October, 1999: The various Soviet socialist republics are no longer a union, President Clinton watches the developments in Kosovo closely, DELETED FOR SECURITY REASONS win the World Series in six games, and Mercury Press publishes the five-hundred-and-seventy-third issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

We haven't handed the umpire our final lineup yet, but we can promise that Bradbury leads off with a guest editorial and Sturgeon, Goulart, Carroll, Le Guin, Shepard, Ellison, Wilhelm, Merril, Silverberg, and Bisson will all be starting. Bonestell provides the cover and there's a treat inside from the weird pen of Mr. Wilson. And can it really be possible that "Acceptance Speech" is the first story we've run from the author of "But Soft, What Light . . ." since April, 1966?

In the dugout wait sluggers like Scott Bradfield, Eleanor Arnason, Amy Sterling Casil, S. N. Dyer, and Albert Cowdrey. They look ready to play.

In 1949, the ticket price for four issues was $1.40. In 1999, a season ticket for eleven games still leaves you enough change for a hot dog and soda . . . and every seat in the stadium has a great view.