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The Beginning…

by Matt Smith

Well, here goes! My first foray into the world of blogging.


The idea of this blog is to create a space where I can write about Baseball. My first love is football (site rule number 1: when I use the word “football” I mean soccer!) and I’m fortunate enough to already have a presence on the web writing articles about my team, Norwich City, at a great website http://www.ncfc-fans.co.uk (see: Never mind the Danger).

However, baseball has found a large place in my heart. I started watching in 1998 after I discarded the standard British mentality of “Baseball = glorified rounders” and actually watched a game. I was hooked from the start. The game itself was a great spectacle. Baseball is one of the few sports that requires a large team effort to be successful, yet also focuses on intense one-on-one duels and personal battles
Beyond the game itself, I was struck by just how much there was to learn. The basic rules, the many phrases ( “high cheese” was an early favourite!), the importance of statistics (from the basics to the world of sabermetrics), the history, learning how to score games, and crucially how many great baseball websites there are. I guess some people would be put off by the task of learning all about these things, but it just served to fuel my enthusisam.

So, this is Baseball: A British Perspective. Whilst I’m a fan of over seven years and counting, I’m not an expert on the game, by any stretch of the imagination! However what I lack in knowledge I will hopefully make up for with my enthusiasm. I read a fair amount of different baseball sites and I often find that I take a slightly different view on things from normal. This is where the “British Perspective” comes into play. Whether it’s on the field issues, or off the field issues, us Brits are used to sports being played, organised and run in certain ways (e.g. divisions with promotion and relegation, players being bought not traded, no strikes halting play!). So, this blog should provide a bit of a contrast to other sites. Every now and then you may come across a post that you find informative. More likely my ramblings will make you laugh (sometimes with me, sometimes at me!).

As today is the first day of Spring Training games, I thought this would be a fitting day to launch. I’m looking forward to posting throughout the 2006 season and beyond.

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2 comments

econ January 15, 2007 - 7:45 am

I live in LA and am a Dodger/Angel fan. The whole world baseball classic sparked my interest in finding ‘international perspectives’ on baseball. That’s how I stumbled across your site. Good reading.
🙂

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baseballgb January 15, 2007 - 7:56 pm

Thanks for popping by.

The World Baseball classic provided some of my favourite 2006 baseball moments (David Ortiz’ homer against Cuba was probably the pick of the bunch) and I was delighted that so many previously sceptical people in the U.S. really got into the tournament as it progressed. There’s room for improvement but that is always going to be the case when you hold a big event for the first time. 2007 Spring training is going to drag a bit in comparison and I can’t wait for the next Classic in 2009. I’m sure there were quite a few top names who decided against playing in 2006 and ended up watching from afar wishing they had been part of it. Hopefully everyone will approach the next event completely committed to making it a success.

It’s not going to create a world full of baseball lovers over night, but it’s an excellent way to showcase everything that is great about the sport in a format that sports fans around the world can relate to.

Finally, seeing as you are from LA, I feel it is my duty to apologise on behalf of the British nation for inflicting David Beckham and Posh Spice on you! The only thing limiting my sympathy is that if they are in LA, then they’re not going to be in Britain!

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