A review by tofugitive
Future Value: The Battle for Baseball's Soul and How Teams Will Find the Next Superstar by Kiley McDaniel, Eric Longenhagen

informative slow-paced
 It feels weird giving this a rating because there's not really a narrative - it's a *very* in-depth explanation of the inner workings of baseball operations and scouting. It's a great complement to Jared Diamond's "Swing Kings" and Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik's "The MVP Machine".

The only drawback to it all is that a LOT has changed structurally since this book was published; there was a global pandemic, a minor league contraction, a new collective bargaining agreement that changes and addresses a lot of Longenhagen and McDaniel's speculation about how a new CBA will impact things.

That being said, most of the rest of the book is still VERY relevant to today's game. It's something that anyone interested in working in baseball operations should read, especially if you're a college student pursuing that career. Although I was working more towards the business operations of Sports Management with my degree, my dream was to work on the operations side. Knowing what I know based on my internships and this book, I'm glad I didn't pursue any of this. I would have failed out due to the commitment I'd actually want to have to this job.

Anyway, there is no point in reading this if you're a casual baseball fan or a non-baseball fan at all. You have to be *really* into baseball to enjoy it. Fortunately, that does describe me.