A thoughtful, well researched dive into the history and possible future of big league baseball.

This was a few evenings of discussions about baseball with the author, it would be phenomenal. There's a lot of fascinating material on a range of baseball-related topics, and some unusual perspectives. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well as a book.

One problem is repetition. Some of the simplest points are elaborated and repeated and length, and then summarized later when they come up in a new context. Another is that it is seldom clear where the author is going with an argument, and sometimes he seems to be arguing with himself. These are not drawbacks in conversation, but they make the book hard to read.

One of the reasons for the first problem, and a second problem in its own right, is the book has no clear focus. The title question is chewed over a few times, but not much progress is made. However there are over-detailed digressions into topics like how to schedule games if major league baseball expands to Asia.

The writing style is inconsistent. It's best when the author is describing personal experiences, worst when he tries to summarize technical information or make precise points. A lot of topics seem to end when the writing ground to a halt, then a new topic is introduced with a fresh burst of energy and clarity. A good editor could have made big improvements to this book.

Finally, the book is simply not comprehensive enough to do more than raise interesting questions. The author's talent is bringing out unusual nuggets of information and polishing them. But you can't make much progress on the big questions of baseball's future evolution without mentioning player's unions, gambling, fantasy, rotisserie, the law or esports, for example. There are a lot of pages about semi-big-leagues, including the Pacific Coast League, but no mention of the Portland Mavericks, who proved a thing or two about the potential for independent minor league teams.

If you're a hardcore baseball fan, not just what happens on the field but the curious infrastructure of the major leagues, then you will find it well worth your while to plow through for many delicious gems scattered throughout. If you're not a hardcore baseball fan, I don't think you'll make the effort, and probably wouldn't appreciate the good parts much either.

The book didn't really delve into a question that interested me: what if it doesn't? Like baseball itself, I found this book rather dull.

An interesting if long winded book all about the history and future of baseball a really good read if you are interested in this.