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Monday, July 06, 2009

INTERNET BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA DEBUTS WITH ALL-STAR GAME AND MID-SEASON AWARD VOTE

Hey…whatever happened to the original IBWAA that I was a member of?

Opening for business today in Los Angeles, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), announces its first set of votes, naming mid-season award winners for both the American and National Leagues, and starting lineups for the All-Star Game, to be played July 14 in St. Louis.

The IBWAA was created by Howard Cole, editor of BaseballSavvy.com, to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as an alternative voice to the Base Ball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The ultimate goal? A Hall of Fame vote.

The founding fathers of the IBWAA, who voted in the first elections, are as follows: Ed Attanssio, editor, ThisGreatGame.com; Bijan Bayne, BleacherReport.com; Kevin Braun, freelance writer and former copy editor at Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Tim Brown, YahooSports, Howard Cole, editor, BaseballSavvy.com; Tom Hoffarth, Media/General Columnist, Los Angeles Daily News; Tony Jackson, former Dodgers reporter, Los Angeles Daily News; Keith Sharon, L.A. Angels Editor, Orange County Register; David Pinto, owner/author, BaseballMusings.com; and Gary Warner, Travel Editor, Orange County Register.

Repoz Posted: July 06, 2009 at 02:13 AM | 31 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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1. Justin T contains indigenous nudity Posted: July 06, 2009 at 02:24 AM (#3242987)

When they get their website running it better have a lime green background.

2. Mike Emeigh

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 02:32 AM (#3242995)

This:

Association memberships are open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a yearly membership of $10.

isn't going to help this group get here:

The ultimate goal? A Hall of Fame vote.

The bar is going to need to be set higher than that.

-- MWE

3. PASTE is not impressed by Albert Pujols (Zeth) Posted: July 06, 2009 at 02:42 AM (#3242998)

Where do you want the set the bar? A minimum of 50 columns or 200 blog posts a year or something, or some similar reasonable minimum to prove you're actually consistently producing content? Some minimum for how many web hits your articles/blog posts have to get?

4. Howie Menckel Posted: July 06, 2009 at 03:03 AM (#3243008)

"founding fathers"

hmm

5. Walt Davis Posted: July 06, 2009 at 06:02 AM (#3243077)

whatever happened to the original IBWAA that I was a member of?

The International Brotherhood of Women Against Androgyny?

6. PASTE is not impressed by Albert Pujols (Zeth) Posted: July 06, 2009 at 06:20 AM (#3243080)

Wait, the International Brotherhood of... ohhhhh.

7. Meatwad is on team keefe Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:07 AM (#3243081)

So do I count as an internet baseball writer since I was once an editor here? If so thatd be kinda cool

8. Tripon Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:11 AM (#3243082)

Did you actually write anything?

9. PASTE is not impressed by Albert Pujols (Zeth) Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:32 AM (#3243084)

I would think all Primates would count as internet baseball writers. We do, after all, write about baseball on the internet, right?

10. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: July 06, 2009 at 08:54 AM (#3243091)

Association memberships are open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a yearly membership of $10.

The bar is going to need to be set higher than that

Not if the goal is to keep me out.

11. Jeff K. Posted: July 06, 2009 at 10:58 AM (#3243103)

Justin, you didn't note that their contact information is some dude's AOL account. Adding to that that I'm reasonably sure the header image of the balls was taken from the Baseball Encyclopedia (forget which edition, 9th? It's the blue one that was followed by the green one with same pic), that's inauspicious. Pinto is involved, so that's auspicious, or at the least just picious.

12. Best Regards, Larry Mahnken (Dewey is a slacker) Posted: July 06, 2009 at 11:36 AM (#3243110)

Did you actually write anything?

A couple of the things he wrote are why he's not an editor anymore.

13. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: July 06, 2009 at 11:40 AM (#3243111)

Is that Tim Brown late of Notre Dame and the Oakland Raiders? If so, I'll take the IBWAA over the BBWAA in the touch football game at the picnic.

14. Jeff K. Posted: July 06, 2009 at 11:55 AM (#3243118)

Wait, I was an editor here. I wrote actual things, even before that. I have an MLB.com press pass.

Wait, I'm too good for the IBWAA now. Damn!

15. Ron Johnson Posted: July 06, 2009 at 01:04 PM (#3243154)

Hey...whatever happened to the original IBWAA that I was a member of?

I smell a lawsuit.

16. Mike Emeigh

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 01:09 PM (#3243156)

Where do you want the set the bar?

It's not where I (or anyone) WANTS to set the bar, it's a matter of determining where the bar should be set in order to maximize the probability of getting a HOF vote (which is the organization's stated goal, after all). Allowing anyone with an outlet on the Web and $10 to spare to join is not going to convince anyone the organization is going to be responsible enough to be trusted with a HOF vote.

-- MWE

17. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 01:28 PM (#3243167)

If the IBWAA wants to have its members granted an automatic HoF vote a la BBWAA, the truth is that they're going to have to be like Jackie Robinson: They're going to have to set their admissions standards higher than the BBWAA's. That's simply the way the world works.

Of course if all the IBWAA wants to do is to set up a parallel organization which holds elections for its own (competing) HoF, then its admissions standards aren't all that important.

18. Repoz

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 02:48 PM (#3243253)

whatever happened to the original IBWAA that I was a member of?

I smell a lawsuit.

To prove we had no standards!

Some members were...

Belth
J. Jaffe
Pinto
Carroll
Neyer, I think

and a dozen or so more.

