Ted Field is the author of The Well (a novel), The Christmas Stories (a collection of essays), and American Trail (a novel). He attended his first Major League baseball game in 1958 and in the many years since has been an avid fan enjoying the game played at all levels. After his fourth visit to Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Ted was inspired to combine his views about baseball’s place in our culture and history with what he read from great baseball writers like Roger Angel and Thomas Boswell, and write the definitive thesis that proves why baseball is the greatest game and our true National Pastime. Past the age of 70, Ted still collects baseball cards. He recalls advice he got from his father many years ago, when he told Ted on his 12th birthday that “ twelve is a tough age for a boy because he’s too young for girls and too old for baseball cards.” He wishes he could tell his father how mistaken he was, but admit that maybe a boy is always too young for girls. Ted and his wife live in Minnesota cheering for the Twins.