They came seeking wisdom.

They carried notebooks, too, ready to scribble down the one overlooked piece of information or obscure statistic that would give them an edge over the competition.

From their rapt attention and detailed questions, you’d think the crowd at Martin Library in York on Saturday was a group of day-traders who’d turned out for the chance to hit up Warren Buffett for his favorite stock tips.

But the mostly male, mostly middle-aged crowd, wasn’t intent on divining how Microsoft stock would do or whether the Dow would break 18,000.

Instead, they wanted to ask the experts how many at-bats Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez will get this season — and whether they’ll be in a Cubs uniform.

As Gene Rauhauser put it, “We’re baseball geeks.”

Rauhauser, 54, who’s been part of a York County fantasy baseball league for 25 years, was among about 75 baseball fans who turned out to hear from Paul White, a retired, long-time USA TODAY baseball writer and the founding editor of USA TODAY Baseball Weekly, and Brent Hershey, general manager of editorial for BaseballHQ.com, a research service for fantasy sports fans.

This was the 24th year Martin Library has held the event. A snowstorm broke what would have been a 25-year streak. White’s been at every one, ever since Fran Keller, the library’s director of marketing — she was then a secretary to library CEO Bill Schell — cold-called him back in late 1991.

“My boss challenged me to come up with a program that would attract men to the library,” Keller said of the program’s beginnings.

White, whose mother lived in Lancaster at the time, had no hesitation in coming to York to speak.

To sweeten the deal, Keller offered to bake him a peanut butter pie, which she’s done every year. The first program was held in 1992.

What’s the question White’s most often asked?

Fans want to know “the secret that’s going to win me all this money in my fantasy league,” he said.

Saturday was Don Martin’s sixth Fantasy Baseball Spring Training. Martin, 62, who lives in Millersville, came with two other members of his league.

Martin finished at the bottom of the 11-team league last season. He came to hear White’s and Hershey’s take on players he’s thinking of adding to his roster.

“Everybody here has a guy they’re interested in, but it’s nice to hear what the experts have to say about them.” said Martin, a retired restaurant manager. “Because I finished so badly last season, I’m looking at a lot of prospects.”