27pitches Celebrates Its First Birthday

Can you believe it? I certainly can’t. Time flies when you’re maintaining a website you created. But alas, we made it to the one year mark, and there are lots of people to thank for helping us get to this point.

In the beginning, there was me. I had minimal HTML knowledge and no programming or design experience– just my desire to start a sports blog. So on February 18, 2009, the project began. I sat in my living room signing up for a domain name and began teaching myself how to create a website. Thanks to some very user friendly programs and a lot of video tutorials, I actually got it off the ground. Those of you who were reading this blog early on know exactly what I am talking about. It was not pretty. I had to beg my brother’s friend to create a banner for me because I had no idea how to create one myself. And although it was somewhat amateurish, it was a million times better than I could have ever done and I am still thankful to him for creating it to this day. Yup, I’m looking at your Greg Spatz. Remember this?

It’s a historical relic now, and will always be the first artwork ever to have graced 27pitches.com. So, first and foremost, I’d like to thank you Spatz.

So after I bought a domain name, found a template I liked, and had a banner in place, it was time to start actually creating content. So I did. I wrote about my strong distaste for MLB commish Bud Selig, and those became the first words to grace this website. In the next week, I eventually got around to writing an “About” and “Contact” page so people could actually find out a little bit about the purpose of this blog and who was writing for it. I was on my way, but far from where we are today, and hopefully even further than where we are going.

At first, I was updating 3-4 times a week, tops. I knew that if this site were going to succeed, it would require regular updating, as in at least 5 times a week, if not daily. But unfortunately, I could not shoulder the load alone. Trying to improve the aesthetics, actually writing the content, finding pics to go with each post, and all the other little things that go into doing this the right way were just too time consuming. In the first month or two, I had maybe 200 hits, mostly from friends and family. So even though the project was off and running, I realized pretty quickly that I needed help. Luckily I had a person in mind who knew his stuff when it came to sports and I knew I could count on him for some quality posts. So I approached my friend Steve Cron at the bar and he was receptive about writing for the site from the very beginning. Whether it was writing about crazy Phillies/Mets anecdotes or novelty t-shirts, Steve always had something to say and it was always worth a read because you’d either laugh your ass off or feel compelled to tell him off in the comments section. Perhaps Steve’s finest hour came when he was able to post a video interview with Manny Ramirez shortly after the media got wind of his steroid use–if you have not seen this video then I’ve done you the service of embedding it below (I’d also like to thank Aron Behar for tirelessly working to film and edit said video). Unfortunately, after a couple months of steady contributions, Steve started to also realize that it was difficult to really sit down and put in the time to churn out quality postings, and we lost a writer with a knack for stirring the pot. But I’m hoping I’ll get a few postings for him in the future so that we can rehash some of those old times. In short though, I’d like to thank Steve for his early services to this blog–it has not been forgotten.

As the saying goes, each time a door closes, a window opens. I found myself at a crossroads again after it was back to just me creating all the content. Fortunately, I had an ace in the whole. His name was Brandon Kopceuch. I had recently gotten Brandon a job where I worked, doing the same thing that I do for a living — editing. Brandon and I were acquaintances for some time, but never really knew each other prior to working together. I had run into him a bunch of times through mutual friends, and I just knew that he was a big sports fan who liked to talk…A LOT. I thought to myself, “Ok, here’s a guy who’s a talented editor, so I know he can write. Even better, he is also incapable of stopping during a sports conversation because he simply has too much to say, so surely he will be in favor of having a forum.” It was a match made in heaven and Brandon accepted the invitation from the get-go. Aside from personally taking the time to set up this blog and learning all the different things that I needed to do to make it successful, Brandon coming on board has been the best thing that has happened to this site. I know that I can count on him for excellent insights, well-written posts, and, more importantly, I know that between the two of us we can keep this site fresh, which has always been the most important thing to me. Sure, we’ll miss a day here and there, but you can pretty much guarantee that we’ll have the site updated 29 days a month, and that’s a beautiful thing. So Brandon, at the risk of inflating your ego and giving you a big head, I want to sincerely thank you for the phenomenal efforts you have given this website so far, and for taking ownership–I would never have gotten this far without your help.

