There have been several Baseball Guides since the 19th century - the ''
Spalding Guide'' and ''
Reach Guide There have been several Baseball Guides since the 19th century - the ''Spalding Guide'' and ''Reach Guide'' were the primary ones for decades. The two merged eventually and then were replaced by the Guides put out by ''The Sporting News''. The main ...
'' were the primary ones for decades. The two merged eventually and then were replaced by the Guides put out by ''
The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
''. The main features of the ''Spalding'' and ''The Sporting News'' Guides have been detailed coverage of minor league results; since the late 1920s they have contained annual statistics for the vast majority of minor leagues. Several Guides have been official publications, such as the Barnes & Company one in 1945 or the ''Sporting News'' ones from the late 1940s through early 1990s. In the days when multiple competing guides were used, it is not as clear which guide is being referred to. ''The Sporting News'' ceased publication after their Guide following the 2006 edition, leaving the
Baseball Almanac
Baseball Almanac is an interactive baseball encyclopedia with over 500,000 pages of baseball facts, research, awards, records, feats, lists, notable quotations, baseball movie ratings, and statistics. Its goal is to preserve the history of baseba ...
as the sole major statistic annual.
Earliest baseball guides
References
Baseball books
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