| THE SABR-ZINE |  |
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| Baseball Bloggers Alliance Forms |
| By Susan Petrone |
Independent baseball bloggers are joining together in the recently formed Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA). Designed to foster communication and collaboration among bloggers across baseball, the organization already has more than 75 members less than a month after its formation. Twenty-eight of the thirty MLB teams are represented by at least one blogger, and the remaining teams will be covered soon. In addition, a number of general baseball blogs and sites are also participating.
Member blogs are encouraged to use one another to deepen their understanding of the game and the teams that play it. While no formal requirements for membership exist at the current time, participating blogs are asked to keep their blogs current and to link to other member blogs on their blog roll.
Founder Daniel Shoptaw notes that, even in the few weeks that the BBA has been in existence, the intended collaboration has already taken effect. “One member was a guest on another's radio show, while another BBA writer interviewed some of his fellow participants for a blog post. E-mails and discussions about interactions and how to improve various aspects of blogging have also taken place,” he notes.
The BBA has, as a secondary aim, the goal of producing year-end awards in a similar fashion to the Baseball Writers of America. Shoptaw says, “These awards can be found on the BBA website in October with links back to the voters, ensuring transparency and, most likely, the onset of some good baseball arguments.”
The BBA is set up into chapters for each team, based on the format held by the Baseball Writers of America Each chapter will be allowed two votes for each of the major awards (Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Most Valuable Player) in their league. In addition, blogs that cover baseball in general are allowed to vote on these awards, though they are limited to one league per award.
Baseball bloggers interested in joining the BBA are invited to contact the Alliance at: baseballbloggersalliance@gmail.com.
For more information, visit their website at: www.baseballbloggersalliance.com
| | Created On: 2009-09-30 |
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Page Link: http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,2917,3,158
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