YANKEE LIFE IN MARYLAND

As I travel throughout the northeast for work and play, I am always interested in what people wear. See, your choice of clothing reflects your personality and the things you like.  So when I see people wearing Phillies or Red Sox artifacts, I immediately judge them as "those" fans.  But, here in Maryland, where I thought I would be inundated with Orioles' and Nationals' shirts and caps hovering over me as I try to relax on the beach, I'm not.  Instead, I see Yankee fans, and I am having Yankee conversations with people who really know the game of baseball and are making careful selections about their words and clothing options.

One of these people is a 9-year-old young man visiting here from Scranton, PA who likes Aaron Judge and would like to see more of him.  When I probed further for information about his baseball background and allegiance to the Yankees, Joseph had stats, he knew pitchers from other teams who have faced Judge, he said that he likes the Miami Marlins despite me trying to talk him out of it and he is not a fan of Alex Rodriguez because of his steroid use.  He had legitimate reasons for all of his discussion points. This is a possible future baseball general manager folks.  My friend took off his BYB bracelet the he religiously wears and handed it over to him immediately.  I handed out my BYB cards and told him to start reading us!

Joseph knows this stuff at 9, imagine if he sticks with it!  I advised him read and read a variety of articles authored by different people to supplement his knowledge and get sidebars and different perspectives from stories that are trending.  I told him that I write stories about the everyday fan, about the uniqueness and history of baseball, about trends and possible changes to our roster, and about diverse perspectives of the game itself.  Educating yourself by reading other people's work, pulling out the necessary information to guide your thought process, defending your position with evidence and writing with passion and conviction are keys to becoming a writer and a more well-rounded fan who can articulately dialog with others.

This Scranton kid is well on his way to becoming our next generation of fans who will keep our passion going through blogs, or whatever new technology comes our way.  The Yankee Life is strong here in Maryland, whether vacationers or relocated fans, we have a strong presence on the shore lines of the state!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Senior Staff Writer
BYB Hot Stove Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof



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