Andy Strasberg - Baseball Fantography: A Celebration in Snapshots and Stories from the Fans

I n 1991, HBO debuted its acclaimed series When It Was a Game. Many of the evocative images at the heart of the production were home movies: personal, often poignant glimpses of players and ballparks, fondly recalled but seldom so vividly captured. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in color?? Jackie Robinson and Ebbets Field not in grainy black and white, but in the kind of bold, vibrant dimension that seemed to bring them back to lifefamiliar and yet fresh at the same time.

This treasure trove of visuals was supplemented by personal recollections: some from those with connections to the game as writers and broadcasters, some from those prominent in other fields. But many were from just regular fans, unknown to most of us, yet each a genuine representation of what the game meant, and still means, to millions. On its own terms, When It Was a Game could scarcely be improved upon. But what if the sensibilities behind it were applied in a different way? Thats where Baseball Fantography comes in.

Here is a collection of fan photos and the memories they prompt, because sometimes the most compelling photographs are not those of game action, or even those taken by a professional photographer. Sometimes it is the personal snapshot a fan takes that best demonstrates what the game can mean to those who care about it. The photograph could have been taken as a player walked into the ballpark, or during batting practice, a relaxed moment in spring training, or maybe a chance meeting with a fan away from the ballpark. It could be of a father and child in an empty stadium after a game was over in the 1930s, the 1980s, or last week.

While Baseball Fantography is for fans and by fans, it doesnt hurt to have the perspectives of a couple of players from different points on the spectrum. So here we have Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, as well as Dave Baldwin, who now holds a PhD in genetics, but who, for six big league seasons, held forth in the bullpens of three American League clubs.

As you leaf through the book, you may find yourself thinking, Boy, there must be a lot more where this came from, and youd be right. The hope is that additional volumes will followvolumes that will be both nostalgic and current, and that will include the faded photograph from 1922 you discovered in your grandpas attic, or the crystal clear digital photo you might take this season or next.

In the meantime, enjoy Baseball Fantography.

N ew technologies and social media continue to expand the ways in which we can root, root, root for the home team, but one thing still connects all generations of baseball fans: photography.

Unlike many other sports, the varied pace of a professional baseball game allows for a synergy with its fans that encourages them to bring their cameras to games, a practice that became more regular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Teams would designate a specific day when fans would be invited to photograph their favorite players. This promotion became known widely as Photo Day or Camera Day and remains popular today. The rhythms of the game day experience provide fans with the opportunity to snap a photo prior to that first pitch, during the action, and then after the last out of the game is recorded. The subject matter could be that of a ballpark, a player entering the facility, a player signing autographs during batting practice, or perhaps long after the games conclusion when a fan engages a player quite by accident at a restaurant or hotel near the park. These snapshots create a timeless record of a fans baseball experience.

The images in this book have been taken by fans who are amateurnot professionalphotographers. The photos are not always the most artistic, composed, or focused images, but they represent a uniquely personal and poignant moment for the photographer and provide an insight into what was and is important to the fan.

This book features never-before-seen pictures of players great and not quite, in ballparks long gone or vaguely familiar, in settings major and minor, in black-and-white and color, on the field and in civilian clothinga feast for the eyes of fans who think theyve seen it all.

Many teams and eras are represented, and among the finds is a snapshot of intense Roberto Clemente looking up for the photo, the Washington Senators Nick Altrock striking a pose for a fan on the 1939 Fenway Park dugout steps, Eddie Mathews stepping out of a shower, a spectacular sunset at the Mets Citi Field, and Babe Ruth hurrying out of Yankee Stadium with his daughter.

Published for the first time (and generally seen for the first time), this is the ultimate collection of undiscovered baseball imagery as captured by adoring fans. And in truth, the finished project is really about the fans, by the fans, and, ultimately, for the fans.

What a gift to baseball.

* MAKE MIME
Nick Altrock was a former big league pitcher who coached for forty-two years with the Senators. One of his talents he often demonstrated after his playing days was as a mime on the field, which would evoke laughter from the fans. Don McNeish

B ecause of my father, the support of my mother, and the tolerance of my sister, I was obsessed with the game of baseball while growing up in the 1950s in New York City. I read about it, played it, listened to it, watched it, collected it, dreamt about it, thought about it. And I photographed it. My mother wished that I paid as much attention to my schoolwork because Baseball, she said, will not help you later on in life.

I was nine when my father took me on my first trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He brought a camera, and from then on, when I attended a major league baseball game I frequently brought my own camera and snapped photos of ballparks, ballplayers, and friends. In college, I acquired a 35 mm camera and enrolled in a photography course taught by Arthur Leipzig. Through the lens finder, this great American photographer showed me a world that I never knew existed. Afterward, I crisscrossed the country three times looking for a baseball joband taking photos. Once I was settled, I worked at three different camera stores to support myself.

Starting in 1975and against my mothers predictionsI have made my living in and around baseball, the first twenty-two years working for the San Diego Padres. And many of my baseball memories have been captured on film.

Ten years ago, I rediscovered an old snapshot taken by my best friend Arnie Cardillo, from the summer of 1966. There I am, a gangly teenager in thick-rimmed glasses, posing with Roger Maris against the iconic backdrop of Yankee Stadium. Emulating my idol, Im wearing a pin-striped shirt, and Ive got my sleeves rolled up in his trademark style. My arm is draped across Mariss back as if were close friends. In a few seconds, hes going to dash back to pregame warm-ups, and Ill return to my seat in a pinch-me dream state and with my heart pounding. But for this one brief shining moment in front of the camera, nothing else exists. No past, no future. There is only Roger and mea home run hero and a starstruck fan, frozen in time together with the incredible Yankee Stadium as a backdrop.