My oldest media guide is older than Tim Lincecum

A baseball team's MEDIA GUIDE is a small book packed with every conceivable fact about a team.
During the past 27 years, I have had more than a dozen of these books devoted to the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS.
I received my latest media guide in the mail yesterday, a birthday present from my sister INGER.
Media guides were originally thin volumes used almost exclusively by working media covering the team. Savvy baseball marketing people realized the books would also serve obsessive fans, and sales of the guides took off and the books themselves evolved, adding color photos and becoming more expensive.
My oldest Giants' media guide is from the 1983 season. It's older than two-time Cy Young Award winner TIM LINCECUM (pictured on the most recent guide).
I thumbed through the 2010 season guide while listening to the Giants on the radio last night (San Francisco beat Florida, 9-6, in 12 innings).
Here are three facts I learned from the book last night:
1. Infielder/outfielder John Bowker was the roommate of Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki at Long Beach State University.
2. The longest scoreless streak for a San Francisco pitcher is 40 innings, compiled by Gaylord Perry in 1967.
3. Former player Kirt Manwaring serves as a roving catching instructor for the Giants' minor-league system.
I'll continue thumbing through the guide today. An obsessive fan can never know enough about the team.