When Phil Gurnee asked me in December to come aboard to write for True Blue LA, I was happy to accept. I was a reader of the site for quite some time, a fan of Phil's writing as well as the sharp analysis of Andrew Grant.
I had the pleasure of meeting Phil and Andrew, and a slew of other Dodger fans, thanks to Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts, a site on which I was a frequent commenter. Writing about the Dodgers was something I did quite often through the comments of Dodger Thoughts anyway, so why not make the leap to write more in long form here? Joining True Blue LA was a nice Christmas present.
A couple of months back, I wrote an article about Hall of Famer and former Dodger Eddie Murray, and how he became my favorite player 19 years ago. That article was inspired by a Christmas gift from my brother, a bottle of Eddie Murray 504 Cabernet Sauvignon (I finally drank the wine the other day, by the way -- it was pretty good, but perhaps a bit too sweet). That story was one of the cool perks of joining True Blue LA, the ability to share a story based on my love of baseball.
That's why this site exists, of course: love of baseball, and the Dodgers. Without the love, we wouldn't have a reason to write anything about the Dodgers, and you as readers wouldn't have any reason to read it. Through our passion for baseball, we have developed a strong community here at True Blue LA, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
One member of our community, who comments under the name Branch Rickey, shot me an email last month about the Eddie Murray article I wrote. I had previously met Branch Rickey, and knew he happened to be friends with Murray. Branch Rickey's email included the following words that I will remember for the rest of my life:
I told him about your post...and he appreciated it.
The smile on my face upon reading those words stretched from ear to ear. It reminded me why I continue to write here about the Dodgers. I wrote something from the heart, and the man who happens to be my all-time favorite player liked it. Wow. High praise indeed. Oh yeah, I also got this in the mail:
I'm not much of an autograph collector, but with this I reverted back to my childhood days of wonderment and hero worship. We're all fans at heart. That got me thinking: I'd like to hear from you, the reader, about why you are a Dodger fan. How and when did you start following the team? Who is your favorite Dodger of all-time? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
And thanks for reading my semi-coherent ramblings about the team and the sport I love.
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