Trampling on the grave of newspapers

BB Bobcat · Feb 27, 2009

Am I being too sensitive in being really ticked off by this?

With the Rocky Mountain News folding today, it got me thinking - where is the online baseball community headed? Between The Hardball Times and blogs like ours here at FanGraphs and Tango’s work at The Book Blog, there is a remarkable flow of tremendous content being put out simply for the sake of improving the quality of baseball knowledge available. For guys like Studes or Tango, this isn’t their career - it’s a hobby, and something they do because they love it.

The same goes true, I would suspect, for most of the new analysts we’ve seen rise up in various sites over the last year or two. From guys like Sean Smith to Sky Kalkman, Colin Wyers, Josh Kalk, Mike Fast, and all the rest, there is a deep well of talent that is advancing baseball knowledge for everyone. And they’re doing it without charging for their efforts.

Much like the open source movement in software, there’s been a revolution in the baseball community. The best content available isn’t being written in books or newspapers, or even behind subscription walls that require payments to access - the best knowledge available is free to everyone who wants it.

And, while it’s sad to watch newspapers fold and business models fail, it’s exciting to be living in an age where anyone who wants to educate themselves on the game can do so.
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I was first referred to this by Rob Neyer, a newly minted member of the BBWAA who agreed with the guy!!!!

Obviously, I think it's incredibly narrow-minded and elitist to think that all of those statistical analysis types could get by on their own without any professional journalists producing the other 90 percent of the world's baseball coverage.

Frank_Ridgeway · Feb 27, 2009

"Improving the quality of baseball knowledge available?"

"A deep well of talent that is advancing baseball knowledge for everyone?"

"Anyone who wants to educate themselves on the game?"

Good grief. I like what it feels like inside a ballpark, what it smells like, the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the way the grass looks. And when I'm not in a ballyard, I like TV/radio announcers and newspaper writers who make me feel like I am. One of Boswell's old books was "Why Time Begins On Opening Day." No it doesn't. It began Wednesday, first spring game on the tube.

crusoes · Feb 28, 2009

When Boswell wrote it, TV started on opening day, too.

shotglass · Feb 28, 2009

Frank_Ridgeway said:

"Improving the quality of baseball knowledge available?"

"A deep well of talent that is advancing baseball knowledge for everyone?"

"Anyone who wants to educate themselves on the game?"

Good grief. I like what it feels like inside a ballpark, what it smells like, the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the way the grass looks. And when I'm not in a ballyard, I like TV/radio announcers and newspaper writers who make me feel like I am. One of Boswell's old books was "Why Time Begins On Opening Day." No it doesn't. It began Wednesday, first spring game on the tube.
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Yes. What he said.

buckweaver · Feb 28, 2009

Outside of The Hardball Times, I haven't heard of any of those guys. And the ones I do know are way past their primes.

Seriously: They need to not take themselves so seriously. Neyer doesn't. James doesn't, either.

imjustagirl · Feb 28, 2009

buckweaver said:

And the ones I do know are way past their primes.
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This is why I heart you in the most platonic way possible.

playthrough · Feb 28, 2009

Gawd, Andruw Jones in his prime didn't play this shallow.

And thankfully one voice of reason, though sad, in the comments:

I am a baseball writer who has recently lost his job, and I find this idea to be pretty offensive. While I will grant you that in areas of stastical analysis, the best work is done by the bloggers and others that you mention, there is much more than that to providing the full story for fans.

Do me a favor and try to go a week without reading a single thing written by a professional journalist. No ESPN.com, no MLB.com, no AP, no newspaper web sites.

It would be an awfully long winter for you guys in between box scores.

Just because you don’t pick up an actual newspaper doesn’t mean you still aren’t relying on professional journalists.

playthrough · Feb 28, 2009

Not terribly offensive, but it does reiterate the stereotypes about saber-seamheads.

BB Bobcat · Feb 28, 2009

That voice of reason is... uh.... me

playthrough · Feb 28, 2009

Hey, no outing!

(and hang in there)

RickStain · Feb 28, 2009

I was thinking about the baseball sabermetric community as an example of how reporters can still do their work and get paid, though, the other day. Baseballprospectus.com is by no means the best stathead work out there, but they do seem to be making money and employing people.

BB Bobcat · Feb 28, 2009

buckweaver said:

The premise behind the original piece is pretty shallow, but I think it's pretty knee-jerk if anyone here is actually offended by it. I didn't gather anywhere in the excerpt that he's actually "trampling on the grave of newspapers" or that he's saying statistical analysts "could get by" without the reporting of beat writers (although they could -- technically -- if they're only crunching numbers.)

You're looking for what you want to be offended by, IMO, rather than reacting to what he's actually saying. Although, FWIW, what he's saying is pretty worthless.
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Well I did suggest in my OP that perhaps I was being too sensitive. The thing just struck a nerve with me.

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Trampling on the grave of newspapers

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