A Year of NPB Tracker
It’s now been a year since my first post on NPB Tracker.
It’s been a fun year of blogging, it’s gone by quickly. I’ve been able to reach far more people with the site than I expected, and the response I’ve gotten has been overwhelming positive. NPB Tracker is a tiny pixel on 200-inch HDTV that is blogosphere, but considering the nichieness of the content, I’m happy with the audience the site has built. I hope to continue to produce content that people will enjoy.
The positive reaction I’ve gotten to the site has motivated me to write more. When I started this site, I anticipated posting three to five times a week, but looking back now we’ve published over 400 articles. I say “we” because Ryo has contributed a couple dozen posts – Thanks Ryo!
Another unexpected outcome of this blog is that I’ve gotten to see my work and occasionally my name in some more mainstream media outlets. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Both Rob Neyer and Will Carroll picked up my news about Ichiro pitching earlier in the year. I’ve enjoyed reading both Rob and Will for years so it was very exciting having them link to NPB Tracker.
- The baseball blogger at the Washington Post mentioned my work a number of times, including this blurb about Junichi Tazawa.
- The Boston Score asked me some questions last autumn, also on Tazawa.
- My busted translation of a Nikkan Sports piece on Hideki Irabu’s comeback got picked up by NBC New York. This was one of the best because the writer gave EWC a nod as well.
- Links to NPB Tracker have started showing up on Wikipedia.
I think my overall favorite was my interview with Ted Berg of sny.tv. An inaccurate article that Ted wrote back in 2007 was part of my motivation for starting the site, and I shared the story in a thread on EWC, which Ted then found and contacted me after reading. Getting to take part in that interview was like coming full circle in a way.
I hope this doesn’t come across as self promoting; the attention this site has gotten has definitely exceeded my expectations and it’s a great honor to have been acknowledged by this group of people.
So, what does the next year hold for NPB Tracker? Mostly more of the same. The majority of the content will still be about Japanese baseball, and it will mostly be in English. I’m planning to have some content on baseball in other countries as well. Outside of that, I’m hoping to find some time to add some additional functionality to the site, mostly with the goal of making it more interactive (suggestions are always welcome).
So thanks for reading everyone, the pleasure has been all on this side of the ‘net.
15/06/2009 at 1:08 am Permalink
Congrats, Patrick!
I hope I can be 1/10 as successful after my first year of blogging as you have been. Reading through your site, westbaystars site, Deanna’s site, and the Tsubamegun site (among others, of course!) was a good part of the inspiration for me to get out there and blog.
Best of luck for your second year!
15/06/2009 at 4:45 am Permalink
Congratulations!
15/06/2009 at 6:44 am Permalink
Congratulations on passing the first year. There are so many blogs that start and are abandoned after a single week, or even a single post. It takes a lot of dedication to keep it going. Especially with an addition to the family. (More congratulations.)
I look forward to reading more from both you and Ryo in the comming years.
15/06/2009 at 7:09 am Permalink
Congrats, Patrick. As a long time NPB fan I look forward to the future postings here by you and Ryo. By the way, as a Orioles fan, I like to point out Ryohei Tanaka has throw four scoreless innings for AA Bowie.
15/06/2009 at 8:37 am Permalink
Thank you for sparking my interest in the NPB, and its wonderful traditions!
15/06/2009 at 9:50 am Permalink
Congrats, Patrick. Keep it up! I can’t believe you’ve only been doing this for a year, you seem to be old hat at this baseball blogging deal.
Appreciate the English language resource about NPB…
15/06/2009 at 2:50 pm Permalink
Congratulations, Patrick! I always enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the awesome work and I wish you nothing but the best.
15/06/2009 at 9:20 pm Permalink
Thanks guys. It’s a great complement that you’re all enjoying the site.
15/06/2009 at 9:24 pm Permalink
Thanks Patrick. Glad to be a part of it and hoping to contribute more to the site.
16/06/2009 at 8:59 am Permalink
….and in Season 2, Patrick visits Japan, right?
16/06/2009 at 11:32 am Permalink
That’s the goal. Won’t be during baseball season though.