It's funny about baseball; no other sport so oozes with its own wistfulness. Reflections is really two books--a gallery of Ronald Modra's 25 years of spectacular baseball photography and an extended essay by former minor-league pitcher turned major-league journalist Pat Jordan--fused into one by the sentimentality they share. Jordan's memoir, which physically snakes through the book, is a travelogue of his personal journey through the game, ending in a fitting flight of nostalgia: "Even during the 35 years I had turned my back on (baseball)," he writes, "it was still there, waiting patiently for me to turn around and acknowledge its place in my life just like a faithful dog." With the exception of a few shots of a postretirement Mickey Mantle in uniform, Modra's images--actions, portraits, and candid shots--are anything but nostalgic. They don't look back; they remain sharply fixed in the present of the moment at which they were taken--like Ozzie Smith in midbackflip or Pudge Rodgriguez glaring down a runner he's just gunned down--and they are simply splendid. The sentimentality creeps into the text that accompanies them; most are insights, "reflections" from the players in the photos, and they tend to be mushy. Which is really OK; baseball dissolves our hardness, and Reflections of the Game captures that. Indeed, there are moments when sentimentality divinely reveals essence, as in Mantle's explanation, beside a photo of him sitting alone in the stands, of what he's doing: "Oh, I'm just sitting here thinking, God I wish I could still play." Modra's camera breathtakingly provides us with visual mementos of when our heroes could. --Jeff Silverman
Of all sports, baseball may lend itself best to the realm of memories. Major-league players remember more and in more detail than participants in any other sport. They remember the count, the outs, the situation, and whether the pitch was a fastball or a curve. Modra, a well-known and respected photographer whose work has appeared in numerous national publications, offers a satisfying mix of photography, personal reflection, and player reflection. Unforgettable shots include a middle-aged Mickey Mantle sitting pensively and telling Modra how much he wished he could still play. Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench shares a typically puzzling note from Yogi Berra on the occasion of Bench breaking Yogi's home-run mark for catchers. There are also reflections by or about Wade Boggs, Doug Rader, David Justice, Nolan Ryan and Hank Aaron, among others. The extended essay by writer Pat Jordan, a man who always defined himself as a baseball player despite only a very brief, disappointing professional career, forms a poignant contrast to the memories of the stars. This is a book for real baseball fans: the ones who collected cards as kids, who would take a seat in the bleachers over a skybox, and who pore over box scores the way other grownups check their mutual funds. An outstanding mix of photography and text. Wes Lukowsky
About the Author
Ronald C. Modra has been a professional photographer for 20 years at Sports Illustrated.
