Chico Walker, Carroll Hardy, and me
August 5, 2009Rob Neyer is on vacation from his ESPN blog this week, and today, in the tradition of the lumpy journeyman jogging out to replace the golden-lit Hall of Famer, I get to sub for him:
Steps for attaining baseball happiness
(Also, be sure to check out the other guest bloggers in Rob’s space this week.)
Hello to any readers who might be visiting this site for the first time. Thanks for stopping in. Make yourself comfortable and start digging through all the cards (see sidebar for a sort by team) and please join the conversation if you are so moved. My favorite part of this whole endeavor is hearing other fans’ memories and rants and analyses.
Finally: It looks like there’s a somewhat firm date on the release of my forthcoming book, which will trace (to use Frederick Exley’s phrase) “that long malaise, my life” through the prisms of my childhood baseball cards. If all goes according to plan, the book, published by Seven Footer Press, will be available Opening Day 2010.
Cardboard Gods 
I find myself unsurprised and excited as hell to see you over on Rob’s blog. I was hoping you would be one of the guest bloggers.
Far out, man.
Great piece you did for Neyer’s blog, Josh! Looking forward to the book.
Wonderful, Josh, just wonderful.
Great news about the book, and another great piece.
Geez……….I could actually TASTE the gum there for a second.
Behold, indeed.
Josh – I look forward to the book and wish you well in the selling of said book. I will certainly be purchasing it.
I think your piece today for Neyer is kind of like we readers do here every day. We click on this favorite link and wonder what card we’re going to pull out of the pack. It’s amazing how many of the cards you have are also in my collection.
i tried to comment on the espn site but my computer wouldn’t let me. congrats, dude, on yet another cool accomplishment.
the touch and smell — and, ultimately, taste — of the gum that came in baseball cards is one of those endearing childhood memories. thanks for bringing it back — i feel like i’m having a piece right now as i anticipate which players will be in the pack i’ve just brought home.
and about the book, well, it’s just awesome…
Thanks for the encouraging words.
I checked the ESPN comments yesterday but haven’t checked back since I got to the part where one guy said “this is garbage”; I’ll check back again to see if there’s been any elaboration on that line of thinking.
Can’t wait to buy the book. Great release date for it, too.
Congrats on the ESPN guest shot. May it get you tons of new readers.
And please don’t dwell on the negative thing written by that goofball. There are so many people out there who don’t have enough talent to do anything constructive themselves so they resort to tearing down the people who do have talent.
Opening my “Favorites” bar and clicking on “Cardboard Gods” is my 2009 version of opening that 45-cent pack of my childhood. Only this time, I get to read great, well-thought out, imaginative literature rather than (League leader in italics, * tie).
As for the few negative comments written by the followers of Neyer (a good writer in his own right), it is obvious that they haven’t taken the time to familiarize themselves with your writing style, and have a preconceived notion that “a bunch of hacks are going to fill in.”
Josh, I’ve been following this site around the internet for about 3 years and I can’t wait ’til your book comes out. My daughter is an aspiring writer and I’ve gotten her to start reading you as well. She’s not a big baseball fan but she is a fan of good writing. I wouldn’t worry about those negative comments too much; I’ve got a feeling they’re not really your target audience anyway. I’m glad to see Rob Neyer give you the “guest blogger” spot. He’s been linking to you for quite a while and it’s nice to see him give you the opportunity to reach a bigger audience.