To me, there's nothing more enjoyable about baseball than looking at the box scores in the morning newspaper.

When growing up more than 30 years ago, there was no ESPN, and only one nationally televised game a week. So I learned to love baseball primarily by combing the box scores.

While I grew up a Phillie and Yankee fan, I spent time reviewing all the box scores in an effort to learn as much about the players and teams as I could. The beauty of box scores is that they provide tons of information about the games in a completely neutral way with no spin or commentary. After all, a player can make any excuse he wants, but the box score numbers don't lie.

Home runs, hits and runs batted in may be the offensive statistics that receive all the press, but in box scores these are no more important or emphasized than walks, stolen bases, sacrifices or other numbers that help to complete a player's or a team's statistical picture, and their success or failure.

I actually really enjoy going a few days without having any baseball news, only to delve into the box scores to see what I missed. For all the changes in baseball over the years, the box score has remained pretty much the same, and for that I'm glad.

If your kids are interested in baseball, encourage them to check out the box scores to see how their favorite players or teams are doing. It's likely to increase the amount of baseball discussion around the breakfast table, which to my way of thinking is a good thing.