Two weeks ago, I put out a call for applications on behalf of BP Wrigleyville. I said that I was looking for “smart people who can write.” In response, over 170 people took time out of their lives to send me a note, sharing in the process their love of this beautiful game, their dreams for its future, and their dreams for their own. This was a difficult process, and many talented writers and analysts were left on the sidelines, but I’m confident that I’ve found exactly what I was looking for. I hope you think so, too. I’m thrilled to announce that the following smart people who can write will be joining BP Wrigleyville as interns, effective immediately:
Marat Biyashev (@mrbva) will be joining from Baseball Info Solutions (BIS), where he served as a research and development intern, and contributed a range of articles to ESPN Insider on a variety of technical topics.
Mark Condupa (@tidalthoughts) is a Pirates fan—gasp!—and an accountant, and he thrilled and delighted me with his sophisticated writing on home, wisdom, and crab restaurants. Wrigleyville will be his first home in baseball writing.
Leigh Coridan (@lcoridan) is a former high school social studies teacher, a current full-time mom, and wrote, bar none, the funniest cover letter I read throughout this process. Like Mark, she’ll be writing about baseball for the first time.
Tej Desai (@jet_backwards) just finished a baseball ops internship with the Rangers, has worked as a professional in both public policy and humanitarianism, and will be starting medical school come July. He’ll find time to write for us, too.
Henry Druschel (@henrydruschel) is a contributor at Beyond the Box Score, started at Harvard Law School in August, and sent me a wonderful set of data-heavy analysis that surprised me with its wit and elegance.
Michael Jimenez (@michael2jimenez) is a former contributor at View from the Bleachers whose cover letter ran a little long—over 1,000 words!—but in the process convinced me that I needed to bring him on board, for the depth and breadth of his insights into the game.
Phil McCausland (@philmccausland_) is a freelance culture writer whose work has appeared in the Atlantic, the New York Times, and VICE. He’ll be taking his talents to sportswriting for the first time with us.
Ken Schultz (@kenthinguy) is a New York-based standup comedian who nonetheless failed to write the funniest cover letter in the applicant pool (see Leigh, above), so I’m not sure why I hired him. Unless it was his clear, crisp, and unfailingly insightful writing and thinking. Yeah, probably that.
Joaquin Andres Selva (@quinchoosito) will bring a background as a neuroscience researcher to his work at Wrigleyille, and will also display the eye for humanity that moved me in his application.
Caitlin Swieca (@caitlinswieca) is a former correspondent for MLB.com, where her work focused on the Brewers. At Wrigleyville, she’ll continue to find and report new lenses through which we can understand this wonderful game.
Jared Wylls (@jwyllys) is having a good few months. Not long ago, he joined Cubs Den as a regular contributor, and has knocked it out of the park there ever since. He’ll stay at Cubs Den, but also contribute as he can to Wrigleyville.
Kazuto Yamazaki (@kazuto_yamazaki) is already fairly well known for covering NPB with knowledge and insight. I’ve loved his work over the last few months, and he’ll now bring his skills to our team, where he’ll apply them in a whole new arena.
Clarissa Young (@clarissa_y) will, quite soon, be moving to Chicago from Oakland, where she’s periodically covered the A’s from the press box with wit and clarity. She’ll get a chance to join the Cubs train at Wrigleyville.
Now that you’ve read those profiles, I’m sure you understand why I’m so excited about BP Wrigleyville’s future. Our new interns will join Jen Mac Ramos (@jenmacramos), who we hired as a staff writer last week, and our incredibly talented existing staff, to help Wrigleyville continue to be the best place on the internet to find authoritative, compelling, and literate analysis of the Chicago Cubs. I’ll try to help, too. Thank you for reading us, and onwards!
So do we get to see the cover letter? Not nice to tease us! Hope they do well.
Yes, definitely it’s a tiresome job to find suitable people to do the right job. But it looks like you have picked up all the gems from the ore. They all looked potential. I’m very excited to read their writings on baseball as soon as possible.