My one question is this: the awards were voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America…how do I get in that club?!

To become a member of the Baseball Writer's Association of America you must be a beat writer, baseball columnist, sports feature writer or a sports editor at a newspaper. If you leave the newspaper world to work at a magazine or website you can keep your membership, but you have to begin it with a career at a newspaper.

Each year we choose writers at the beginning of the year to follow and vote on certain categories at the end of the year, so one year you might be assigned Cy Young awards, and next year maybe the RoY awards. Since most of us live in either a National League or an American League city we typically are only asked to follow one award, in this case NL Cy Young this year.

All BBWAA members get to vote on Hall of Fame inductees after they've been members for 10 years.

As a side note, only seven times since our formation in 1908 have we failed to select a player for the Hall of Fame in a year. Do you know the last time this was Yankees Chick?

 

Thanks for the info. Perhaps someday I will be a legitimate baseball writer... :)

As for your question...I do not know the exact year. I *BELIEVE* it was in the early sixties though.

 

A lot more recent than that actually, 1996.

I only remember it because it is the year my membership started.

No problem on the info, but if you actually want to write baseball be prepared to live in a minor league town. Much like the players and umpires most writers paid their dues in the minors.

 

well I was way off on that one! although I did just look it up and it does appear that there was a year in the early sixties that was a "no inductee" year...but still, bad Yankees Chick!

as for my future as a baseball writer in a minor league town, I suppose I will have to move. San Diego has no minor league teams, although the single A padres team is about an hour away (I went to several games this year - - they have a nice stadium). while i would love to make a career out of ranting and raving about baseball, i think my utter lack of natural talent and/or professional training may pose a problem or two...

 

I got my start writing Major League Baseball in a weekly newspaper, doing a look at the next week and a look back at the previous one for a small paper.

I had a little bit of training, four wasted years of college and all, but I still think I have very little talent. Thankfully I've found people willing to tell me I have no writing talent. :)

You're writing is interesting and entertaining. Pester enough people and someone will give you a shot.