Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Did Glenn Wilson comment on my blog?

OK, here's a wacky story. Loyal readers will know that before this blog, I started off with the 88 Topps Cards blog. I got something like a thousand comments on that blog, and there was just one that I deleted.

My reason for deleting this comment was that I thought it was left by a troll who simply wanted to criticize card collectors as basement-dwellers and losers (which, no doubt, some of us are.) His comment included the assertion that I have personally never stepped foot on a baseball field which, while not technically true (I got to walk on the field at the Kingdome a while back), is true in the spirit in which the commenter meant it, in the sense that I'm not really in a good position to judge MLB talent.

Anyway, the comment was originally posted on my 88 Topps entry for Glenn Wilson, then of the Phillies. You might want to go read that first so you can full appreciate the rest of what I'm about to reveal here.

Now, here is the text of the comment that post posted to the page for Wilson's card.:

"You guys are too lame. None of you must have girlfriends, or all ugly wifes. Heres the deal. Andy, you have never stepped foot on a major league field, so how n the he!! would you know who is worthy of a all-star selection or not, and jred, that lame nick name arm could throw you out from the warning track with a 30 foot head start...... yall have fun!! "
Instantly, you can probably see why I deleted this comment. It really seemed to be a random troll. If the comment took serious issue with the content and made any type of actual counterargument, I probably would have let it stand despite its nastiness.

I often think back to this comment, remembering the ppoint about me having never stepped onto a major-league field. The commenter was right about that, and it makes me think twice about how I criticize players, since I really have only the numbers or what a player says in interviews to go by. I don't know these guys and I don't know what it's like to play baseball.

This morning, I went back to the email notification for the comment just to re-read it and remind myself of its lesson. Then I noticed the full text of the email:

glenndub1 has left a new comment on your post "#626 Glenn Wilson":

You guys are too lame. None of you must have girlfriends, or all ugly wifes. Heres the deal. Andy, you have never stepped foot on a major league field, so how n the he!! would you know who is worthy of a all-star selection or not, and jred, that lame nick name arm could throw you out from the warning track with a 30 foot head start...... yall have fun!!
It's from a user named "glenndub1" which I suppose is Glenn W, which I further suppose is none other than Glenn Wilson. If you click on his name above, you can see that the account was created just when I posted Wilson's card, so the author probably created the account expressly to comment on the Wilson card.

It seems to me fairly likely that the comment came from Mr. Wilson himself. His reaction to my criticism that he was not an all-star caliber player is exactly how I might expect that player to respond, by calling into question my credentials for making such a determination. The rest of his post was a shot at the rest of my community who seemed to agree.

Regardless, I want to tell the author that although I thought much of the content of his comment was overly harsh and irrelevant, I do see his point and have tried to incorporate its message into my approach.

5 comments:

  1. Dude, I really wouldn't sweat it if I were you. If he found your blog, it's because he's sitting around googling himself. And I wouldn't worry about the juvenile comments of an average, forgettable ballplayer with nothing better to do than google himself. And if it wasn't him, well then you really don't have to worry about it. You didn't say anything offensive -- that was a bad trade for the Phillies, and his All-Star selection was quite questionable. Most everyone would agree with that, I think.

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Well, why aren't fans and card collectors qualified to determine who makes the All-Star team? We follow the teams and players and we fill out ballots. Smart fans judge this on stats and their knowledge of the game, despite having never played it. You didn't knock the guy and you didn't say anything that was unrelated to his baseball career.

    It's pretty much a given that any baseball fan would relish even the shortest of MLB careers. What I wouldn't give just to make the minimum salary and be a bench scrub! That being said, we still have the right to discuss and rank players as we see fit.

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  4. I agree with all the commenters--my point is just that I've been more measured in my approach. It isn't all about stats, and even stats themselves are deceptive. Wilson probably would have put up better numbers with the Phillies had they been a better team--more runners on base, etc.

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  5. Followed the 88 Topps blog last season, just noticed this one for the first time. Wilson could probably throw me out from the warning track with a 30 foot head start. I never was known to be a speed demon in my younger days playing the game. But even though Wilson was one of my favorite Phillies during his time with the club, I still think Glennbo was a lame nickname

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