What once was known as America's national pastime is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports around the world.
The game of baseball has grown in popularity almost globally with professional leagues in many countries including Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and all throughout the Caribbean.
With such a diverse following amongst its fans the growth of baseball magazines and its related industries has grown tremendously over the past decades.
There is virtually every element of information regarding the game available to those who actively seek it out.
Baseball magazines have become more and more specialized over the course of the last twenty years as the growing number of recorded statistics kept by major league baseball has increased.
As opposed to some magazines of years gone by that would cover all the major sporting events, there is now a trend to highlight and isolate individual sports in order to give fans more specific knowledge about the one sport they love most.
For baseball fans this has become quite a bonanza as there are baseball magazines that feature everything from pure statistics and the sport's top stories to the specialty magazine which may feature such things as baseball trading card values or who to draft in the upcoming seasons fantasy draft.
There is also the internet to consider.
Many baseball magazines are now published and available online either in a downloadable format or on websites dedicated strictly to what is considered the news of the day.
This may include such information as daily player transactions, the latest scores and standings, or even game odds giving the fan the best idea of who will win that day's games.
As far as the history of baseball is concerned, some of the most notable and long lasting publications are still around years after their initial publications.
The Sporting News, Baseball Digest, and Street and Smith's Baseball Annual are still among the top sellers even today.
As such, the early issues of these baseball magazines are currently some of the most sought after items by collectors worldwide.
Among the most treasured are those featuring stories and interviews from past superstars of the game.
Original magazines from the 1950's featuring the likes of Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays attract top dollar by baseball enthusiasts everywhere.
The most important aspect of today's baseball magazines is the variety that can be had.
If you are a casual fan looking for reviews of last season or previews of the next there is plenty of material available.
If it is the breakdown of individual player stats that gets your attention the market is full of publications for you as well.
When looking for information any baseball fan can always find what they need at a reasonable price given the options that are available.