To our baseball community, thank you.
There’s that theory that questions if a falling tree in a forest really makes noise when there is nobody around to hear it. That is deep to ponder. The same could be said for a site like this as to whether it exists if nobody reads it. Thanks to you all — we get read and shared — and we are a thriving Nats community.
In 2023, Cal Newport wrote an article for The New Yorker magazine about whether it’s time to move beyond the flawed idea of a global conversation platform like Twitter. Then Newport told the larger world about the TalkNats community. Cal understood what this place was all about. He wrote, “Ignored amid the hand-wringing about the toxic turn taken by large-scale conversation platforms are the many smaller, less flashy sites and services that have long been supporting a more civilized form of digital interaction. As a Washington Nationals baseball fan, for example, I enjoy lurking on the game-day discussion threads hosted by a modest but lively Web site called TalkNats.com.”
In the mail the other day, there was a box from Intrepid with a beautiful handwritten letter of thanks and a gift. It reminded me how fortunate we are to have each other. I feel so deeply indebted to Intrepid for all of his contributions to this site — and here he is thanking me. No, thanks to you. Over the summer, Mainelaker threw a TalkNats get-together in the Terra Club for a Nats game. I’m still blown away about his generosity. The way this community has evolved into friendships is incredible.
The kindness people have shown each other is heartwarming. From the charitable efforts of the RCR points led by Warning Track Power and Section222 for the Nationals Youth Academy that so many of you have made into an annual event, to people donating tickets to others here in the community is wonderful to see.
To the people who write articles and share stories in comments, thank you. This is a passion project for so many people. Again, if you want to write, let me know! So many Thanksgivings with a Laura article, and a Stever20 on-point comment. This year when Ryan had free time from college, he gave us postgamers to recap what we just saw. And we had Ben Belford-Peltzman going from high school student to college was great to see as he is crushing it with his writings at Syracuse!
From our humble beginnings as “Going Deep With The Nats,” an idea became a reality because of the encouragement of so many of you. It’s been well over a decade now. The emails received from Mike “Mustang” Smith asking us to start a new blog, and Don H. aka Zmunchkin was the brains behind the tech side, and Ray Wyvil and so many others who jumped in. Sol Tucker became our site photographer, and we were publishing over 400 articles a year. Other photographers like Marlene and Clint jumped in too. Our promise was a moderated and interactive site that let your voices be heard in a friendly environment.
When the site traffic grew to a point that we needed help in an efficient website that could be read by a larger audience, we looked to new options. The workload to keep up with the site became overwhelming, and it was Andrew and Scott who took over the site and created the TalkNats.com name with the logos. For over nine years, they funded this site out of their pockets and absorbed the losses. A reality struck recently that they weren’t able to financially fund the site for free any longer — and once again the community stepped up in a big way with a subscription service.
The site owners sent me to the Arizona Fall League twice, thanks to this subscription service, and have covered other expenses. I don’t ask for anything, but they have insisted. On top of that, TalkNats actually pays to attend games — no gratis tickets, beverages and parking like most in the media receive. They don’t give us press notes or press conference access, so we just have to be creative to get our information and work harder. And trust me, I know how it works from other sports teams that invite us as credentialed media. Yes, Washington Commanders, thank you.
We thank our sources for believing in us — and trusting us with their information. Officially, it was just over 10 years ago when we broke our first story on Twitter. We broke other stories but it seemed that if you didn’t timestamp it on Twitter that it wasn’t legit. We tweeted that Bud Black was not going to be the manager of the Nationals due to a snag in contract negotiations leading to Dusty Baker being named the manager in 2015. Most may remember the Washington Post headlines in print that Black had been hired. Whoops. This was in MLB Trade Rumors:
On a more serious note, when you build a community with longevity, we have lost people. This year, Jack Tavenner, aka NatsJack, passed away. One of the most optimistic Nats fans. He got his first tattoo of the Nats’ World Series logo at the age of 72. He called that a bucket list moment to see a Washington win in the World Series. Jack would message me article ideas, and encourage me to stay positive. He will be missed.
Yes, losing stinks. Nobody likes to lose. Hopefully winning baseball will return soon to Nationals Park. The way we can encourage each other and spread NatsJack’s positivity really matters. There are so many key voices out there on different formats with people like DCBarno, NavyYardNats, and Kev who reach so many in the DMV. Your words matter.
And there are great minds out there, drop us a message if you want to share a private thought. Thanks to Simon for doing that and for his encouragement. He has made some great suggestions for articles. Yes, many articles are inspired by you all as I said the other day from a message that Chuck Douglas sent me on coaches. And even inspiration from Chuck Todd has been so needed. Yes, and Chuck Fritter too. This site is about all of you — your ideas matter.
Enjoy all of what Thanksgiving is about which is as American as baseball! If you’re traveling, safe travels, and eat well and enjoy this time with your family and friends.
Thanks to all of you as you heard our tree fall in the forest.
