Today seemed like a long day.
I think a got a decent amount of work done though, both at Baseball America and at home, if you can consider Christmas cards work, so it was still a productive long day.
When I got to work I had the links that I needed for the college top 100 list, so I was able to finish the chart and send it away to Editor 1. I only had to reformat it once, and other than that, he seemed happy with it, so I think it was a success.
I also think it might appear in the upcoming issue of the BA magazine, with the two other articles I have written for the end-of-the-year edition, so if it has my name on it, I will once again be on three pages!
I don’t know if charts have names on them in the magazine, but everything seems to have some person’s name on or around it, so I think my chances are good. I didn’t do much for it, but I do enjoy seeing my name in print. And as long as I am still excited about that, it’s a good thing, so I hope no one will take that away from me.
After finishing the top 100 list, I worked on the biographies I had previously done research for. I finally finished them before the end of the day, and when I sent my first batch to Editor 2 I included an email that said that I will no longer be going in order of the list, nor will I be picking names at random. I plan to continue by way of picking the players that stand out as the most awesome in my mind. He seemed to think that was a fine idea. Not that I have anything against Tim Keefe, or Mickey Welch.
Keefe was actually a fantastic player, who won 342 games and was the leader in every pitching category you can think of in 1888. But that was a little before my time. And when he teamed up with Welch, the pair was great, but I think Welch might have had a tougher time getting into the Hall of Fame if not for the Veteran’s Committee that voted him in. They are great players, and surely a couple of the best from the 19th century, but I am moving on.
I am starting with Sandy Koufax. Actually, when I started, I decided to compare his stats to Roy Halladay’s. They are close in every category, outside of strikeouts. Koufax has a better ERA, but Doc has won a few more games and lost one fewer. Koufax also had 50 more games under his belt to get to that record, though they are comparable in innings pitched. And while Halladay has far fewer strikeouts than Koufax, his walk total almost cuts his elder’s number in half. I know this is probably not how I should be conducting my research, but it makes it far more interesting for me. I need to have fun while I’m working right?
Unfortunately for the southpaw though, his career was cut short by arthritis in his arm. It’s unfortunate because in the last six years of the twelve total that he played, he dominated the game. He had come into his own, and was unstoppable.
Halladay still has plenty of time ahead of him to surpass every total Koufax ever had, barring an injury. Koufax was voted in on his very first year of eligibility and was the youngest player to make it into the Hall of Fame. Doc certainly won’t be the youngest, since he is still playing and should continue to do so for several more years, but hopefully he can follow by also being elected into the Hall on his very first try. It would only make sense and follow the precedent set by Koufax.
I didn’t get through Koufax by the end of the day though, and it is likely because I was distracting myself with tasks like comparing him to other players, along with a few personal emails, and of course, lunch.
I went to lunch by myself today. When two o’clock rolled around and I realized the editors hadn’t gone anywhere, or asked me to go with them, they probably weren’t leaving the office. I asked, and they were both busy working away. Editor 1 had gotten a sub and had already eaten it, and Editor 2 wanted to finish what he was doing and said that he might get something later. So I was off on my own.
I went to Starbucks, because I know where it is, and I figured it would be fast. I didn’t know how long an appropriate length of time to be away would be. Normally it’s not something that I would worry about, being with the bosses whenever I go out to lunch, but this time I thought I should pay attention. I had my bagel and banana bread, and headed right back to the office. Hopefully tomorrow they take some time for lunch so I don’t have to concentrate so hard on how long I’m away from my desk.
After work I headed to UPS to send some Christmas cards home, and then I went to the grocery store. I figured it is high time I get some groceries, especially since I will be at home for the weekend, and I am guessing a lot of things are going to be closed for the next couple of days. So I stocked up on sandwich meat, bread, bagels, peanut butter, popcorn and other amenities. Unfortunately I forgot to get myself a new box of cereal, and after eating dinner tonight, I am now out, so I might have to make a pitstop on another day.
I also went tanning, because the place of artificial sun will be shutting down for the holiday until Sunday. I figure I should get my money’s worth, so I made the stop on my way home.
Traffic was really bad the entire time since I had left BA, and I’m not sure why. It seemed like it took forever until I finally made it to the apartment. But eventually I made it, and I settled in for some TV-watching, Christmas card-writing and sandwich-eating.
At one point, I thought I heard a knock on my door, but I was positive that wasn’t possible so I ignored it. When it happened a second time, I thought I might be wrong, so I answered. Thing 2 was there and wanted to talk about Thanksgiving at her place.
She told me that she had mentioned to her dad that she was going to bring me, and he was excited, so I figured there would be no backing out now. Thing 2 also gave me a sheet of paper with her phone number and address on it, so I would be able to find my way. She took my phone number so she could call me and let me know when to come.
I am starting to think there is a possibility she doesn’t know my name either, so this could be an interesting time.
Thing 2 explained to me that along with her family, most of the African people that live in her parents’ neighbourhood would be at her house for the celebrations. I guess they all get together for most of the holidays. She mentioned that there would be a lot of people she would refer to as her aunts and uncles, but many of them would not actually be her family, just the other people from the neighbourhood that they knew from their time in Ghana. I am getting the feeling that I am going to be the only white person in attendance.
I am a little excited, but also nervous. Thing 2 said I should be prepared to spend the whole day at her house, which is fine, but I also know that I don’t have an escape route. I have no reason to leave, nothing that can take me away if things are awkward and uncomfortable. My hope is that it won’t resort to that, but I am heading to a house full of strange people, for a tradition that is theirs, not mine, and I don’t know a single person’s name. I might start trying to map out an escape.
After our conversation I went back to my Law and Order: SVU marathon on the USA channel (an awesome channel full of shows I love), and continued writing Christmas cards for people at home. I will have many more to send tomorrow after work.
This short week will end tomorrow, thanks to this American tradition, and four weeks of my internship will be done. It’s hard to believe that my internship is almost two-thirds of the way over. Yikes! I need to get working on more bios.
Back to Sandy Koufax in the morning...
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