It is a slow news week so I will take some time out from our usual content of feature stories and event coverage to write why I’m personally excited for the start of the 2018 baseball season.
As the years have gone on, I have been trying to make this website the most accurate depiction of the Long Island baseball scene as possible. This is the first year, in my opinion, that I can do that.
Let me explain.
While this began as nothing more than a hobby during my senior year at Adelphi in 2013, the demand for information and my own ability to have access to that information has allowed me to increase the quality and depth of content. No longer am I relying on box scores or secondhand descriptions of the news. Sometimes I laugh at the simplicity of the articles in 2014 and 2015. As each year passed, though, I was able to develop relationships with more and more people that occupy the epicenter of the Long Island baseball community.
More importantly, I have been able to bring in reporters that can provide more game coverage so that it is not just me out there in the field anymore. We have experts in pitching, hitting, scouting and injury prevention lending their knowledge. While I am not a former 12-year Major League pitcher, we do have one on staff contributing articles.
While the news cycle may be slow now, once the season draws near we will have fresh content coming out daily from season previews and rankings to feature stories, etc. We will be going on our annual Spring Training road trip to begin the 2018 season. The location has yet to be determined but will in the near future. We will continue our Axcess Baseball Weekly YouTube webisodes and our weekly podcast with special guests every week.
Additionally, this is the first year that I will be able to focus on baseball 100 percent. In previous years, I had always worked other jobs on nights and weekends that prevented me from putting in the effort I felt was necessary to provide the audience with a quality experience. I am pleased to say that this year there will be no such distractions and I think it will directly correlate to better and more frequent coverage.
I am also excited for our events that we host. While I think the previous two Battle of the Border events were run pretty smoothly, we will be opening it up to a larger pool of players and I think the end product will benefit from that. Also, our first Home Run Derby was okay but with more time to plan this year I want to make sure that it include every player that is deserving and also in front of the biggest crowd possible. There’s certainly room for improvement there.
I am also excited for a new feature to the site that I think our audience will love. This won’t be unveiled until the second half of 2018, but I am extremely excited to launch it. As soon as I can elaborate on it more, I will.
Lastly, I am excited that the players that were only freshmen when I began to cover high school baseball are now going to be seniors in high school and the players that were freshmen in college in 2015 will now be graduating. I’ve had the pleasure of forming relationships with some incredible people and to watch them mature both as ballplayers and young men has been a remarkable experience. In some cases, you’ve made me feel like an extended member of the family and I am forever grateful for that.
Like I stated in the headline, I am excited for the 2018 season. I get to oversee a great staff covering the great game of baseball in our region. With my new role with the San Diego Padres, I hope to help continue the playing career of some young men.
See you on the diamond,
Vinny Messana
