I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, but the urge really ramped up when Bobby from The Future of A’s Baseball blog announced he was shutting his site down - we need more minor league blogs out there.

More than that, we need more minor league club-specific blogs out there. All over North America there are people who are diehard fans of minor league teams, but nobody ever blogs specifically about their local team (at least not that I can find).

That has to change. Just imagine how cool it would be if there was a Notes From The Nat about Kane County’s team, or Stockton, or Midland! Or how about if there were some blogs for other Northwest League teams - a Spokane blog or an Everett blog or a Tri-City site? Imagine the rivalries we could enjoy!

At various times I’ve asked the SportsBlog Nation folks if they’d allow minor league-specific blogs into the fold, but they’re not having any of that - at least not for a long time. Too many NBA teams to find blogs for, and NFL teams, and NHL teams, and… cycling.

I can kind of understand their reluctance - after all, NFTN ain’t bringing in the 100,000 or so daily that their network caters to, but it’s a healthy total nonetheless, and if we built a network of minor league blogs, that traffic would only rise considerably over time.

When I first started thinking about this situation last year, I figured it might change sometime through the season just by virtue of the popularity of blogs. After all, it really isn’t that hard to run a blog to a moderate level of professionalism, and it doesn’t hurt that you sometimes end up getting press box access to see games involving your team… The perks can be great.

So what’s stopping people from doing what I’m doing? Well, as best as I can tell, it’s likely a lack of knowledge as to HOW to create a blog. Oh sure, you can start one for free at blogger.com, but they really do suck. To do a blog right, you need to take it to the next level.

So I hereby make an offer to any and all minor league baseball fans: if you want to start a club-specific minor league blog, anywhere at all in North America, for any team - I’ll set you up.

Yes, you heard right. I’ll buy you a domain name, I’ll install the software, I’ll host it on my server, I’ll set up all the fancy stuff like newsfeeds and image galleries and security. I’ll find you advertisers, and I’ll teach you how to use it all. The only catch? The blog will remain technically my property, which means you have to keep it updated, alive, and professional, and if you don’t, or if you should disappear after three months, you’ll end up losing it - kinda like the set-up at SB Nation, only with a focus on the little guys.

On the other hand, if you maintain your blog to a reasonable standard, you can run the site for as long as you want, earn a little money from advertising and, oh yes, get my help in getting yourself some press accreditation. And if you have an existing blog that you’d like to upgrade, I’ll offer you the same deal.

No domain fees. No hosting fees. No editorial interference. It’s your blog for as long as you keep it going. 

So how about it, Boise Hawks fans? What say you, Kane County Cougarites? Does anyone from Eugene have the desire to follow the NFTN lead? Are there any Sacramento Rivercat geeks looking for a blogging home?

Post a comment with your contact info and let’s talk. United we rule.