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 AppleMark
!

Joe