2026 Baseball Almanac: The Ultimate Guide to Records, Icons, and Unforgettable Feats: Discover Epic Moments, Unforgettable Heroes, and Historic Achievements, by Jasper Weatherstone
Readers of this blog know my feelings towards superlatives in the title, so strike one.
Strike two is the use of the word “almanac.” When I was a kid, baseball almanacs basically contained information on every team, with rosters and statistics. Book form as opposed to magazines, which were a whole ‘nother species. Maybe the usage has changed over the decades.
Weatherstone gets props for what must have been an extensive amount of research but his chapters — such as “Breaking Barriers,”Iconic Rivalries That Shaped the Game,” and “The Best and Worst Teams of All Time” — seem to be all over the place. He picks a handful of examples for each section, which is great for newcomers, but readers who are more well-versed in the game might wonder how he made his decisions. It’s difficult to winnow more than 100 years of history into just a few paragraphs.
The most interesting and thoughtful sections have to do with philosophical issues, such as players who had the biggest impact and the future of baseball.
The final chapter features a trivia quiz composed of true/false questions, most of which are geared towards those with no real experience with the sport.
Would I recommend The Baseball Almanac? Generally speaking, it’s a serviceable intro to the game, but hard core fans could skip this one. Strike three.
is available on Amazon.com,
