2013 MLB Hall of Fame Screechfest

What is your issue with Biggio? Not exactly a guy you normally see lumped in with Bonds and Clemens.

 

I don't agree with that. I think that's what you value, because it's seen as working harder than the guy who just shows up, writes the pedestrian stuff, and walks.

But you can bring insight, humor and craft to the actual event itself. You can. Not that many writers try and, worse, not that many of their editors let them. But, no, front office stuff is not the only, or even most important, thing. In fact, it's dangerous to distill a beat to that.

 

You can, of course.

But so can the guy watching from his couch at home.

He can't cover the front-office stuff, though.

Basically, I guess my main point is that the bar is higher than it used to be on how much of an expert you have to be in order to excel in this day and age of baseball coverage. There are fans who know every nuance of MLB's rules. There are fans who know every major prospect in your team's systems and others. There are fans who carefully watch and examine every pitch of every game. Some of them also are very good writers. Some of them don't blog. Most of them don't. But they can gather enough information without you to get by in 2013. That probably wasn't true in 1972.

 

Forget blogs. Everyone is concentrating on blogs. I'm talking about TV. There are more games on TV now. Exponentially more. And the production values are through the roof compared to the production values just 10, 20, or 30 years ago. And there are more highlights. Baseball Tonight. SportsCenter. MLB Network. There's a reason This Week in Baseball went off the air.

 

No, totally different issues. Won't get into it here.

 

My point is this, and it's quite narrow:

Beat coverage is de-valued today, compared to what it was 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

It is not of no value.

It is of less value.

 

Fair point, and I think that it's arguable that the blitz of entertainment options available nowadays probably gives a little bit of that value back to the beat guys, as people don't give the time they maybe used to to watching the games. Not true in the NFL, of course.

 

NERDS!!!! STATSHEETS!!!!!!!!!!! SLIDERULES!!!!!!!!!! PARENTS' BASEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111ONE1!!

 

There are just soooo many games in baseball that even to watch on a consistent basis constitutes a full-time job. I can't even remember the last time I read a game story except as a copy desk editor. I'll read big-picture type stories: trades, acquistions, analysis, even commentaries. But not game stories. I really believe the usefulness of game stories for big-time sports is dying out because it's too easy to watch on TV or get a recap on the internet.

 

Isn't this a place to discuss it?

 

Then you shouldn't have brought it up here.

 

*raises hand*

At least one.