Beat Writers are the Backbone of Baseball Storytelling

As the doors swung open at Pirate City in Bradenton this week on the first day of spring training, it was no surprise that the writers who cover the club were among the first to arrive.

Beat writers are the unseen and unsung champions at getting news out in a timely manner on their one responsibility—the ball club. Radio stations and TV sports anchors often hedge their reports on what details the scribes have collected from their schedules.

Often first in the press box and among the last to leave, long after the last out has been called by an umpire. Deadlines, quotes, details, playing the waiting game for promised players or managers who have a propensity for running late, this is the life of a baseball writer.

Hitting the road from city to city, mirroring the reporters that regularly cover the home club, by trial and error, becoming experts at booking hotel rooms at the best rates available and knowing the ins and outs of the car rental industry as few could claim.

Baseball fans count on their “fix”, to get the latest news that they can trust, all thanks to that one writer who despite all the time on the road alone, from who the media outlet chooses.

No one at the stadiums is handing a ball to the writers to scribble in the “sweet spot” area, to add to a collection alongside names of all-stars and World Series champions. But maybe they should. A handshake and a thank you, now that would be a good start.

Last Wednesday, the first full spring workout was scheduled at Pirate City. A media pool consisting of eight writers assembled at various places along the complex. For Pirates fans, the faces may not be as familiar as the byline that has become to many a trusted friend.

Among the collection of Pirates’ writers swapping stories with club general manager Ben Cherington and strolling from one field to the next, observing pitchers and catchers doing what they do best, and studying infield practice in progress, there was a who’s who of Pittsburgh’s finest.

There was Kevin Gorman, a longtime sports scribe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, checking in on how the club is shaping up, new faces as well as returning Pirates from last season’s squad that finished up with a 76-86 record.

John Perrotto, whom Pirates’ fans have grown to know for his covering the club for Pittsburgh Baseball Now for several seasons, ’s in town, too.

Then, there is Jason Mackey of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. With no disrespect to all who follow in the shadows of all things Pirates, Mackey remains as well connected to the pulse of the club like no other.

Today, Mackey has filed a story on newly signed Martin Perez, a Venezuelan pitcher, who collected a ring with last season’s World Series Champion Texas Rangers. He says that the probability is high that before his computer is turned off for the night, Mackey will have filed four articles.

Mackey, 40, is one of those beat writers who has become an unofficial, accomplished travel agent.

Shortly after Thanksgiving is when Mackey begins shaping his schedule for the coming Pirates’ season. Booking rooms at Marriotts and flights with Southwest are his go-to favorites.

“Right now, I probably have less than half of my schedule completed,” says Mackey, who, before transitioning to the Pirates beat, handled the same role in covering the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Post-Gazette.

Mackey fancies himself as a “restaurant savant,” from years of visiting MLB cities through both leagues. Finding good eating haunts is a way to pass the time, time away from his family.

Dad to two young sons and husband to Abbey Mackey, a health writer for The Post-Gazette, time separated goes with the job. Time together is well planned. Away on the road each season for 110-120 days (about 4 months), Mackey anticipates seeing his family next in a month.

There are texts and face time to ease the constant separation between beat writer and home life. In “Feeding the Beast,” knocking off stories continuously, helps block out some of the guilt that comes along with the job description.

Even in the off-season, when Pirates news calls, so does The Post-Gazette for Mackey. Last month, when former Pirates’ skipper Jim Leyland visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, getting his personal tour in preparation for his July induction date, Mackey made his way to the Central New York hamlet to be part of the tour.

Before making the flight to Albany, NY, followed by a 90-mile drive to Cooperstown, Mackey hopped on a flight to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This is where Pirates’ fans were given an inside account of the club’s academy, where young prospects learn their trade, deeply away from minor league towns in the United States.

Alex Stumpf, born and raised in Pittsburgh, is new to the Pirates’ beat for MLB.com. He is a veteran at knowing Pirates’ happenings, inside and out. Formerly with DK Pittsburgh Sports, Stumpf, 32, is excited for another season working to keep Pittsburgh fans in the know.

“If you don’t love it, you’re in the wrong business,” said Stumpf of following the club for months at a time.

Beginning in January, Stumpf tells of scoping out restaurants and other places he may want to visit once he follows Pirates’ road trips to cities like Chicago and New York (his favorites).

Now in Bradenton for his fifth full season filing stories on the Pirates, Stumpf is pleased to be working for MLB.com, a bigger platform than he had previously been at and a better fit personally for his career.

As there is much hope for all clubs, Pittsburgh included, for a winning season, and an expectation to play in divisional and championship series come October, the beat writers, too, hope to have assignments for the game’s grandest stages of play.

BBWAA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America) members they all are, the Pirates’ contingency of scribes is ready to, once again, give the freshest and fullest of stories to their public.

Between hopes of one day possibly being considered for the BBWAA Career Excellence Award (voted on by members for meritorious contributions to baseball writing and a plaque in the writers’ wing in Cooperstown) and retirement, the beat writers are the conscience of the game.

As the 2024 MLB season begins to take shape, and you see your favorite columnist, features writer, or game report producer, give them a thumbs up in appreciation. It is a well-earned gesture for a noble profession.