Madison graduation 2012
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New Miami graduation 2012
Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > October > 11
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Real McCoy, Ask Hal (To be continued)
Retirement is for the birds, except I’ve never seen a robin or a sparrow sitting in an easy chair wearing a T-shirt and boxer shorts while eating Fritos.
I don’t officially retire from the Dayton Daily News until October 31, but with baseball season over for those with leanings toward the Cincinnati Reds (no playoffs - again) I have had a week’s dose of watching sports on TV until my eyes are bleary and my posterior is numb.
My fingers, though, are itchy. I need the laptop on my lap and hopefully I can keep the Fritos from between the keys.
If you read the Dayton Daily News this morning (Sunday), you already know I’m going to continue doing some writing for them. I won’t be an employee of the DDN, but I’ll be a free agent, a contractor, a contributor.
The DDN and I have come to an agreement whereby The Real McCoy remains alive. During baseball season I’ll do at least five blogs a week and I will continue doing my Ask Hal questions and answers from the fans that appear in the paper every Sunday and online.
In the off-season, I’ll do a couple of blogs a week (and if you know me, probably more) and a few special assignments.
No, I won’t be traveling with the Reds as a baseball beat writer. Anything I do comes out of my own pocket. But I will make some cameo appearances at Great American Ball Park to gather some inside information and do some interviews to take you inside the clubhouse and dugout.
The DDN provided me with a driver last year, a fine gentleman named Larry Glass. He lives in Fairfield and loves baseball, has been involved in the game all his life, including coaching national championship youth teams.
Get this. Larry lives in Fairfield, at least an hour from my home in Englewood. Because of my vision problems, I can’t drive. For nearly every home game last season, Larry drove from Fairfield to Englewood and picked me up. He then drove down to Cincinnati and stayed with me at the games, sitting next to me in the press box.
After the game, he drove the 1:15 from Cincinnati to my home, dropped me off, then drove the hour back to Cincinnati. That’s about 4 ½ hours of driving every day, leaving his home shortly after noon and getting back to his home after games sometime near 2 a.m.
Amazing. And he did it all for just gas money and a press pass. Even more amazing, he has agreed to drive me any time next season when I want to go to Great American Ball Park.
While I won’t be in the inner circle as a traveling writer, I know I can entertain and inform you with 37 years worth of experiences and I can utilize contacts I’ve made through the years.
While we’re at it, Ask Hal continues for the next three weeks, so keep those great questions coming.
In addition to the work for the DDN, I have a couple of other things going that will keep me attached to the baseball world and I’ll let you know if and when those materialize.
So I’ll be doing more than emptying Fritos bags and burning up cigars in my Man Cave. I look forward to keeping in touch with all you great, great fans who have supported me through the yeas.
In the meantime, pass the Fritos.
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