Right before I brought Brandon on board, I received an email from Victor Chi, wearer of many hats and the glue that keeps everything together over at SportsFanLive. He liked my blog from the onset (remember, content will ALWAYS be king), and he recruited me for the SportsFanLive network, which did wonders for this website’s exposure and also presented me with many opportunities. One of these opportunities was to write for the NFL’s Blog Blitz, and this opportunity was just too phenomenal to pass up. So I initially began writing for the Redskins and acted as a wild card for all-things NFC East, but eventually I got to where I wanted to be, on the Eagles Blog Blitz page. Brandon tried to get over to his beloved Giants’ page, but unfortunately they were all booked up with writers, so he settled for the other Manning brother and has pretty much single-handedly kept the Colts Blog Blitz page running smoothly. We are grateful to have been given the opportunity to write for the pages of the prestigious NFL.com, and are even more grateful that those pages link back to 27pitches.com. Victor continues to present us with unique opportunities (in fact, I’ll be live blogging about the Winter Olympics from a bar in NYC a week from today), and I’d like to take a moment and thank him for initially reaching out to me many months ago. It’s been a beneficial relationship for the both of us and I hope to maintain that.

So what lies ahead for 27pitches.com? Well, I’m glad you asked. That’s where out latest asset, Dave Jacober, comes into play. I’ve always had my eyes set on some flashy multimedia features once things got a little more stable, and Jacober came along at the right time to help me make it a reality. Dave, much like Brandon, was always an acquaintance of mine as we both hung out with the same crowd of mutants at our alma mater, Gettysburg College. Dave followed 27pitches through Facebook and one day reached out to me via email asking if he could write a few postings like he used to on another friend’s blog when it was up and running. I told him he was welcome to any time, and he sent in a couple excellent postings, and expanded our reach by sharing the site with friends, family, and everyone else he knew. But more importantly, he really encouraged me to get the podcasts going. And not only did he encourage it, he took the time to learn about how to produce them, stayed at work late to record them, and sent me the files. Talk about dedication. I can already see that this is the very beginning of yet another great asset for this website, and Brandon and I are actually meeting with Dave soon to go over some new an exciting marketing ideas and events that can help expand the reach of 27pitches.com. With Dave’s ideas and help, I know we will be able to take this to the next level. So Dave, thanks for all your help so far and thanks in advance for all the help I know you’ll be providing in the near future.

The Anonymous Mets Fan was one personality readers grew to love this year.

Of course, there are many others who have helped this blog become a success: Adam Adkins over at his site AdamAdkins.net sends us a well-written post from time to time, and I’d like to take a quick minute to thank him for that. And Brendan Mooney has just come on board to pump everyone up with a weekly March Madness post, and that is much appreciated as well. I’ve also made a lot of friends in the blogosphere throughout my journey–Bob Mantz, author of the famed Bob’s Blitz did wonders for this blog when he mentioned us as one of the top new sports blogs of 2009. Mike from The Sports Idiot fame and creator of the fantastic new Thee Sports Blog was one of my very first contacts in the blogosphere, and was always willing to debate sports topics, give a couple pointers on running a blog, and to generally act as a friend in a world where some people view you as a competitor or even as an enemy. But like any facet of life, there will always be the people who want to help and the people who stand in your way; luckily for me, I’ve found a lot of people who fit into the former category, and you’ll find their websites in the “Our Favorites” section of links on the right hand side of the home page. People like this have made this whole process worthwhile. I also have friends like the Anonymous Mets/Giants Fan, who chimes in from time to time and adds another personality to the blog, so thanks are in order there. In addition to that, my parents and brother have done their part to bring as much exposure and notoriety to this blog as possible by telling their friends, taking out ads in local flyers, and doing little things that go a long way, so I would be remiss not to mention their efforts as well. And I would be in the doghouse if I didn’t thank my lovely girlfriend for her support and for putting up with me and my borderline obsession with improving this website. But there’s one person in particular who I owe the most thanks to.

You.

That’s right. Maybe you have a 27pitches.com RSS feed in your bookmarks toolbar, or perhaps you subscribe by email. Maybe you take a minute from time to time to share a posting that you liked here on your favorite social networking site. If it weren’t for your loyalty and your help, this blog would have collapsed like so many others in the first six months of existence. But throughout the evolution of this blog, there has always been a growing audience. Nothing makes me happier than when I log into the administrative account and see that we have more hits that day than we did the day before. It’s all because of your efforts, and I want to sincerely thank all of you from the very bottom of my heart. I am here to proudly tell you that, even though the first couple months of this blog saw very minimal traffic, we are set to eclipse 25,000 hits this year — and that is something that is truly mind-blowing to me. I see great things ahead, and I hope that you’ll continue to be a part of the evolution as we focus on making your reading experience as enjoyable as possible. All I ask is that you do the things you have been doing — share our website, subscribe to the feeds, comment on the posts, and keep coming back. If you hold up your end of the bargain, I can promise that we’ll hold up ours.

SJ