On Jan. 18, 2014, a very special baseball event will be happening at McFadden’s at Citi Field; the first-ever Queens Baseball Convention. It is a celebration of the New York Mets, by New York Mets fans and it’s being put together by two of the best Mets fansites in creation; MetsPolice.com and The7Line.com.
My contribution, other than attending with my dad (You know him as the Terry Collins look-alike) and my son (who still misses Jose Reyes), will be moderating the New Media panel, which will kick off the event at approximately high noon.
I say “high noon” because, well, I am the reigning Mets Gunslinger of the Year.
The reason I wanted to be a part of the QBC was simple; for years I have wondered why the Mets – a team clearly in need of energizing its fanbase — no longer held offseason FanFests ( as many teams in MLB currently do) or their once-annual Mets Caravan. With the opening of a new ballpark in 2009 — which could easily host a FanFest for baseball-hungry Mets fans — it seemed like it would only be a matter of time for one to be organized. The folks at MetsPolice.com and The7Line,com decided they didn’t want to wait anymore and have put together a great event for Mets fans of all ages.
The New Media panel is especially exciting for me as it allowed me to bring together some of the biggest names the Mets blogosphere has to offer:
Matt Cerrone (MetsBlog.com) – Matt is the lead writer and creator of MetsBlog.com, which reaches more than 3.5 million page views per month. Prior to making MetsBlog.com a full-time job in 2006, Cerrone worked as a communication strategist for politicians, authors and entertainers. In 2007, he partnered with SportsNet NY, the TV home of the Mets, to help develop more in-depth content for MetsBlog.com, while working to create new team-specific blogs for their website, SNY.tv.
Greg Prince (FaithandFearinFlushing.com) – Greg is a professional writer, editor, and communications consultant whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Online Edition and on SNY.tv and MLB.com. He is the author of the book “Faith and Fear in Flushing” and “The Happiest Recap”.
Jason Fry (FaithandFearinFlushing.com) – The co-author of FAFIF.com, Jason is s a writer, editor and media consultant in Brooklyn, N.Y. He spent more than 12 years at The Wall Street Journal Online, serving as a writer, columnist, editor and projects guy. While at WSJ.com he edited and co-wrote The Daily Fix, a daily roundup of the best sportswriting online. He blogs about the Mets at Faith and Fear in Flushing, and has written for or consulted with Nieman Journalism Lab, the Poynter Institute, Yahoo! Sports, MSG.com, Deadspin, Baseball Prospectus, EidosMedia and the Library of Congress.
Kerel Cooper (OnTheBlack.com) – Kerel is the owner and operator of OnTheBlack.com, and whose video podcasts are among the most-watched in the Mets blogosphere. It has been featured on such industry leaders as Metsblog.com and various other Mets Sites. Kerel is also the Senior Director of Digital Ad Platform Strategies for Advance Digital.
Steve Keane (KranepoolSociety.com) – Steve is the creator of the popular Mets blog “The Eddie Kranepool Society” and numerous podcasts about the Mets. A true-blue Mets fan, Steve is never afraid to tackle any subject when it comes to the Mets, and that includes taking on the ownership, front office and the players. He is a also a popular guest on many of his fellow panel members’ podcasts as well.
Mike Silva (ESPN LI 107.1/96.9FM) – Mike currently hosts the “Weekend Watchdog” on Long Island’s ESPN Affiliate Champions Radio (107.1/96.9 FM Suffolk County) from 10AM to 1pm every Saturday. His longtime “NY Baseball Talk” podcast was one of the longest running of its kind, and is well-known to Mets fans for his other blog and podcast “Sports Media Watchdog”.
Taryn Cooper (KinersKorner.com) – “Coop” is a special part of the Mets blogosphere for many reasons, not the least of which was her first effort “My Summer Family”. You can find her now at Kiner’s Korner and hear her on the Kult of Mets Personalities podcast that has a great following.
Ed Ryan (MetsFever.com) – Ed owns and operates MetsFever.com, and stands out as one of the more even-handed Mets bloggers in the industry. He’s been blogging about the Mets since 2006, and was a regular on many of the Mets former and current message boards way before that.
The QBC is going to be a blast, and if you are a Mets fan, you should really do yourself a favor and check it out.
For tickets, a schedule of events and any info, go here – http://queensbaseballconvention.com/