In The Cal: Pastime Goes Primetime In California's Minor League

IN THE CAL: Pastime Goes Primetime In California's Minor League is derived from a photodocumentary book project exploring the simple aura and uncomplicated spirit of professional baseball, for both fans and players, at its unspoiled minor league level.

Photographed and written by freelance photojournalist Tammy Lechner, the project focuses on The California League (Class Single-A, minor league of 10 teams in California) and shows that the beauty of minor league baseball lies within its intimacy and accessibility.

Over the course of seven seasons documented by Lechner (1989-1994 and 2004) many young stars climbed the ladder to the major leagues. But Lechnerís focus was not on following these new "star" players. It was on the unexpected, the candid, natural moments that occur within and around the grass roots level game of baseball. Not the slide into second base or the winning run at home plate, not the championship game or the all-star player, but rather, the everyday reality and human scale of minor league baseball--its triumphs, disappointments and camaraderie.

As changes such as new stadiums and more sophisticated marketing continue to affect the California League, Lechner's images take us back to what life in the minor leagues was like, once upon a timeÖ _____________________________________________  

Tammy Lechner

Tammy Lechner is a noted ìvisual chroniclerî of the lifestyle and culture of baseball. Lechner began her career with Coloradoís Glenwood Springs Post after earning a dual-major degree in magazine writing/design and photojournalism at the University of Missouri. She continued with professional sports coverage while on staff with the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Los Angeles Times, and on major league baseball for the Associated Press and USA Today Baseball Weekly.

Her numerous awards include: the 1984 Michigan Understanding Award for most outstanding documentary by a Michigan journalist; best feature writing among circulations from Michigan UPI; the 1985 Kentucky News Photographer of the Year and runner-up in 1986; and awards from the National Press Photographers Association, the California Press Association and the Society of Newspaper Design for her newspaper documentary ìThe Grass Roots Game.î

In 1994, Lechner co-founded STILL Productions in Laguna Beach, CA, which specializes in editorial and corporate photography. Her clients include the New York Times, USA Today, the Associated Press, Knight Ridder/Tribune, the Walt Disney Company, Chrysler Corporation, the American Hospital Association, and the Milken Institute.

She is the author of the award-winning photo documentary book In the Cal: Pastime Goes Primetime in Californiaís Minor League. Her second book, The Chicago CubsóOur Team-Our Dream: A Cubs Fanís Journey into Baseballís Great Romance was published by Triumph Books, 2007.  

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