Several weeks ago, I unveiled the HooHaa 9, a personal baseball project.
Basically, the gist of it is that I have sponsored certain pages on the website Baseball-Reference.com. Alas, the popular players are now going up for premium prices. For example, I have had Philadelphia pitcher Cole Hamels’ page sponsored since it became available. Last year, it cost $30.But if I want to continue sponsoring it this year?
$305.
Yikes! That’s up from the $265 it would have cost me when I started this project!
As much as I love that website and as much as I want to be able to sponsor pages to help support the site, that’s a little rich for my blood. Even if I was gainfully employed with a well-paying job, I’m not sure I’d dump that kind of money on a sponsorship. I just don’t get enough hits from my link there to justify it.
I’ll enjoy having Cole’s page through the postseason this year and then move on.
That being said, because I use the site a ton, I like to give back. I realize it costs money for them to host and run a site of that magnitude, so I don’t mind giving some money back to the cause. That’s when I got discussing it with my friend Jerry, who noted he sponsors a cheaper player — Hal Manders.
That’s where the HooHaa 9 originated from.
I set out to find obscure ballplayers whose pricetag on the B-R site was no more than $2 or $5. I figured at that rate, I could afford to sponsor several. I knew, too, that if I decided to sponsor these pages I would turn them into blog posts.
My virtual team was born!
The HooHaa 9 is a name based off old-school baseball. Considering I am going to be sponsoring older players — obscure ones at that — I took on an older sounding name. The logo I put together is also an older-looking type logo.
The goal of this project is to sponsor at least 9 low-priced players to fill up a baseball team. These players could have been picked for one of several reasons — they have local ties, they have a cool name, they originally came from Ireland, or they played for the Phillies at some point. The majority of these players had short careers — five years or fewer — and likely played in the 1800s or early 1900s.
That makes the research hard.
I’ve done one of these already in Sleeper Sullivan. He’ll be the catcher on this squad.
To follow up on that, I have done some research on other players. I spend a few hours at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library doing some research and getting copies of other players. I have, at this point, eight pages sponsored. Most of them were quite cheap (one was $10, but there is a reason I’m willing to pay that). There are two others I will likely get, in time, who are $10 each. That will put me up to 10 players.
However…
Even with some of these guys who have played several positions, I am still short a second baseman and shortstop. I have a couple of pitchers and an extra outfielder. (I need some reserves, just in case, no?) So I’ll be in the endless search to find a few cheap players out there to fill those spots. And I’ll see if some of my extras are listed at those spots as I’d rather have fewer players so I can have an “Iron Man” team.
I even sponsored a manager and some of the things I dug up on him should make for an interesting story, too. Every team needs a manager, no?
My goal will be to release at least one player per week until the team is full. I have a lot of info on several of them, so I am going to get working on them some. There might be weeks where I release two of them. Who knows? It all depends on how the information flows etc.I won’t list any of these players, however, until I post the blog.
Those of you who are baseball fans, if you have any people I should consider for this project, let me know in the comments below. Just remember the guidelines I have for these players!
I hope those of you who are baseball fans will enjoy these posts. I’ve found some wonderful things about these players and have scanned some interesting items that I will put into the blog posts as well. Feedback, as always, will be appreciated!
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!