While I gather my thoughts and resources to get this newsletter off the ground, I wanted to take a minute to roll out one aspect that will be a recurring, monthly feature: Pretty Good Links.
There is so much good stuff out there in the world, which may become increasingly harder to find as our various social media networks fail us in their own ways. The intent with this feature is to gather a list of things I’ve read, found interesting, or informative, or funny, or that I think might be of interest. It’s also a space for you, the reader, to share your own resources. The point of social media is to have conversations, and I don’t consider this in any way a one-way street.
If you’ve got items that you’d like to submit for consideration for the next Pretty Good Links — whether it’s your own work, or just something you’d found that you’d like to share — you can always send them to me privately as well.
I’d also like your input on when you’d most like to receive this newsletter. My initial plan was to send it on Fridays, but I’d like it to arrive when it is most helpful and most likely to, you know, actually get read. So please, let me know your thoughts on that as well and, if you haven’t already, please subscribe (for free!) below.
I want to start the inaugural edition of PGL off by turning your attention to the other Substacks I follow and read regularly. I know some of you may well have come from these pages already. But hopefully some of you will find some shared interest in the list below.
The Action Cookbook Newsletter
Of the many reasons to be angry about what’s happening at Twitter right now, one is that it has been a place where lots of like minded people have met and enjoyed sharing their thoughts and interests. One such person for me is Scott Hines, whose writing I had read (under his pseudonym) at SB Nation, but who has become an actual internet friend in the past few years. His thrice-weekly newsletter is a mix of musings, short fiction, and an every-Friday list of recommendations, including a food and a drink recipe.
Cup of Coffee by Craig Calcaterra
For the baseball fans, Craig offers a daily recap of games and news from around the sport, along with other items of note from outside the sports world. You may well know his work from his long tenure at NBC Sports, and I expect many folks who have stumbled upon this newsletter already know his work. Craig’s output is enough to both inspire and deliver a deep inferiority complex—it’s also a great way to catch up and stay current on baseball news in a single place as you start your day.
I’ll highlight others I follow and enjoy for any number of reasons in future editions.
Other Links
If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to read Nilay Patel’s sober, prescient look at what would happen with Elon Musk taking over Twitter. We don’t need every magazine in America to cover the story — this one will suffice.
A fun read from Texas Monthly about a high school in rural, west Texas that qualified 60% of its male student body for the state cross-country meet. That’s right: Three of the five boys in the entire school.
This story from Defector is a fascinating account of early digital media, the fault in human memory, and some of the great challenges those pose to journalists relying on either to report a story, even one about the most trivial of topics.
My Links
I also write elsewhere, as most of you already know. In the last few months, I’ve had stories on the lasting impact of Deadspin (republished by The Guardian) and the window to convert pandemic cyclists into fans at Global Sport Matters, a publication from the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University.
I also had a fun feature at Bicycling Magazine this summer about a local teacher who used cycling as a way to connect with his students during the pandemic, who has now taken that program to new and rising heights.
More recently, I published my annual MLB awards model for Baseball Prospectus, which correctly predicted both Cy Young and MVP races this year. I also wrote about how MLB’s FTX sponsorship doesn’t say anything new about the kind of sponsor the league is willing to promote, but it does reflect an increasing willingness to lend its hard-earned reputation for others to launder for a quick buck. Both are behind the paywall, but I highly encourage any baseball fan to subscribe. If you do, you’ll also get a physical copy of the 2023 Annual — the baseball geek’s bible — including my team essay on…well, a mystery club you’ll just have to wait to see.
If you know someone else who you think might be interested in this newsletter as I ramp up for the official launch, please share it with them. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving, see you all next year for the real thing!