Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Tom Verducci, who joined the magazine in February 1993, is one of SI’s top baseball writers. He contributes inside information and analysis frequently to SI.com.

Before joining Sports Illustrated, Verducci spent 10 years (1983-1993) as a sports reporter for Newsday, serving as its national baseball columnist from 1990-1993. He also had a one-year stint as a sports reporter for Florida Today in Cocoa, Florida.

Verducci identifies his 1995 cover story, "The Dead End Kids," which profiled the struggling Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, as his most compelling Sports Illustrated feature. He broke into sports journalism covering the New York Mets at the same time both players broke into the majors playing, and says, "That personal parallel made the story go much deeper for me."

Born in East Orange, New Jersey, and raised in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Verducci led his high school football team to a state championship, calling his catch of the winning touchdown pass in the title game as the defining sports moment of his life. He moved on to Penn State University, where he received a B.A. in journalism in 1982. Verducci currently lives in suburban New Jersey with his wife and their two sons. His hobbies include physical fitness, photography and golf.