One Year Anniversary
It’s hard to believe that it has now been one year since I posted the first blog. The idea was initially supposed to be a website, but the information has been much easier to communicate via a blog. The website can be seen at http://myworldofbaseball.com/. Like a house, it is built brick by brick, but most of the time is spent on the blog. Unfortunate in a way, since the website can go so much farther if there was more time to devote to it.
This is still an experiment of love. The goal was to work this for three years on a part time basis and when I retire from my real job put more effort into it. It’s amazing how many baseball fans are out there and how many websites exist that discuss the game. There is a wealth of information and misinformation. It pains me when some of the misinformation is communicated by me, but you learn quickly when it happens. There are a lot of smart people out there ready to correct you. Sometimes it seems that I devote more time to this blog than I do to my real job.
The more I do this the more I learn. The point of this was to write about baseball in the many countries that this sport is played so that my knowledge about the game in that country would grow. The experiment has worked. My knowledge about the game is so much greater now than it was last year, especially in the many countries that this game is played outside the United States. But it still feels that I’ve only graduated from kindergarten. I’ve got so much farther to go.
Those websites that focus on baseball in their country will always be much more knowledgeable about the game in their homeland. Websites like http://www.baseballdecuba.com/indexeng.asp, http://www.japanesebaseball.com/index.jsp and http://www.mister-baseball.com/ will tell you much more about Cuban, Japanese and European baseball with a lot more detail than I can give. There may be others out there that I am not familar with and if there are let me know. Myworld will be more than happy to link.
What’s in store for 2009? For February myworld was hoping to catch the Caribbean World Series in Mexicali and experience some of the flavor there, but a trip to Guatemala will have to suffice. Myworld will be searching for baseball there so you will hear about it if I find it. This will be the 49th country that myworld will tick off on the traveling atlas. Hopefully, the internet and lap top work so that the reporting will continue. It will be a silent two weeks if it does not.
February will also begin a report on the San Diego State Aztec baseball team. Since the Nationals have the number one pick in the draft and Stephen Strasburg is a pitcher there and the favorite to be drafted number one, it is only fitting that myworld report on them. Since Tony Gwynn has taken over the program it has not had the success many had hoped for, failing to qualify for the NCAA series in each of his five years of coaching there. Perhaps this will be the year.
June or July will see a trip to China to catch a little baseball action there. It will be my second trip to China. During my first trip they were not playing any baseball. The fact that snow was on the ground could have been a good reason, but the league had not started yet. The summer trip should be much more pleasant. A lot has probably happened since my last visit to Beijing, Shanghai and Guandong. It will only be Beijing on this trip. Three cities in one week is a bit too challenging. It will be interesting to see if the internet access allows me to update the blog.
September will see a trip to Italy to catch the World Baseball Cup. This will be the 50th new country on my atlas map to visit. This is the one country that myworld has always wanted to visit and what better excuse does one need than the World Baseball cup.
There will also be the traditional reports of the Nationals and Orioles games that myworld attends, as well as any other major league game no matter the country. It’s possible myworld will include some minor league games, but we don’t want to bore you with too many game reports.
Myworld also welcomes any suggestions on what you would like to see. Myworld doesn’t post comments for practical reasons but we do read all the comments. While this is a project of love we do want to make it enjoyable for those who stop by and share in myworld. After all, it is much more satisfying to share.