Tracy Ringolsby profiles

When I was a copy desk intern one summer, working at the same paper as Tracy, other writers on the same staff wouldn't give me the time of day. Tracy, on the other hand, went out of his way to befriend me, inviting me out to the park on my off nights and hanging with him before, during and after the game. He introduced me to the manager, players and other key player like I was somebody special and I saw how he commanded the respect of those people. When other guys on the paper would go out for late night beers after deadline, he would invite me as well.
That's the Tracy Ringolsby I know.
I will always be grateful for the time he spent with me, and for his encouragement, his kindness and his respect.

 

Based on what I know about you, Mizzougrad, the only way you're getting into the Hall of Fame is by buying a ticket.

It's one of the biggest days of the guy's life and you're take not one, but two anonymous shots?

Why am I not surprised?

For the record, the only way I'd know Tracy is by spotting his cowboy hat. I've never met the man. But congratulations to him. Walking across that Cooperstown stage has to be a huge thrill.

 

Tracy attended a seminar I helped put on once, a real stressful deal because of a lot of loose ends right up to the last seconds.

Afterward, Tracy was one of the guys hanging out when I got perhaps the drunkest I have ever been in my life.

I'm nothing close to a seamhead, and he was nothing but nice to me.

From what I remember, of course.

 

The only valid response any of us can really have is in our dealiings with the person. I covered baseball for many years while Tracy was covering in different cities. In my dealings with him, he was a good person, quick with an answer if I had a question about the team he was covering. He was helpful in other ways, too, getting people free lance work with weekly or monthly publications. Tracy is a good man and, while I have always felt those of us who write about the HOF shouldn't really be in it, under the current ground rules for media involvement, he does belong.

Like I said, if you know Tracy, feel free to talk about him but if you've never dealt with him, your opinion means nothing.

 

He's in the Hall and I'm not, and nor will I ever be...

I know the guy well and I don't like him. He's a great reporter. That's not subject for debate.

 

Thanks for checking in, Troy. But seriously, I always thought saberheads didn't like Ringo.

 

There is a rift between Tracy and the saberheads. Tracy is a big scouts' guy, and a lot of the traditional scouting flies in the face of what the saberheads espouse.

Kind of like in politics, somewhere in the middle of the two extremes is probably the best place to be. The good old-time scouts understand some things that the numbers geeks don't get. At the same time, a lot of those numbers are useful tools if you know how to use them.

Anyway, as I said, Tracy has certainly made baseball his life and carved out quite niche. And I'm glad some of the non-seamheads have had good dealings with with him.

 

I would never argue that Tracy is a great writer and I sometimes cringe when he's writing stuff to puff up scouts.

That said, I've always found Tracy to be very helpful in sharing his knowledge and information and I'm glad he's being recognized for his hard work and dedication. I've never seen him be unpleasant to anyone.

I have no idea at this writing (2:35 Eastern) where the HOF ceremony is, but I'd like to predict that Tracy will use part of his speech to advocate Hall recognition for scouts.

 

Tracy was my idol growing up, because I thought (in those pre-internet days), wow, a woman writing baseball. Awesome. Maybe it can be done.

Quickly found out the truth when I started covering MLB – that there's no way any self-respecting woman would wear a hat like that. ;D

He couldn't have been nicer to me or more encouraging, always getting in touch if he heard something about my team on his end, always positive and treating me as an equal, which I surely wasn't then as a newbie know-nothing and am not now, as a "veteran" still-know-nothing.

He's a strong personality, so he's always going to have clashes with some people, similarly blessed.

But I can't say enough good things about him. You guys don't know me. But ask anyone who does, and they'll tell you this is extremely rare for me. I can find fault with the Pope.

 

What did I do wrong?