Baseball and the American Dream: Photographer Tracks 21 Players for 10 Years

Since 2002, photographer and former MTV News correspondent Tabitha Soren has followed the careers and lives of 21 players from the Oakland A’s minor league draft class. The same class that would become the subject of her husband Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball.

Soren has captured their journey after Moneyball in a new photo book Fantasy Life: Baseball and the American Dream.

“When I met these players,” says Soren, “they were compelling to me because of their bright big sense of purpose and hopefulness. But the photo project ended up being a story about fallibility. The consequences of falling from grace. It’s about losing what you love the most. How people face their lives without the one element that used to give it meaning is a measuring stick of character.”

Below are some of the most striking photos from the book.

Modesto Nuts bull pen, California, 2014 (Tabitha Soren/Aperture)

Tabitha Soren

Daniel Robertson, Stockton Ports dugout, Modesto, California, 2014. Professional baseball career: Oakland A’s, Tampa Bay Rays minor league teams 2012–16; current career: Durham Bulls infielder (Tabitha Soren/Aperture)

Tabitha Soren

Cliff Lee, Texas Rangers pitcher, Fort Worth, 2010. Professional baseball career: Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, 2002–16; current career: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher. (Tabitha Soren/Aperture)

Tabitha Soren

Nick Swisher, Cleveland Indians first baseman, 2013. Professional baseball career: Oakland A’s, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, 2002–16; current career: free agent (Tabitha Soren/Aperture)

Tabitha Soren

Joe Blanton, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher, Oakland, California, 2013. Professional baseball career: Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2002–16; current career: Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher (Tabitha Soren/Aperture)

Tabitha Soren

Brian Stavisky, Rochester, New York, 2014. Professional baseball career: Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, 2002–10; current career: sales analyst, Dresser-Rand, Horsham, Pennsylvania. (Tabitha Soren/Aperture)

Tabitha Soren