I am thankful for…
November 23, 2021
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Today our writers share some of the things they are thankful for…
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Paul Semendinger – One of the most difficult things for me when I publish a book is to write the acknowledgements (or “Thanks Page”). This sometimes becomes a series of pages. I have a lot to give thanks for. It’s far too much to list.
For the blog, I want to thank our great writers and readers. We have become a wonderful baseball community for many years now. These pages have been visited millions of times. That’s amazing. I couldn’t do any of this without you. It’s you who make this site what it is. I love writing and managing all of this for us to share our love and thoughts about the Yankees (and baseball in general).
In my life, I have a great family, parents, relatives, and so many more. My wife and three sons (and new daughter-in-law) are the shining parts of my life.
I am thankful for my wonderful job and great school community and all of my friends, colleagues, and mentors who help me in so many ways.
I am thankful for my health and my ability to still play baseball and run marathons and so much more. I’m thankful for my doctors and therapists who keep me going. I am thankful for my teammates and my opponents.
I’m thankful to my publisher and the many many people who have read my books and offered so much help, advice, and even positive reviews. I am thankful for books and games and so much more.
I am thankful for all the nameless people in my life – police officers, firefighters, shop keepers, sanitation workers, street sweepers, electricians, plumbers, and so many others who keep us all safe and moving forward.
I am thankful for baseball and the Yankees.
Most of all, of course, I am thankful for God and Jesus without whom none of this would be possible.
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Cary Greene – Mainly I’m thankful for four things.
Firstly, it’s an honor to write for such great readers. I love the interaction and I learn so much from it. The banter we have here is a lot of fun. Sometimes, we’re all off base at one point or another. But we have great camaraderie and respect for each other, no matter who has what opinion. I’m here because of you. Flat out. I have exactly zero friends who are knowledgeable baseball fans and who love the Yankees. Many of my friends are Red Sox, Pirates and A’s fans. Such is my life! Thankfully, I have each of you!
Secondly, it’s a privilege to be a part of such a baseball staff. I love the emotion. I love the creativity and the analytics that go on in some of the posts. I most love the readability of our staff’s articles. It’s very humbling to be part of such a passionate group. I have such respect for all of our writers and I try to keep up on all the cool posts they make.
Thirdly, I’m thankful for Dr. Paul Semendinger and his son Ethan, for the unsung job they do here. I have been encouraged by Paul and Ethan has been phenomenal. Paul is a very special leader and a great writer. It has been my privilege to be here and be coached by him.
Lastly, I’m thankful for the life that our Lord has bestowed upon me. I can cast a fly rod a country mile and I fish from Jet Ski’s in the open ocean. I plant gardens and I harvest herbs. I hunt wild game and I tie my own flies. I surf cast with hand made wooden plugs and I have so many wonderful friends that I’m simply humbled by how lucky I am. Let the good times roll!
Have an awesome thanksgiving Yankee fans. From the five boroughs to the corners of the globe. May your tables be blessed with bounty and may your lives be rich and rewarding. Baseball is just a sport. It’s a game. Each of you are who truly matters and I know this. I embrace it and I am thankful for you. Continue to treat each other kindly and let sports and our respect for each other be our common ground, rather than all the noise that other blogs and sites love to digress into. Happy Thanksgiving to all…
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Derek McAdam – There are many things I am thankful this holiday season, so I will just list a few of those. First and foremost, I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends that have supported me all along. I am thankful for my beautiful home and my good health through my first 22 years of life. I am thankful for Dr. Paul Semendinger for giving me my first writing opportunity here are Start Spreading the News, which I gratefully joined in September 2019. Lastly, I am thankful for all of our readers. Without all of you, we would not be one of the top Yankee blogs out there. I hope all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season!
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Tim Kabel – As we approach my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, I would like to say that I am very thankful for:
The fact that I am a Yankees fan because I have witnessed a tremendous amount of success over the years and seen some amazing players.
The opportunity to write articles for SSTN. It has provided me with great enjoyment and helped me immensely as I pursue my career as a writer.
My family and friends who provide me with tremendous support and encouragement. This even includes my friend Roger, whose idea of support and encouragement is attacking my articles with a red pen with the zeal of a kamikaze pilot, or sending me dictionary links to obscure Scottish words with which I was unfamiliar. I guess I am most thankful that he is not a set of twins.
Above everything else, I am thankful for my children who are my inspiration, my purpose, and my reward. Without them, nothing else would matter. Thanksgiving would have to occur every day of the year in order for me to properly express my gratitude for having them in my life.
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Mike Whiteman – I’m so thankful for the 2021 baseball season. The experience of 2020 is still fresh in my mind, and a full and whole 2021 season was such a blessing to me.
Baseball has provided me much enjoyment and connections to friends and family for over forty years. There are great friendships I have that would not exist without baseball. My life is better because of this game, and I am thankful.
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Michael Saffer – I am thankful for having a catch with my dad. No matter how late he would come home from work or how tired he might have been, my dad was never too tired to say no to having a catch. Two (or more) people can throw a baseball back and fourth, but the connection between two people having a catch cannot be duplicated. I am thankful for all the times I was able to have a catch with my dad.
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Chris O’Connor – I am thankful for all of my friends and family that continue to support me in all avenues of my life. From a fandom perspective, I am truly thankful that my favorite team is the Yankees. For all of the headaches and disappointment that the team has given me in recent years, the Yankees are the model franchise in all of (American) professional sports. No team is more synonymous with winning than the Yankees, who have not had a losing season since 1992. Even during this current 12 year title drought, the team has made the playoffs 8 times and been in contention in September every year. With my being a Jets and Knicks fan, I think that I have a good perspective of what good and bad franchises look like. I am thankful to have the team in my life as well as close friends and family to share the ups and downs of Yankees fandom with.
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Ed Botti – I’m grateful that I met Paul and the group of people at Start Spreading the News that allow me to voice my opinion on baseball related matters.
*** Andy Singer – There is so much for which I’m thankful, that I don’t think I can do it justice here in this short blurb. I’ll name a few things off the top of my head though:
I am incredibly thankful for the great baseball community that all of us, writers and readers alike, have built here together. It was a longtime dream for me to write about baseball, and It’s About The Money gave me the initial opportunity to share my love and knowledge of baseball and the Yankees with like-minded people. The thought of that part of my life going away was one that brought me great sadness, until Paul and Ethan brought me along for the ride of building SSTN. I am thankful everyday for the fact that I continue to write, podcast, and participate in the SSTN community.
I am nothing without the support of my very close family and friends. I keep a tight circle in my personal life, and those people are everything to me. I have to give a quick shout-out to my wife, who in addition to being as awesome as it gets, is the one who finally pushed me to start writing about baseball in a public forum. I hesitated for years, but her better senses won out, and I’m forever glad they did.
Because I’m here, I’m thankful for baseball in all of its forms. Baseball is one of the constants in my life, and I can’t imagine who I would be today without baseball. It really is the best sport around.
Lastly, I am thankful for losing track of time. A professor I knew years ago told me that if you don’t lose track of time at least once every day, then you have never truly immersed yourself in something. I took those words to heart, and no matter how stressful days become, I still find that I often lose track of time, either lost in my pursuit of a goal or thinking through topics of interest. I am so thankful that I have topics and hobbies about which I am truly passionate.
