Extry, Extry: Rob Neyer Joins SB Nation

I’ll submit that — with the exception of the present site, obviously — that the SB Nation network features some of the better baseball writing one can find anywhere. I’ve definitely expressed publicly my feelings for — and made feel awkward in probably a sexual way — writers like Lookout Landing’s Jeff Sullivan, Viva El Birdos’ Dan Moore, and Gaslamp Ball’s jbox. There are, like, six other names I could add to that list of authors who’ve made me feel jealous for something they’ve written

Now, turns out, Rob Neyer is bringing his talents to this particular team, as well — and he (i.e. Neyer) appears determined to make good writing his priority.

From his introductory salvo as SB Nation’s National Baseball Editor:

I’ve got a lot of passions, and generally I won’t bore you with them. But the passion I indulge almost every day of my life is good writing. I crave it, and when I find it, I treasure it. I surround myself with books full of good writing, and I can’t get through the day without scribbling down a brilliant sentence or delightful word in a thick journal that’s always close at hand.

Also, it’s my business. I’m one of the lucky few who gets paid to indulge his first love.

Where the good writing comes from, though, is irrelevant. All that matters is the writing.

You’re paid to write? I know lots of professional writers who either never learned to write well, or have forgotten. You work for a famous website or newspaper? The big boys don’t have a monopoly on good writing, let alone facts.

There are a lot of things to love about SB Nation, which is why I’m here. But among them is that they — excuse me, we — don’t see us as us and you as them. We’ve got bloggers who most professional writers probably consider them … but we know better. We know that some of our writers are every bit as talented and knowledgeable as anyone you’ll find working for newspapers or the Big Boy websites. We also know that today’s readers are tomorrow’s writers, and that often the only difference is opportunity (one fantastic thing about the Web is that opportunity is everywhere).

Nobody’s got a monopoly on good writing, or the facts. If you can come up with one or the other or (ideally) both, you’re in the club. That’s one of the First Principles.