I read the site nearly everyday. I am grateful for and impressed by the people who make it a thing. And I am always so happy to see them when I see them.

A clear-eyed survey of the world suggests that much of it is disappointing. FanGraphs is an exception. It provides a model of how not to be awful. Ask questions. Attempt to answer them in good faith, at the top of your intelligence. Recognize your shortcomings as a human with a brain. Repeat.

It surprises me that there aren't a million-billion outlets for work that is simultaneously rigorous and playful. But a lot of things surprise me. This is the consequence of being an idiot.

Four-ish years later, I wrote my first post for FanGraphs -- and, over the nine subsequent years, it became wildly clear that the dream was NOT doomed.