Fansmanship Podcast Episode 217 – Chris Sylvester and Brint Wahlberg
It’s another podcast episode! Cal Poly basketball teams are at the Big...
I’ve been watching Dodger games on Twitter lately — and loving it. I wanted to share because, if you follow the right crowd of media-types and others, I really think it enhances a fan experience. The one-liners in real-time can be laugh-out-loud funny and when you’re thinking “I really don’t want to see Michael Young again. What are the Dodgers still doing with that guy?,” you can see that there are other people who follow the Dodgers for a living who are having similar thoughts.
It’s really comforting as a fan. It helps me know I’m not crazy. Put them all together into a single Twitter feed and it starts to become more than something to occupy time between pitches — it’s added entertainment during the game.
I still think the best way to watch a game is live, in-person, with friends or family. BUT, if you cannot do that then I’d say getting a list like this to follow on Twitter can be REALLY entertaining.
Here are some of my top Dodgers/playoffs-related Twitter accounts and some fun things they’ve said/done. It’s probably not a complete list — I’m probably leaving out someone I really like, but it will get you started if you’re trying to create a list of accounts to follow during a game.
It’s a parody Ned Colletti account that is too perfect. He promises 3 year deals to everyone, and is really perfectly on the line of parody and truth. Twitter made him change his account name to avoid confusion, but he has come back strong in the faces of those who would silence him. It’s Twitter gold and a must-follow.
Person in bear costume that danced on top of Cardinals dugout was actually Paco Rodriguez.
— DodgerzGM (@DodgerzGM) October 15, 2013
Dylan is the Dodgers’ beat writer for the LA Times. He deals with the players and team on a regular basis, follows the fight game and soccer too, and has been known to grow an amazing beard.
Hernandez is at his best when making fun of Giants’ beat writer Hank Schulman for eating too much at the media spread and has some pretty creative hashtags, which is a handy skill in the middle of a long season. Dodger fans get their news from Dylan via the paper, but they should also follow his account for his quick wit and breaking news.
To the #Dodgers fans complaining about Andre Ethier’s defense: Have you been watching Jon Jay?
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) October 15, 2013
@TrueBlueLA Eric is another writer who has covered the Dodgers all year for TrueBlueLA.com. He notices a lot of little things and generally keeps things in pretty good perspective, especially when I start spinning about the Dodgers playing really badly. Like me, Stephen is a UC San Diego alum and has appeared on our podcast, so you know he’s gotta be good. He is consistently prepared with great stats too. Like this one:
Since Koufax, Dodgers with postseason start of 7+ IP, 0 R: Sutton, John, Reuss (x2), Hooton, Hershiser (x2), Lima, Padilla, Ryu
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) October 15, 2013
@ChadMoriyama Chad Moriyama does funny things during games, gets quick links to GIFs (if he doesn’t create them himself?) and is a volume tweeter. He seems like a smart guy who analyzes the game in an intelligent way, but emotions are worn on the sleeve of his account too, which makes it appealing.
Pedro cannot pronounce Hyun Jin Ryu at all. My god.
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) October 15, 2013
I didn’t think anything could make me happier today … and then A-Gon got called out for celebrating and not Puig. — Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) October 15, 2013
Weisman, his Twitter account, and his website (DodgerThoughts.com) are some of the most well thought-out, reasonable takes on any team I’ve ever seen. He is always one of the first to put things into real perspective and context and I appreciate him talking me off of the ledge.
OK, I’m pretty happy about this game so far, but the fact that I’m exchanging baseball tweets with @Martina is a whole new dimension.
— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) October 15, 2013
@mike_petriello Mike Petriello’s blog has one of the greatest blog names ever: MikeSciosciasTragicIllness.com. His posts are well-written and engaging both via his site and on Twitter. He was able to put into words what we were all thinking during the first two NLCS games. During Game 1:
Bad news everyone, shutting down the blog immediately, just to avoid having to write about this game. No matter how it ends. — Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 12, 2013
During Game 2:
Michael Young is going to become the first man to ever hit into a double play with two outs. — Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 12, 2013
And during Game 3:
Now that’s a bat flip. — Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 15, 2013
Amanda is a writer (formerly of espnW and others) and does a good job getting social media stuff up quickly. She finds good .gif’s of things like Yasiel Puig’s bat flip, etc… and seems to pull some weight and go back and forth with some of the other top Dodger followers. Timely and humorous — a good follow. … and she was the first one I saw who posted the video and picture of the illegal rally bear, which is going to be my Halloween costume.
Screenshot of the illegal Dodgers Rally Bear on Dodgers dugout pic.twitter.com/lKRAaqDwJx — Amanda Rykoff (@amandarykoff) October 15, 2013
Here’s the Vine Rykoff posted too. Simply irresistible.
@DodgersRallyBear
It seems as if out of heaven, DRB has joined Twitter. This is sure to be amazing.
@truebluela Love A-Gon’s reply, but what’s all this talk about a Mouse? This night belongs to a BEAR! #RallyBear #Dodgers
— Dodgers Rally Bear (@DodgerRallyBear) October 15, 2013
@DodgersScribe (Anthony Jackson)
@SteveDilbeck (Steve Dilbeck from the LA Times)
@Molly_Knight (Molly Knight from ESPN)
@AJEllis17 (Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis, who can’t live tweet during games because, you know, he’s playing).
@TopesWriter (Chris Jackson who covers the Albuquerque Isotopes and also has appeared on our podcast)
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