Ten years down the road making one-night stands
Speeding my young life away
Tell me one more time just so I’ll understand
Are you sure Hank done it this way?
—Waylon Jennings

April 9 marked a momentous day in the history of FutilityInfielder.com. Namely, it’s now been 10 years since the inception of this site, a decade since I penned this memorial tribute to Willie Stargell, registered a domain name that had been rolling around in my head for a few weeks, started learning the basics of HTML and web site construction, and began inflicting my version of baseball fandom and Luis Sojo worship on an unsuspecting public.

It has turned out to be a life-changing journey, in more ways than one. Over the decade of this site’s existence, I’ve transitioned from full-time graphic design work to full-time writing, joined the staffs of Baseball Prospectus and Pinstriped Bible, battled my way into the press box, and earned a BBWAA card; so far as I know, I am the first of those who started as independent bloggers to claw his way up through the ranks. Along the way I’ve traveled in pursuit of spring training, the All-Star Game, and the World Baseball Classic. I’ve run in the famous Sausage Race, dropped an f-bomb in the Wall Street Journal, and had my mug on TV plenty of times, to say nothing of the hundreds of radio hits I’ve done. I’ve been published at ESPN, SI.com, Salon, and New York Magazine, contributed to six Prospectus annuals, six Fantasy Baseball Indexes, and a handful of non-annual books, writing approximately 3.7 bajillion words about the national pastime along the way. I’ve generated some laughs, pissed a few well-chosen people off, and worked tirelessly to bring a dose of rational analysis to the often irrational Hall of Fame voting. I take great pride knowing that I helped elect Bert Blyleven into the Hall, even if I don’t have a vote yet myself.

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with wonderful people, and made some incredible friends along this journey. While not wishing to omit anyone from an honor roll that would number in the hundreds, I must single out Alex Belth, Cliff Corcoran, Steven Goldman, Christina Kahrl and Emma Span, all of whom I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with, and none of whom I likely would have met had it not been for the initial decision to follow my muse at the encouragement of my then-girlfriend Andra Hardt and two of my closest friends, Nick Stone and Issa Clubb.

As I said five years ago, writing this blog allowed me the chance to find a new voice for myself, a voice I realized I’d been seeking my entire life. I thank you all for listening and for reading while looking forward to our next ten years together.