True Devotion

I've realized something: It is damned hard to write something original about baseball in early January, especially when there has been virtually no new news, excluding the Hall of Fame voting. (And, frankly, I find that talk getting a little old.)

Then, miraculously, I received an email yesterday from someone who covers minor league baseball for a major publication with this little nugget in it:

I have found that for whatever reason, Rangers fans seem to be a very devoted breed (maybe that's only because I like to occasionally lurk at Jamey Newberg's site) ...

That made the light bulb in my head flicker for an instant. I thought about that. Even slept on it. Woke up thinking about it. Pondered the thought over a nice Whataburger breakfast. Finally, once it fully registered, my brain converted what was typed in the email to this:

Jamey Newberg, along with his cadre of contributors and followers, has made it ok (and borderline cool) to be an overt fan of the Texas Rangers.

We used to have to kind of slink in the shadows, playing the shrinking violet to the machismo of the over abundant football fans in this gridiron state. While they were boasting about Super Bowls, we were always pining for next year. To this day, to see all the Cowboys coverage at the website of the Dallas Morning News, payment is required. Rangers news? Free.

But the best Rangers coverage comes from a lawyer who played baseball at the University of Texas. A guy who built a niche for himself by focusing on the Texas farm system. A man who posts his thoughts with no thought of financial gain, but purely for the love of the game. Someone who wears his heart on his sleeve, whether he is talking about outfield prospects or the band Jellyfish.

The Newberg Report has become a daily staple for thousands of baseball fans in North Texas, not to mention those in the towns that host Rangers minor league teams.

Jamey is the perfect balance of optimism and reason. After the Kevin Millwood signing, the local papers and talk shows immediately focused on Roger Clemens. The implication was that, despite the completely overhauled starting rotation, the offseason will be a bust unless Jon Daniels (and Tom Hicks) somehow lands Big Rog. Even one of my favorite weekly reads, Jennifer Floyd Engel's 'Little Balls of Hate', ends virtually every column with the following words: Sign Roger Clemens.

Newberg, however, put his thoughts much more eloquently in his open letter to Roger Clemens. It was a true sales pitch, and a damned good one, that was devoid of the idea that a failure to get Rajah would make this offseason fruitless.

I have said many times that Bobby Valentine and Tom Grieve saved baseball in the D/FW metroplex. Tom Schieffer didn't do too bad, either, in his steadfast promotion of the game. The city of Arlington has also played a major role in keeping interest alive. And having such great radio play-by-play men through the years (the late Mark Holtz, Eric Nadel with his wealth of baseball and pop culture knowledge) has been a true blessing.

But it's funny how one email - or one little throwaway line in an email - can make a truth shine through.

So here's to you, Jamey Newberg, for doggedly giving us readers the news of the day. For spilling your guts to us. For the emotional highs and lows you have expressed. For being yourself. And, lastly, for making it ok to be a fan of the Texas Rangers.

One more thing...

Let me be the first to suggest (as far as I know of, anyway) that there will be a day in the future when we will have the pleasure to see Jamey Newberg inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.

See? It always comes back to Hall of Fame talk...