FanGraphs and Pitch Talks Are Coming to Boston

Over the last few years, we’ve done a random collection of events in cities around the country, usually calling them something like FanGraphs Live. We’d get a few of our staff members together to hang out with a bunch of our readers, spend a few hours talking baseball, and generally have a great time. We always meant to do more of them, but the logistics of finding places to host the events always served as something of a barrier, so they ended up being scheduled sporadically.

Well, for those who were hoping for more of these kinds of events, we have some good news. We’ve teamed up with the guys behind the Pitch Talks series, and as they roll out their baseball speaker series across the U.S., we’re going to be pretty heavily involved, with our writers as part of the show and friends of FanGraphs joining in for some fun discussions. I was up in Toronto for the two year anniversary show last week, and it was a blast, with roughly 600 Blue Jays fans packing out a music venue for a few hours of fantastic discussion and mildly-drunken banter about the game we all love. We are really looking forward to helping bring that kind of fun to more cities around the U.S.

For the first stop on the tour this summer, we’re coming to Boston.

As you can see, it’s a pretty loaded lineup already, and that poster doesn’t include everyone who will be attending; Alex Speier was added right after they made that graphic, for instance. The plan is for the show to be a three-part set, with a FanGraphs-centric panel talking about the Red Sox from an analytical perspective, a local media discussion of the team, and friend-of-the-site Jonah Keri having an in-depth discussion with Red Sox GM Mike Hazen. You’re going to want to be there; it should be a great time.

It’s probably worth mentioning, as well, that the Pitch Talks guys have done a great job at making sure these aren’t your typical panel discussions or Q&As. With the events being setup in comedy or music venues, the vibe is a bit more lively than you might expect if you’ve only seen these kinds of discussions at a baseball conference or an event at a ballpark. It’s more casual conversation, often with some alcohol added to the mix, and leads to things like executives of an organization openly admitting that they’d happily trade their star player for salary relief if given the chance. Yes, that happened in Toronto last week.

For a little more background on Pitch Talks, here’s a video they’ve put together giving you a sense of what their events have been like.

So, if you’re going to be in Boston on July 7th, you really need to make plans to come to The Wilbur and hang out with us. Tickets don’t officially go on sale until tomorrow, but with the pre-sale code of BOSTON, you can buy your tickets today.

We’re excited to be part of the Pitch Talks family now, and to get a chance to spend time with you guys at some fun events around the country this summer. We’ll have more announcements on other cities coming up in the not-too-distant future, but for now, let’s pack out the place in Boston. It will be a great time, and I look forward to seeing you all there.