March 7, 2010
This website remains under construction. In the meantime, keep up with the latest Baseball 2.0 news by visitng The Hannigan Loft on Facebook. Baseball 2.0, Volume 1 is also now available for sale.
December 27, 2009
Dear Baseball and the City reader,
Thank you for your interest
in my blog, which had been based on Facebook. As of December 15, the number of
fans topped 555 --- a rather symbolic number, for those of you who, like me,
believe in things like fate, superstition, and overthinkingÉ ItÕs also an
impressive number because the modest count makes me feel like I accomplished
something.
The blog is now on an
indefinite hiatus, as is the previous, original incarnation. Combined, AFL:
Baseball and the City and A FrogÕs
Life lasted 10 years. That is
definitely a lot of blogging, but also, it is a significant chunk of evolution
in regards to my creative non-fiction writing and writing in general. There are
many reasons why Baseball is
making such an abrupt disappearance. Ultimately, the main reason is not so
different from the entries I posted all these years: reflection. There has
recently come a time when I had to re-evaluate my approach to writing, and
though the Baseball hiatus may
seem like a rash decision, it was also made carefully. I stand by the decision
and the complex reasons that led to it.
My baseball blog was not
always specifically about baseball. As a new fan, I have not yet become
accustomed to esoteric stats and strategies. As a new fan, I am just now honing
my sense of loyalty and spirit. I like to think that IÕve come a long way since
June 2009. Since then, my blog has been an exploration of large themes, though
none were larger than baseball. Great is my feeling of displacement: a
college-educated gay American minority who is in love with a sport once
described as Òthe white manÕs gameÓ --- among other existential complexities of
the young adult, 20-something experience. Although the blog as I know it is
done, I guarantee you that this exploration and its accompanying themes will
resurface in what, to me, are new and uncharted disciplines of writing.
In eras not so modern, it
would be unheard of for a writer to produce a letter like this. Of course, I
dare not compare myself to past authors, for IÕm barely an author myself, let
alone a published one. Even after 10 years, the experience of connecting with
so immediate an audience is new to me; put simply, I have probably handled this
breakup shittily. However, that has no bearing on the impressive Baseball audience: even though you are a stranger, we bonded.
I credit that miracle to baseball.
Well, as they say in print,
Òwatch this spaceÓ. Or, even better, as they say on television: TO BE
CONTINUED.
LetÕs Go 
!
Joe