Unlike the other young writers to whom I have recently introduced you, I have known Matthew Namee for several years, or perhaps now it is getting on toward “many” years. Matthew introduced himself to me at a book signing, I think in 2001, and announced that he wanted to work for me. He was pretty insistent about. At that time Matthew was about 17, and sort-of attending Kansas University.
I hired him, initially, under the condition that he stay in school. This hasn’t worked yet. College doesn’t quite digest at first for a lot of very bright young men; my son is working through that now, and that’s where Neyer was when I met him back in ’88 or ’89. Anyway, Matthew worked with me for several years, perhaps from 2002 through 2004 or 2005. Our memories diverge on the issue of when he left.
While he was with me Matthew co-founded The Hardball Times, with Dave Studenmund. He also researched and published scholarly articles on the history of the Orthodox Christian Church, to which he is devoted. Since leaving me he has gotten married, started a family—a wonderful little boy named Jude—and gone back to school.
Matthew has much talent at sabermetric research as anyone I have ever known. He does, however, have many other interests, a job, classes, a wife and a son, and these things will limit how often he is able to write for us. However, he has written a number of extremely good articles here, and it is my pleasure and my honor to share those with you.