Baseball preview issues. I really don’t know who the audience for these paper dinosaurs is anymore.
As a pre-Internet kid, I looked forward to that period in early spring when they hit the news stands en masse. Some were Some were just “one-year wonders.” Others, like Sport, The Sporting News, Street & Smith, Inside Sports, ESPN the Magazine, Major League Baseball, Mazeroski’s, were the standard-bearers.
Now it’s pretty much down to three, not counting those expressly about fantasy baseball: Athlon, Lindy’s, and Sports Illustrated.
Not one to judge, but are you sensing a pattern here? (See what I did there, lol?) In my day there was just one national cover. Now you can tailor the issue you want by region.
Athlon and Lindy’s are more “traditional” in that they devote several pages per team, breaking them down by position. They include schedules, rosters, statistics, etc. There are separate sections that might focus on the minors, prospects, maybe some stuff about fantasy (although there are plenty of stand-alone magazines on this topic). And, of course, predictions: who will finish where, who will be in the post-season, who will win awards.
Needless to say, the “serious” data in these things can be obsolete the minute they leave the printing press. Bo Bichette had not yet signed with the Mets so none of what he might bring to their table is reflected in the issues. Conversely, the teams these free agents and traded players left might have to be re-assessed.
The magazines also offer a handful of feature articles, but even these are repetitious, dealing with how the new rules and stats affect the game.
Sports Illustrated is a different animal. They were a tad more timely when they were a weekly publication. Even now that they’re monthly, they don’t devote the entire issue to baseball. But as they promote themselves as “Illustrated,” they do have an obligation to balance that with the narrative. One thing I found interesting in this year’s offering is a bar graph
Sorry about the photo. It’s hard to tell, but each team is judged on five categories: talent; front office; “watchability”; manager; and payroll. (I feel very sorry for the managers who are so visually labeled with low grades. Ouch.)
So long story short: Are these things worth the hefty cover price? If you’re looking for definitive information, no. Thought-provoking stories? Maybe?
For me, I get them for the nostalgia.