BBWAA still obsessed with watching athletes undress

"Access, seating and internet rights are the main issues facing the writers groups around the country.

The APSE's Writers Liaison Committee, which works with writers groups around the country, has issued its first report on these groups in two years."

Baseball Writers Assn. of America report to APSE: (posted 6/6/07 on the APSE website)

"APSE liaison: Chuck Scott, San Diego Union-Tribune.

Association address: P.O. Box 610611, Bayside, NY 11361

President: Paul Hoynes, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 7107 Briarcliff, Mentor, OH 44060. Home: (440) 354-4834. Office: (216) 999-4370. Cell: (216) 409-7853. E-mail: phrug14@aol.com.

Vice President: Bob Dutton, Kansas City Star, 4513 Craig Ave., Grandview, MO 64030. Home: (816) 234-4352. E-mail: bdutton@aol.com.

Secretary-Treasurer: Jack O'Connell, BBWAA, 39-12 211th St., Apt. 3, Bayside, NY 11361. Phone: (718) 767-2582. Cell: (631) 236-2648. E-mail: bbwaa@aol.com.

Board of Directors: Mike DiGiovanna, Los Angeles Times; Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Houston Chronicle; Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun; Dave Van Dyck, Chicago Tribune.

Annual meetings: Thrice a year, held at the All-Star Game, World Series and Winter Meetings (the officers are elected at the World Series).

Membership: About 800 (baseball writers, sports editors, columnists, etc., who cover baseball).

Dues: $65 (plus local dues, which vary).

Are Internet reports allowed? No, but 10-year members in the organization retain their card and Hall of Fame voting privileges after they leave newspapers. Those BBWAA members, however, are subject to the club's regulations concerning their type of news outlet.

Concerns and issues: Access to players and club officials, credentialing. Commissioner Bud Selig meets with BBWAA members only (no other media outlets) for a private Q&A each year at the site of the All-Star Game. Access Committee of Murray Chass (New York Times), Dan Graziano (Newark Star Ledger) and Dave Van Dyck (Chicago Tribune) had off-season meetings with MLB and MLPA officials to explain importance of clubhouse access for BBWAA members.

Financial contracts: None.

Activities: Voting on BBWAA awards – Most Valuable Player, Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Manager of the Year each season – and voting on players eligible for the baseball Hall of Fame. The BBWAA also compiles a Hall of Fame Veterans Committee ballot that goes out to living Hall of Fame members, Frick Award winners and Spink Award winners for the election every other year for players and every four years for executives/managers/umpires. The BBWAA's Hall of Fame election was announced Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Writing contests: None."

(The above was posted on the APSE website 6/6/07).

Very important...more awards. When you finally sacrifice all to be a BBWAA member, you yourself have to be awarded the plum posts like BBWAA officers; then you try to get enough votes for yourself to be an officer of the Baseball Hall of Fame--on your own way to immortalilty in the Writers' wing of the Baseball HOF (who cares about the actual players). So you see the BBWAA is a constant stream of political appointments and rewards. If you don't carry the 'thought police' water, you don't advance. (Sorry).

• The final nail in the coffin for the always chastened and empty-pocketed Yankee fan is the incessant negative media wherever a fan's attention is unfortunate enough to light for a moment. New York media bias? The duplicity and hatred of Dan Graziano and his chairmanship of the NY chapter of the BBWAA (documented) is the passive Yankee fan's final reward.*

The owners have become even richer with the revenue sharing and luxury tax dollars of the Yankee fan. As the team crumbles, no one watches on TV, the money goes away. That's the good part for the Yankee fan. At least we won't be giving our money to the idiot sons anymore.

• *"The annual BBWAA awards dinner isn’t until Jan. 28. But the New York chapter hosted a dinner at Yankee Stadium last night to roast outgoing chairman Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record. It was a fun night hosted by new chairman Dan Graziano of the Star-Ledger." posted 1/19/07 by Peter Abraham on his Lohud Yankee blog.

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