Thursday, October 1, 2026
Just days after retiring from his longtime Rockville Centre dental practice, Michael Rechter was capturing history at a ballpark in Springfield, Illinois as a photographer for the inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League.
Rechter, 69, retired after 38 years, during which he transformed a small dental office into Long Island Dental Excellence on North Centre Avenue. While he said the decision to leave his practice was difficult, he felt the time was right to pursue photography, to travel and spend more time with family.
After finishing his final day as a dentist on July 29, he took a flight to Illinois the following morning to photograph the opening weekend of the four-team WPBL.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Rechter said. “I walked out of my office on the last day, and Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m., I’m on a flight to Springfield, Illinois, to start to shoot this Women’s Pro Baseball League thing.”
This marks the first professional women’s baseball league in the United States in more than 70 years. The last was the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which operated from 1943 to 1954.
Rechter said he first learned about the WPBL around a month before its opening weekend and was immediately drawn to the opportunity.
“I said, ‘Wow, that’s interesting,’” he recalled. “I would just love to shoot it and be there and capture the history.”
After researching how the league was handling media coverage, Rechter contacted Natalie Mikolich, the league’s director of public relations and communications, and requested a photographer’s credential. After reviewing his information and application, Mikolich approved the request.
Although he was not officially hired or paid by the league, Rechter said the opportunity appealed to him for reasons that went beyond simply photographing baseball.
“It’s one thing to shoot a ball game,” he said. “It’s another thing to capture history.”
Opening day was held on Aug. 1, when the Los Angeles Queens played the New York Heights at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park, a 5,200-seat baseball venue in Springfield. The following day, Rechter also served as the official photographer for the second game between the San Francisco Firebells and Boston Hunters. He has not applied for credentials to photograph any other WPBL games since.
The four teams will play 30 games at Robin Roberts Stadium during the regular season, which concludes Sept. 6, followed by the playoffs. The final game of the championship series, if necessary, is scheduled for Sept. 22.
Realizing that the league’s opening day was historic, bringing with it a series of milestones, Rechter said he arrived with a plan.
“I need to make sure I capture all those firsts,” he said, referring to taking pictures of the first pitch, hit, RBI and home run. “Then I could settle more into the action of the game and behind the scenes of the game.”
The opening day itself saw some rain and delays, but Rechter said the weather did little to dampen the enthusiasm surrounding the historic occasion.
“There was definitely a sense of excitement,” he said. “The vibe was, ‘Hey, look, we’ve waited 70 years to have this game again. We’ll wait another few hours.’”
His work required both planning and improvisation. With limited access to positions on the field, Rechter moved around the stadium and used long lenses to capture the action from different vantage points. He also photographed the excitement surrounding the event, including players, fans and pregame ceremonies.
Rechter added that he was looking for action shots and wanted to capture the emotion of the game. He also was interested in photographing Hall of Fame MLB manager Tony La Russa throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, former longtime major league infielder Matt Williams managing the San Francisco team, and the energy of the crowd.
By the end of the weekend, Rechter had roughly 6,000 images to review. He narrowed them down to about 300, then selected around 100 of his favorites before picking his strongest images.
“There’s the action shot,” he said. “There’s a little bit behind the scenes of the pregame. Some stuff I’d call my creative artsy side.”
Rechter’s photos appeared on the league’s website and social media platforms.
Rechter, a Merrick resident, also has worked as a freelance photographer for the Herald since 2024.
Tim Baker, the Herald’s photo editor, said Rechter’s involvement in such an assignment came as no surprise.
“Michael has always been a great photographer, especially with sports, so it doesn’t surprise me he shot the women’s professional baseball league photos,” Baker said.
For Rechter, who recently displayed his photography at an art show in Montauk, the assignment marked an unexpected beginning to retirement. Shortly after ending a 38-year career serving patients in Rockville Centre, he was documenting the opening chapter of a new era in women’s professional baseball.
“I still look at them today, and somebody asks me what I did, I’m excited to show them,” he said. “It was just an amazing opportunity and an amazing four or five days.”
