More than eight years ago, I started
writing this blog. I’ve published nearly 350 posts in that time, and it’s been
a tremendous experience. I started out with the idea of connecting baseball and
life, and even named the blog and the web address after that idea. One year, I
even wrote 162 baseball-to-life blog posts in 162 days, choosing a different
player each day as inspiration for that post’s topic.
Eventually, I started shifting away
from the baseball-to-life theme, and began writing more about life itself, with
a focus on parenting. At times, I snuck in a little bit about teaching, or politics,
or baseball. But whatever the topic, I tried to use the blog to explore the ways
in which we might find some elements of hope and connection in this crazy
world.
At its best, the blog might have
approached the writing style of Anna Quindlen, the columnist I grew up seeking
to emulate. At its worst, the blog read like a cheesy greeting card. Most of
the time, it was somewhere in between, with a style that read like a
combination of Dave Barry, Charles Schulz and a Sunday sermon.
Today, it is time to move on, and
leave The Pitch behind. For one
thing, it still bills itself as a blog about baseball and life. And really,
after a month in which the Chicago Cubs won the World Series and Donald Trump
claimed the White House, how can any baseball-to-life story top that drama?
Secondly, I am ready to write with a bit more focus on the things I know best –
education and journalism. I will continue that in my new blog, warrenhynes.com. There’s already a post
there, ready for you!
So for those who have checked out
this blog over the years, I thank you so much for taking the time to read my
writing. I appreciate your comments and feedback, and I hope there’s been a
post or two in here that made your day a little bit brighter; that’s really all
I was striving for to begin with.
These are extraordinary times, and
all of us are trying to figure it out, no matter where we stand politically. I
have no interest in saying it will all turn out OK, because I don’t know that.
But sometimes songs creep up on you during stressful times, kind of like a
prayer. I’ve been reading Bruce Springsteen’s book Born to Run lately, and this week I’m hearing the lyrics from the
final song of his Nebraska album in
my head:
Still at the end of every hard day
people find some reason to believe.
I’ve got no words to improve on
that. Thanks for reading, and may we all find our own ways to keep the faith.
1 comment:
Run where? To Canada? If only it were easy... I'd go.
Take care friend, will miss your posts. - Karen
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