Farewell Box Score Clipping

[G-Fafif]

Self-effacing, bittersweet goodbye to an obsession, by Tim Kurkjian, here

For the first time since 1989, I no longer clip every box score of every baseball game from the nearest newspaper and tape each one into a spiral notebook, a daily task that I've estimated, at roughly 15 minutes per day, has cost me 40 days of my truly pathetic life.

I knew about Tim's "streak" from reading his charming Is This a Great Game, or What?. Am sorry to know he joins the rest of us in (finally) acknowledging the passing of the primacy of print as a box score delivery system.

[MFS62]

G-Fafif wrote: Self-effacing, bittersweet goodbye to an obsession, by Tim Kurkjian, here For the first time since 1989, I no longer clip every box score of every baseball game from the nearest newspaper and tape each one into a spiral notebook, a daily task that I've estimated, at roughly 15 minutes per day, has cost me 40 days of my truly pathetic life. I knew about Tim's "streak" from reading his charming Is This a Great Game, or What?. Am sorry to know he joins the rest of us in (finally) acknowledging the passing of the primacy of print as a box score delivery system.

The first ramp on that slippery slope was when the Sporting News stopped printing box scores.

Later

[seawolf17]

I know it's a romantic, old-timey idea, but really, Tim? It's easier to cut them and tape them and lug them in a big huge book than to have them on your iPad? Holy moley, you're an old codger.

[MFS62]

seawolf17 wrote: I know it's a romantic, old-timey idea, but really, Tim? It's easier to cut them and tape them and lug them in a big huge book than to have them on your iPad? Holy moley, you're an old codger.

Watch those age comments, you young whippersnapper.

Later

[Centerfield]

Wow. A link to UMDB could have saved Tim 1/15th of his time.

[seawolf17]

LOL Sorry 62 (and Mole). But seriously, that is part of the problem with baseball sometimes... that old-timey sentimentality that gets in the way of logic and progress.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's not merely baseball, it's a desire for the tangible. It's why one might have more of an attachment to an actual letter, as rare as they are, than to an e-mail, a book over an e-book, etc. My wife insists we still buy CDs (even keeps them on a displayed shelf in our living room --- how nineties is that?) instead of giving in to downloadable files.

[batmagadanleadoff]

What? Nobody buys CD's anymore?

[Guest themetfairy]

I buy CDs and listen to them in the car. I feel like a dinosaur, but that's how I become best acquainted with my new releases.

[Frayed Knot]

I've heard Kurkjian talk about this in the past and it was mostly just habit that kept him doing it this long.
Obviously he began the practice long before these things were available via the internet and certainly before the internet was available everywhere.
It was more a home reference for him (I doubt he lugged the book around with him) as well as a way to make sure he saw each of the boxscores especially for games which he didn't see or see hi-lights from. After all, just because boxscores are available every day doesn't mean everyone reads them but if you're - literally - cutting and pasting them, you do.

[ashie62]

Local dailies owned by Gannett only include the boxes of the locals, if that.

[metirish]

Seaver is a big box score guy IIRC , although that could be fox hole and not box score.

[Frayed Knot]

What Seaver has said recently, mostly in response to questions about how closely he follows the game, is that since he's working farmer's hours 3,000 miles from CitiField he's pretty much come full circle and follows the game the way he originally followed it, and that's through boxscores.

[Fman99]

Wow, I feel bad for giving Timmy all of those swirlies in high school now.