[Eugene Church]

I got my local library to get me a copy of The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball on loan through the inter-library loan system...and LGO is exactly right...it is great for league standings and league leaders in pitching and batting...but not for individual stats.

The best I have seen are the Baseball Guides that The Sporting News or Spaulding used to publish every season and give the individual stats for batting, pitching and even fielding for every minor league...they truly are wonderful books if you really want detailed stats...you have enough information to create pretty accurate ratings for minor league players.

The guides were fantastic and included all of the minor leagues that played each season. I had one for the year of 1954 when I was a kid and used to create my own card baseball game...modelled on APBA...and use the guide to create players for my league...Still remember Russ Snyder and Dean Stafford as outstanding minor league hitters in that year.

I think they began publishing these guides in 1913.

I contacted The Sporting News to see if they were still available and found out you might get access to them in St. Louis...they really were not very cooperative or helpful. The Minor League Baseball Association is of no help either...I even contacted individual leagues thinking they surely would have the complete individual stats...only the Texas League was helpful...they sent me their Media Guide...but it didn't have individual stats for all seasons...only league records...SABR wasn't any help either...none of their researchers responded to my emails.

It would be a massive job to collect all of them.

One of our OOTPB Forum members has copies of these...maybe a full set...he shared a few years with me (Southern Association and Texas Leagues 1943 and 1946-1948) when I wanted to recreate those leagues and have a Dixie Series between their league champions each year)...and they are great. But it is asking too much of him to supply that info...he was very nice to help me though.