Editor's Note

This volume of NINE begins the ninth year and a new direction for this unique journal. The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) will now be in charge of the distribution, marketing, advertising, and printing of NINE. I look forward to working with UNP and hope that through their good work, NINE will be able to expand its readership.

When I began this venture nearly a decade ago, I believed that there was a niche for a baseball journal that devoted itself to the study of the historical and sociological aspects of the game. My objectives were to treat the study of baseball with scholarly scrutiny and yet not lose the joy of the game. There is more to the study of the game than a statistical fetish or fawning praise. I believe that both the contributors and the readers of this journal have proven that hypothesis.

The combining of issues 1 and 2 of volume 9 was made necessary by the transition required to align UNP and NINE publishing schedules. To celebrate this new relationship, four works (the two Honig works and the Nauen work plus the Ordway piece) were added by UNP to enhance this special volume. Readers can expect to receive two separate issues per volume beginning with volume 10. Readers will also note the slight change in the subtitle of the journal in that the journal is now called NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture. This new title is not as dazzlingly arcane as the previous one, but I believe it reflects the objectives of the journal.