Monday, December 19, 2011

MLU is Back!

With the mix of headlines floating around this off-season, I couldn't possibly sit back in silence.


I have truly missed MLU. I've missed writing, I've yearned for the Twitter banter, and for months I've longed for someone to call me Smalls.

In an effort to stay connected to the game over the winter, I spent last year's entire off-season sharing daily insights and commentaries on all aspects of the baseball world. Preparing each blog post quickly became the highlight of my morning, and before I knew it, MLU had taken on a life of its own. But some time back in May - around the time I was stuck in Extended Spring Training and questioning my existence on this baseball-diamond-filled Earth - I lost it.

There were a number of factors that played a role in the sudden freeze of MLU - spotty internet service, an ever-changing home address, and an exhausting daily schedule, to name a few - but mainly, it became tougher to uphold a blog about baseball and the game I loved while, at the same time, that very sport seemed to be showing my career a giant middle finger. Things were not going as planned, and whether it was pride, or resentment toward a game that had once been my sweetheart, I shut it down.

It was no more than a month into my stay in baseball Purgatory when that phone rang and I was called to greener pastures. I packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and flew off to join my new team. A feeling of purpose was restored in my life - baseball was great again.

Over the course of the next five months, I experienced my share of ups and downs. My play was inconsistent, but my peaks evened out my valleys and I was able to put up respectable numbers and even earn a promotion before season's end. Baseball was once again enjoyable, but somehow there still didn't seem to be enough time to carefully revive MLU back to what it once was. It would be a shell of its former self, and for a project that I unapologetically obsessed over for an entire off-season, restoring it to a level inconsistent with previous posts was out of the question.

So instead, I spent the season observing, making notes, and jotting down any experiences and interactions I deemed worthy of sharing with the world. I kept my eyes and ears open and stocked up on material, not knowing exactly when I would revive MLU, but fullly aware that the return of Scotty Smalls was imminent.

And finally, that day has come. I have taken it upon myself to restore order to an Internet consumed by faux Kardashian weddings, aimless Occupying of every street corner, and coverage of the NBA Lockout that I've miraculously found even more boring than their actual games. 

And so, after a monumental hiatus rivaled only by those of Dave Chappelle and Ricky Williams, Scotty Smalls is dusting off the old long-billed cap and once again getting back behind the keyboard. A fresh crop of posts starts up tomorrow!
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Thank you to everyone who has been emailing or reaching out over the past few months - it is so exciting to hear that there are people aside from my parents enjoying this blog.

Please continue to stay connected to MLU via Twitter (@MinorLeagueU) and the Minor League University Facebook Page. And, as always, if there is a topic you'd like to see covered or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to send an email to MinorLeagueUniversity@gmail.com.

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