19. Crispix Attacks Posted: July 06, 2009 at 03:05 PM (#3243265)

If the IBWAA wants to have its members granted an automatic HoF vote a la BBWAA, the truth is that they're going to have to be like Jackie Robinson: They're going to have to set their admissions standards higher than the BBWAA's. That's simply the way the world works.

Not all the people in the BBWAA get Hall of Fame votes, do they? I remember seeing a list of everyone in the organization, and there were like 10 different people from the Beaver County Times, and someone who's apparently a cartoonist for the Montreal Gazette, and people who had retired or shifted to football writing in the 1980s, and so on. And then we were told that only those who have written a certain number of pieces about MLB in recent years actually had a HOF vote. Or maybe it was just those who had written a certain number of pieces about their particular local team.

20. SoSH U at work Posted: July 06, 2009 at 03:10 PM (#3243270)

Not all the people in the BBWAA get Hall of Fame votes, do they? I remember seeing a list of everyone in the organization, and there were like 10 different people from the Beaver County Times, and someone who's apparently a cartoonist for the Montreal Gazette, and people who had retired or shifted to football writing in the 1980s, and so on. And then we were told that only those who have written a certain number of pieces about MLB in recent years actually had a HOF vote. Or maybe it was just those who had written a certain number of pieces about their particular local team.

I think 10 years in the BBWAA is the only requirement to get a HoF vote. There probably should be a way of weeding out those guys who once covered baseball but no longer do.

21. hokieneer Posted: July 06, 2009 at 03:20 PM (#3243281)

American League Mid-Season Awards:

MVP: Torii Hunter, Evan Longoria (tie).

hmmm, does anyone here think Torii is having an MVP type of season? .304/.381/.565 with 17 HR, but his UZR this year is -2.8. With those offensive numbers, don't you have to be an elite CF to be the mid-season MVP? The 1st half AL MVP has to be between Longoria and Mauer.

Also I'd like for an organization that releases an all-star team to elect a LF-CF-RF configuration instead of just 3 OFs.

22. RJ in TO Posted: July 06, 2009 at 03:26 PM (#3243288)

With those offensive numbers, don't you have to be an elite CF to be the mid-season MVP?

It's a 0.946 OPS out of CF, which is elite. Provided that the defense isn't terrible (and a UZR of -2.8 is not anywhere near terrible) that is an MVP quality season.

Now, if we were talking about a corner outfielder or a 1B with those offensive numbers, then they would need to be accompanied by elite defense to be a serious MVP contender.

23. strummer Posted: July 06, 2009 at 04:02 PM (#3243329)

So do I count as an internet baseball writer since I was once an editor here? If so thatd be kinda cool

Ya gots 10 bucks?
Ok, yer in, kid.

24. cardsfanboy

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 04:15 PM (#3243347)

Andrew McCutchen NL ROY, Really? not Rasmus, or Tommy Hanson or Ryan Hannigan or McGehee (note I only listed the guys that I was pretty certain should be taken over McCutchen)

and Albert Pujols didn't receive unanimous support for MVP? again really?

and am I missing the definition of unanimous

Zack Grienke received unanimous support for AL Cy, getting all but one vote as starting pitcher, with Roy Halladay receiving the other.

does that mean that Greinke missed unanimous support for Cy Young by one, and if that is warranted mentioning isn't it pretty telling that Pujols doesn't get mentioned there implying that they had at least two out of ten not vote for Pujols for MVP?

they need to clarify some of these comments(post the vote total or something else) at least

Manny Ramirez did not receive a single vote in any category.

25. Crispix Attacks Posted: July 06, 2009 at 04:24 PM (#3243354)

I think the fallacy is voting for a "mid-season Rookie of the Year" at all, rather than whoever they chose for it.

Also, whoa, you have a logo!

26. Jose Can You Seabiscuit Posted: July 06, 2009 at 04:24 PM (#3243355)

Zack Grienke received unanimous support for AL Cy, getting all but one vote as starting pitcher, with Roy Halladay receiving the other.

Re: #24 - I read this as he got all the votes for the Cy Young Award and all but one to be the starter on the All Star team. Two separate votes. Presumably the person voting for the ASG start would argue that the CYA is a single season honor while the ASG is more of an accumulation rather than just "who had the best 1st half."

27. cardsfanboy

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 04:42 PM (#3243372)

Also, whoa, you have a logo!

I noticed that, how did that happen? it says something about donating(which I know I planned to do but unless I was drunk and did it one nigh---very possible btw---I don't remember doing that)

28. Meatwad is on team keefe Posted: July 06, 2009 at 05:43 PM (#3243465)

The logos used to be around when the forums and what not first came out

29. Jeff K. Posted: July 06, 2009 at 06:28 PM (#3243553)

Belth
J. Jaffe
Pinto
Carroll
Neyer, I think

and a dozen or so more.

How did you find a dozen people more no-name than that bunch of halfwits and sex offenders?

30. Repoz

Posted: July 06, 2009 at 06:36 PM (#3243570)

How did you find a dozen people more no-name than that bunch of halfwits and sex offenders?

The lobby bar at any SABR convention is a start.

31. Jeff K. Posted: July 07, 2009 at 12:38 AM (#3243908)

Just to note that I of course think those guys are intelligent. Just a joke, like the Ruben/Juan Rivera Michael Kay reference in calling Jay Jaffe a sex offender when everyone knows it's Chris.

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INTERNET BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA DEBUTS WITH ALL-STAR GAME AND MID-SEASON AWARD VOTE

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