Blame it on my dog, Nellie.
I was walking her in the morning and did something I never do.
Normally I would listen to a podcast or some music on our outing. But this time I was reading an article in The New York Times. And I mean the print edition, not on the app. I was struck by a cover story in the arts section about Derek Klena, a Broadway actor who also pitches for the Savannah Bananas. Obviously, the intersection of sports and pop culture is a main interest of mine; I always think about the author of the story. Is it someone who normally writes about sports or is it an arts writer working on a sports piece? This is especially common if a team makes the post-season and news organizations look to make the story palatable for people who might not be sports fans.
The article — “A Broadway Star Is the Savannah Bananas’ Phantom of the Bullpen” — was written by Jonathan Abrams and a little digging revealed he has a legit background in sports journalism.
Problem was, I was so engrossed in reading that I failed to notice a rather large rock in my path. The rock did not ignore me, however, causing me to fall and resulting in a sprained ankle and sizeable gash on my knee. I’ve learned my lesson.
But my interest in Abrams persisted and I reach out to him to discuss this combination.
BTW: Abrams does not have a baseball book out…yet. So the spot in the intro/outro of the video where I would normally include the writer’s book features one he wrote about the acclaimed TV series, The Wire. I chose that rather than one of his actual sports book because there was actually a baseball storyline in that show. Since The Wire is set in Baltimore, it only made sense to highlight the Orioles.
is available on Amazon.com,
