30 years ago, this was state-of-the-art baseball reference. I replaced the battery and it still works!
posted by u/JPAnalyst · 2026-10-31 12:27 UTC
I bought this in the mid-90s and it was a game changer for me. I was (and still am) a stat nerd. I would pour over box scores, get on my calculator and divide some shit by some other shit. I’d go to the library and pull up old sports pages on microfiche on most weekends. Then this digital encyclopedia came out and gave me and my friends endless entertainment. Obviously we didn’t have internet, so the data was frozen in time and didn’t update, but it contained every player and every stat from the beginning of baseball up until 1993 or 1994, or whatever year I got it. The most fun was making nonsensical queries like finding the most home runs by the lightest players, or the most stolen bases for the heaviest players. But of course, it had all the normal stuff to query…Career leaders, league leaders by year, every team’s roster and stats by year standings by year, etc. (all the things we can do very easily today, but in a high tech, hand held, device. Also the perfect bathroom companion)
Found it, cleaning out our “junk room” and replaced the battery and it works!
This is a fun relic from the mid-90s, and that era was a great time. Some of you probably remember how great it was.
## Top comments
1. u/AutoModerator · 2026-10-31 12:27 UTC
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2. u/Yusuke_Boopermeshi · 2026-10-31 12:31 UTC
This is the coolest shit I have ever seen
3. u/SpunNumeroUno · 2026-10-31 12:35 UTC
I had this! My grandpa got it for one of my birthdays, thing was so cool, I used it a lot. It might actually still be around somewhere. I remember it being about 100$ or so at the time. Wow, thanks for sharing this, nostalgia kick!
4. u/JPAnalyst · 2026-10-31 12:37 UTC
I don’t remember what is cost, but whatever it cost it was worth it. Having this in your pocket, and pulling stats up where ever you were. Running queries with your friends was priceless. As you know from your experience.
5. u/SpunNumeroUno · 2026-10-31 12:42 UTC
Oh ya, I loved pulling the super super old timers stats and finding players with weird names, or weird random searches. Very cool
6. u/JPAnalyst · 2026-10-31 12:47 UTC
Yep! Dudes with names like “Rabbit” who had 17 triples in a season. Stuff like that.
7. u/zeppelin_007 · 2026-10-31 12:33 UTC
I think I had one of these!
8. u/runninroads · 2026-10-31 12:34 UTC
Lol this is awesome, never seen this before.
9. u/WafflePartyOrgy · 2026-10-31 17:54 UTC
I'm sure it would be a painstaking process, but it has to be possible to update the database, right?
10. u/other_name_taken · 2026-10-31 17:19 UTC
Did you have to get a new one every year? Or just accept the fact you didn't get newer stats?
11. u/JPAnalyst · 2026-10-31 17:37 UTC
I only had the one, but I think you had to buy a new one each year. I don’t think there was a way to load new information on to it.
12. u/eddiestarkk · 2026-10-31 15:22 UTC
Time flies man. Feels like yesterday, my parents bought me the Baseball Encyclopedia. I was so into stats as a kid. I am not sure if I ever had this device though. Crazy how much technology has developed since.
13. u/iliveunderurbed0 · 2026-10-31 13:50 UTC
Have one in my desk drawer!
14. u/JPAnalyst · 2026-10-31 13:53 UTC
Does it still work?
15. u/iliveunderurbed0 · 2026-10-31 13:54 UTC
Yup!
16. u/RabidOtters · 2026-10-31 15:01 UTC
I still have mine somewhere! Not sure if it works still.
17. u/me_mark77 · 2026-10-31 16:27 UTC
We sold those at Radio Shack in the late 80s-90s Cool find.
18. u/D0nk3yD0ngD0ug · 2026-10-31 17:02 UTC
Memory unlocked! Also only used it in offline mode and spent HOURS pouring through stats. Thanks OP!
19. u/fatbongo · 2026-10-31 20:17 UTC
I wonder if this could be relaunched as an app with that exact appearance that just got updated in real time
It would be cool just to pick up your device and tap away
I liked Franklin devices and their UI lol had a couple myself
20. u/Punta_Cana_1784 · 2026-10-31 12:57 UTC
What's that heavy breathing? Asthma?