THE BASEBALL FANBOOK from the Editors of Sports Illustrated is a great starting point for someone new to the game, especially a young person who’s just begun to play the game, although it is of value to any baseball fan as it not only includes an excellent glossary of baseball terminology; it includes historical facts and player comparisons between current and past players with similar attributes.

Baseball trivia enthusiasts will benefit from several little known facts spread throughout the book, and it’s a valuable resource for all fans of the game, even if you only need to learn how to fill out a scorecard!

4 stars.

Everything You Need to Know to become a Hardball Know-It-All can be found in The Baseball Fan Book. It can be debated that I already am a hardball know-it-all, but I had to check out this book just to be sure! The book includes stats you should know, homeruns by players, games, etc. I probably don't know most of these stats off the top of my head, so maybe I don't know as much as I think I do... ;) There are also all sorts of obscure facts included like who was a switch pitcher? (Pat Venditte) - what player got 2 hits for 2 teams in 1 day in 2 cities? (Joel Youngblood) There are skills that you need to obtain such as how to get an autograph to how to score a game. And of course, my favorite section, HOTDOGS. There's a section on new players that might remind you of some old school players, tidbits on ALLLLLLL the teams in the majors, what "greats" would be on a team Mt Rushmore and of course, all the baseball lingo you need to know to be a true know-it-all!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

As a children's nonfiction book, this book of baseball numbers is an excellent choice for middle grade baseball fans. I received an advance copy as a download in exchange for an unbiased review, and was happy to find both the content as well as the photos to be engaging and interesting. The formatting is very well done as well. Overall, this book should easily appeal to all young sports fans, including those who may be reluctant readers. I actually looked up this author to find out whether this book is part of a series, and was delighted to find that this appears to be the case. I will definitely purchase this book for my elementary school library, along with Gramling's previously published Football Fanbook.