Thank You

September 7, 2008   ·   Patrick Hickey, Jr.   ·   Jump to comments

I remember approaching New York Sports Day Editor and Founder Joe McDonald before the New York Penn League season started in 2007 with the idea of a daily-updated blog on the Brooklyn Cyclones. He seemed far less excited than I was, but decided to give it a go. However, for reasons I still myself don’t know, the site wasn’t officially launched until February of 2008. Once it got going though, the e-mails began to pour in and I knew I had a reader-base that came to the site and cared about what I was writing.

Ask any journalist in the world how that feels and they’ll all say the same thing: amazing.

With that being said, I was thrilled once the season started because I could finally cover the team the way I truly wanted to. I could challenge myself to not only write, but report on the same team, everyday of the season. It was something that I was pretty close to doing the previous two years I covered the team, but once the team went on the road, I wrote about the offseason goings on of the Islanders, Jets and Nets. This season, while I did write more than my fair share of pieces on those teams, I was the only reporter covering the team that wrote everyday about them. I scooped every local newspaper and website I don’t write for several times in the process. I know the past few sentences sound a bit arrogant, but it feels good to truly know that you did a good job.

When I decided to embark on a journalism career almost five years ago, I knew the hours were going to stink and that I wouldn’t have as much time to spend with my friends and family. Nonetheless, I went down this path because I felt it was my duty to write for the people. This season, this blog’s mission was the same. Over the years, I’ve seen so many horrible articles written about this team, from local newspapers that don’t even go to the games or good ones by great writers such as Jim Dolan, Elio Velez and Ed Shakespeare that never get the credit they deserve because of small circulations and mediocre websites.

With that being said, I knew that if I reached out to the Cyclone fan base and gave them a daily-updated site, chock full of my work, they’d read it. Dozens of my friends thought I was crazy for it, but in the end, we all proved them wrong, right? This team was so much fun to write about and each and every player took time out for me to interview them. Some of them weren’t the talking type, but together they trusted me to tell their story and I appreciate it. At certain points of the season, it was obvious they didn’t want to talk to anyone, but they acted like true professionals and allowed me to get the information I needed out to you guys. There are no words I can ever say that can truly grasp how important that was to the development of this site.

These guys play 76 games in 81 games and on top of that are asked to have smiles on their faces [Sean Ratliff will always be the king of funny faces though] and be cordial to the media. It’s not an easy job guys. Despite the fact that I truly believe this team had the talent to “win the whole damn thing,” they were all classy guys and I’m sure we’ll see a few of them in the big leagues in the next few years, making this year one of the best in the team’s history, even if they didn’t make the playoffs.

Anyway, this went a little longer than expected. Hope I didn’t put anyone to sleep.

Notes-

Just because the season is over, don’t expect this site to just shut down either. I have done so many interviews this season and have so much information that I plan to post 1-2 articles a week to keep you guys in the loop. I also have dozens of numbers of former Clones that I will interview over the winter and spring, which should satisfy any hunger you have for Brooklyn baseball.

I am also working on a book on the team this season, which I plan to have finished by the end of the year. Over the next few months, I will be putting all the pieces together so everyone knows as much about this season’s team as humanely possible. They were a great group of guys from all over the country and the funny stories and situations they were in was like something out of “Bull Durham.” I am confident that his book will bring all those funny and entertaining moments together in a work that will be one of the most comprehensive works ever written about a minor league baseball team.

My photographer, Ron Hatcher is also working on a picture book, filled with all the great photos he took this season, in coffee-table book format, for of course, your viewing pleasure.

When they are released, you guys will get all the details.

As well, I will be appearing on Mike Silva’s NY Baseball Digest @ six P.M. tomorrow. You can listen online at NYBaseballDigest.com. I will be discussing the team this season and whatever Mike wants to chat about.

This year didn’t end the way many of you guys would have liked it, but it was a fun year nonetheless.

To everyone that commented on the site or e-mail me during the season to tell me how much they enjoyed my writing or Ron’s pictures, thank you. For everyone else, thank you as well, you pushed us to work even harder and made us better people and professionals by season’s end.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.