace Hemmelgarn who was the winner of the Portfolio category

One of the stills from Brace Hemmelgarn’s winning portfolio which took home the Grand Prize. Brace Hemmelgarn Brace Hemmelgarn Brace Hemmelgarn

Prizes were also handed out from the competition’s sponsors: Sony, PhotoShelter, Roberts Camera, Tiffen (Domke/Davis & Sanford), Sports Shooter Academy, and Camera Bits.

“Holding our first contest with a fantastic turnout and such an esteemed panel of judges means the world to our organization,” says PBPA President Alex Trautwig. “I could not be happier with how year one turned out, we are immensely grateful for everyone who participated, and we are already diligently working on the 2024 competition.

Action Tony Kemp #5 of the Oakland Athletics jumps over Jorge Alfaro #38 of the Boston Red Sox to try to score on a wild pitch. Winner of the Action category. | Ezra Shaw Will Benson #30 of the Cincinnati Reds runs to home base. Honorable Mention in the Action category. | Emilee Chinn New York Yankees left fielder Aaron Hicks nearly collides with center fielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa while catching a fly ball. Honorable Mention in the Action category. | Sam Hodde Honorable Mention in the Action category. | Mitchell Leff Pictorial Baseball in Bhutan. Winner of the Pictorial category. | Matthew DeSantis
Honorable Mention in the Pictorial category. | Ben Ludeman Field replacement. Honorable Mention in the Pictorial category. | Evan Triplett Honorable Mention in the Pictorial category. | Ezra Shaw Feature New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe ducks away from a bee. Winner of the Feature category. | Robert Sabo Houston Astros Jose Altuve wears protective glasses to look at the solar eclipse. Honorable Mention in the Feature category. | Karen Warren Randy Arozarena #56 of Team Mexico signs autographs for fans. Honorable Mention in the Feature category. | Daniel Shirey The Savannah Bananas watch a fireworks show. Honorable Mention in the Feature category. | Al Bello
Emotion Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh smiles as a teammate throws bubble gum at him. Winner of the Emotion category. | Lindsey Wasson Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on. Honorable Mention in the Emotion category. | Keith Birmingham Philadelphia Phillies celebrates in the locker room. Honorable Mention in the Emotion category. | Bill Streicher Honorable Mention in the Emotion category. | Lindsey Wasson Portrait Winner of the Portrait category. | Evan Triplett Pete Fairbanks of the Tampa Bay Rays. Honorable Mention in the Portrait category. | Will Vragovic Honorable Mention in the Portrait category. | Marty Corcoran
Honorable Mention in the Portrait category. | Evan Triplett Amateur Winner of the Amateur category. | Jason Fochtman Honorable Mention in the Amateur category. | Brad Rempel Honorable Mention in the Amateur category. | Keith Birmingham Honorable Mention in the Amateur category. | Ben Ludeman Story One of the pictures from the winning Story category from Scott Strazzante. The photo essay was called “A Bittersweet Season at the Oakland Coliseum”. One of the pictures from the winning Story category from Scott Strazzante. The photo essay was called “A Bittersweet Season at the Oakland Coliseum”.
Student Winner of the Student category. | Ainsley Fauth

The photos were reviewed blindly by the judges over the course of two days. “We had some very spirited discussion but, ultimately, the cream really rose to the top,” explains contest judge Ron Vesely.

“What everyone was able to produce, across the board, in every category, was really impressive,” Maureen Cavanagh adds

“You see this set of images and you realize we are in pretty good hands and that this generation of photographers really knows what they’re doing when it comes to making baseball images.”

To see the full competition winners, head to the PBPA’s competition page here.

Update 2/13: The wrong photographer was credited for the Story award. It has been amended.