Introducing Our New Writers

A month ago, we put out an open call for applications for a writing position here on FanGraphs. The responses were overwhelming, which is why it took us nearly a month to sort through the hundreds of received resumes and conduct as many interviews as we could. In the end, what was intended to be one open position turned into five new people joining the team, as we simply had too many good candidates to turn away.

If you were one of those who applied, I highly encourage you to keep writing and prove that we missed the boat by not hiring you this time around. The Community Blog is a great place to get noticed, as four of the five people joining the writing staff had previously published work there, and we’ve hired a handful of others directly after noticing their contributions to the Community Blog previously. We’re really excited about the five new people joining our staff, but we know many of you would be great contributors as well, so don’t give up.

With that said, let me briefly introduce the five new writers whose work will be debuting on these pages very soon.

Craig Edwards

If you’re a Cardinals fan, you probably recognize Craig’s name, as he’s most recently served as an editor at Viva El Birdos. He’s also contributed to Vice Sports among other outlets. A lawyer by trade, Craig will bring his perspective both to the game and the sport as a whole.

Twitter handle: @craigjedwards

Owen Watson

An example of how well the Community Blog can get our attention, Owen started contributing Community posts last June, and after four quality articles, he was invited to begin publishing at The Hardball Times. A bay area resident, he’s also written for Athletics Nation. He has a Creative Writing degree from Hampshire College, and will be writing regular features here on the site.

Twitter handle: @ohwatson

Sean Dolinar

Another Community Blog contributor who caught our eye last year, Sean built his own site to house some of the infographics he’s designed, as well as some of the tools he’s created to mine interesting information. As he’s currently working on his Master’s in Predictive Analytics, Sean’s work here on FanGraphs will focus primarily on visuals, creating new graphics which tell useful stories as well as working with the writing staff to make our charts and graphs a bit more friendly to the eye.

Twitter handle: @seandolinar

Chris Mitchell

Another Hardball Times contributor (and Community Blog alumnus), Chris was the man behind the recently revealed KATOH system for prospect valuation and forecasting. While Kiley McDaniel and his team will continue to do excellent work covering the minor leagues, Chris will help cover prospects from an analytical perspective, as well as continuing to work on projects related to prospect valuation. A Fordham graduate with degrees in both mathematics and economics, he currently resides in New York, where he works on economic development.

Twitter handle: @_chris_mitchell

Larry Hayes

A very recent retiree, Larry has immediately become the most veteran member of the writing staff, and will bring a perspective to the site that hasn’t existed previously. As a more senior member of earth, Larry’s work is going to focus on exploring baseball history through the lens of the present day, and bringing the lessons of the past into focus for today’s game. He’s likely going to be something of a unique voice on this site, but I’m excited to see how his perspective complements those who lack his experience.

Twitter handle: @larryjhayes

You’ll start seeing all these names begin to appear on FanGraphs bylines in the near future. We hope you are looking forward to their contributions as much as we are.