The New York Times ran a couple of interesting pieces in the July 8 issue. (Yeah, I know I’m late, so sue me.)
* Tyler Kepner wrote, “The 83F project: Sign here, please,” about one man’s attempt to have his entire 1983 Fleer card set signed by the subjects, all 660 of them. he’s 99 shy of the goal.
(Bryce Vickmark for The New York Times)
* More pertinent to my own experience is Bill Christine’s essay, “An Official Scorer’s Call Isn’t Always the Last Word,” which brought back some fond memories.
About 15 years ago, I was a part-time game reporter for STATS Inc. It was my job to input data for games, including where the ball landed on the field and how hard they were hit. I would do this for about a dozen Mets games a year at Shea.
It was there I met the late Bill Shannon, who served as an official scorer at the time. I was impressed by the deference he received from the media, who awaited his “last word” on hits, errors, rules, etc. This was my first experience in the press box, and I admit it was a bit intimidating. Everything moved so quickly and STATS demanded a iron-clad attention. So one of the things I found a bit disconcerting was when Shannon would ask me about a certain play, or the pitch count, or some other thing that I felt compelled to look up at the expense of falling behind in my own work.
is available on Amazon.com,
Comments on this entry are closed.