Baseball America is not for the casual fan. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about baseball (translation: I know who Luis Pujols is), and there's a decent amount of stuff in the average issue that I could do without. Still, if you're looking for a magazine that covers every angle from high school to the pros, you're not going to find a better publication.
That's not to say that Baseball America is my favorite baseball publication: I prefer USA Today Baseball Weekly (now on the web at totalbaseballweekly.com). But that's only because my interest encompasses only Major League Baseball and the high minor leagues. Baseball America sacrifices a little bit of MLB coverage in favor of more in-depth looks at the minors, college, and high school players. Personally, I don't care about what the aluminum bat wielding kids do until they start using wood, but you may like following younger players. It all depends upon what you're looking to get out of a magazine.
A few things about Baseball America that are worth noting:
- It's more than occasionally funny. A few years back they had a feature in each issue called "The Joe Xavier Watch," which tracked the progress of a player who was striving to be the first major leaguer with a last name beginning in the letter X. Alas, Joe never made it--but BA provided a lot of laughs along the way.
- The writing is excellent.Baseball America is written in a highly literary style, and each issue features some of the best columnists alive today. If you believe in baseball-as-poetry, this is the publication for you.
- BA isn't a kids' magazine. There's not much in here that will keep the youngins interested. A paucity of color photos, a frequent use of words like "paucity," and the lack of a section for kids make this a decidedly adult magazine (although not in the Leg Show sense, of course).
- No baseball publication is more Nostradamus-like in its predictions about young players. If you want to know who to watch 2-5 years from now, read BA. Look at their annual hot prospects issue from 3, 4, or 5 years ago, and you'll be looking at next year's All-Star roster.
Bottom line: if you're a Rotisserie player or a casual fan, go with USA Today Baseball Weekly. If you're a high school coach, if you like a little humor with your box scores, or if you like watching prospects develop, Baseball America is right for you.
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