Customer Reviews

In the Cal: Pastime Goes Primetime in California's Minor League

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Simply the finest photodocumentary on minor league baseball available... conveying a sense of both small-town America and the game it embraces... from the fans, to the players... outstanding photography and enlightening text... a fun, unique and poignant work. Not only takes you out to the old ballgame, but makes you fall in love with it all over again... bravo!

In The Cal is a successful photo essay which captures the spirit of the low minors. Unlike many books about the minor leagues which concentrate on statisitcs or a specific team this one is different. Tammy Lechner uses her camera to show the day to day existence of these young ballplayers. The beautiful imagery shows everything from "Bully the Bullpen Dog" a young puppy allowed to run through the outfield among the players, a ballplayer who has to wash the team's laundry, or a woman who brings baked goods to the players. This book is about more than baseball it shows a piece of Americana, the relationship which exists between these ballclubs and the fans who come out to watch them play. It is a must for any fan of the minor leagues.

Beyond the outstanding and absolutely timeless photography in this book, IN THE CAL offers unique and thoughtful information on the transformation of minor league baseball during the 1990s from a casual existence to a big-business adjunct of major league baseball. A must for any historical research on the minors...