Fantasy Expert

Ron Shandler is a self-described rotoholic. In the beginning, he hoarded newspaper box scores and pored over every number at his disposal. Then came the compulsion to create his own numbers. A monthly newsletter expanded into an annual Baseball Forecaster book, which spawned a media company, websites, tournaments, and more. Part memoir, part madcap history, is a fascinating and wide-ranging look at the modern growth and development of the game that went from cottage industry to national obsession. In chronicling his own escalating journey from rotisserie baseball hobbyist to professional authority, Shandler tells parallel tales of the rise of fantasy sports, the expanding baseball information industry, the increasingly sophisticated technology employed to gain an edge, and the fellow rotoholics who make it all possible. He also delves into the impact of fantasy baseball on the sport of baseball itself.