Rookie-Ball

While ballplayers are getting ready to make the trip north bronzed with their Florida/Arizona winter tans, and fresh and fit for the start of a new season, I sit here in the frozen north dreaming of baseball once again. In my first spring away from the game I love and am obsessed with I find a bit of separation anxiety. Here in Finland, I won't be able to take my usual spot in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium - just behind Jorge Posada's number 20, nor will I be able to smell the freshly poured beer, or hear the calls of the vendors calling for me to purchase their wares. No, here in Finland I will be sadly separate from so many parts of the ball park atmosphere I have enjoyed my whole life. Thankfully this does not mean I have to forget all about baseball altogether. The folks over at ESPN, CBSSportsline, CNNSI, Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, Hardball Times, and MLB (.coms all) have kept me informed on the daily events all winter and through spring training, and have provided me with wonderful commentary, insight, and inside information I could only dream of having.

However, I find this new perspective on baseball from the far northeastern regions of Europe provides me with great new ways to appreciate the game. I have new things I think about. I am able to concentrate more on the little things without all the atmospheric distractions of a ballpark. Subjects like sabermetrics, radio-broadcasting, baseball commentary, the role of managers and coaches, and the way front offices work have begun to fill out my knowledge and quench some of my thirst for the game I love so much. As such I need an outlet for my thoughts, and I believe, coming from the outside of baseball, American culture, and the media, I provide somewhat of a new look for other passionate fans of baseball who wish to add yet another blog or columnist to their list of daily-internet-visits.

So I am starting this blog coming outta left field. I have no inside information to give you; I can't tell you who will be traded in the coming days, nor if Corey Patterson will get on base ever without stealing the base and putting it under his bed. What I can do is provide a particularly insightful commentary from a fan in international waters. I will always look at things from the fans point of view, always try to look at the sport from a newer and different perspective, and generally try to have original and unique content. These are the only promises I will make.

One day I might comment on a particular play in a particular game. On another, I might comment on the state of the sport internationally. It'll be totally free-flowing, but always omething which is I hope different from what you can get from other sources [Though I thoroughly enjoy and am indebted to many of those sources].

So, welcome to OuttaLeftField. If you like what you read tell other baseball fans about it, if you don't I encourage you to keep reading and give the blog a chance. I am a staff of one, but I hope I can create something enjoyably entertaining and informative for my audience.

Come back daily for the latest Blogs!
-Fran