Fantasy Life: Baseball and the American Dream

by Tabitha Soren (Photographer)

In 2002, Tabitha Soren first began photographing a group of minor league draft picks for the Oakland A’s―young men coming into the major league farm system straight from high school or college. Since then, she has followed the players through their baseball lives, an alternate reality of long bus rides, on-field injuries, friendships and marriages entered and exited, constant motion, and very hard work, often for very little return. Some of the subjects, like Nick Swisher and Joe Blanton, have gone on to become well-known, respected players at the highest level of the game. Some left baseball to pursue other lines of work, such as selling insurance and coal mining. Others have struggled with poverty and even homelessness. Fifteen years after that first shoot, Fantasy Life portrays a selection of these stories, gathering together a richly textured series of photographs taken on the field and behind the scenes at games, along with commentaries by each of the players and memorabilia from their lives―from kindergarten-age baseball cards to x-rays of player injuries. Dave Eggers contributes five linked short stories that compellingly condense the roller-coaster ride of the minor-league everyman, from youthful pursuit of stardom through the slog of endless hardscrabble games, to that moment of realization that success may not be just around the corner after all. Additionally, a number of the featured players add their own real-life experiences of trying to make it to “The Show.” Together, these elements evoke the enduring spirit of this quintessential American fantasy of making it in the major leagues.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Photography, Nonfiction

136 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2017

Reviews

[R Turley]

I loved reading about the players in the Minor Leagues and how important playing is.

[Helen Cho]

Became interested in this book after reading her husband, Michael Lewis's book, "Moneyball." I was expecting a book of photographs and was disappointed as I skimmed through. As I started reading the short memoirs from various players on the 2002 draft class covered in "Moneyball," I began to understand more of what the book was about but not sure that I like the photos any better.

The explanation of the book project is on page 128, almost the end of the book. Would I appreciated this at the beginning? I suppose the way the book is structured now forces the reader to begin a voyage of discovery, not knowing the point of departure or of arrival.

In the book, of the 10 players presented from the Oakland A's 2002 draft class of 21 players, three make it to "the show" and have the salaries to prove it ($20,000,000 to $90,000,000). The rest stayed in the minors (average time 7 years), some more and some less successful on earnings of about $40,000 for the entire time they spend in the minors.

These are the heartbreaking stories that make this book worthwhile. These are the men who were better than 99% of the boys who started out playing baseball and good enough to be drafted into the majors, then spend the next decade playing in A, AA, and AAA teams. The one player who plays in one playoff game shoots his earning up to $300,000.

Is this brutal? Is this a representation of the inequality we constantly talk about today?

Not sure whether Dave Eggers' five linked stories is necessary. I suppose they serve as a synopsis of the lives of the players who make it to minor league in a fictional manner and negate the necessity for a narrative explanation. And again, these linked stories are scattered throughout the book.

Four stars for the words of the minor league players who almost made it to "the show."

[Donald]

"My dad would put a baseball in my left hand in my crib with hopes of making me a left-handed pitcher. It didn't work." - Chris Shank

:-) I tried the same thing with my daughter, with the same result!!!

Lots of nice pictures, and as an Oakland A's fan, I enjoyed that there were a lot of A's related photos and commentaries. Nothing to write home about, or to add to my A's collection of books, but it was pretty to look at!


SPOILER ALERT:
this book really has nothing to do with "Moneyball", other than the fact that this author is married to that author. It is definitely NOT a sequel or follow up!