We move onto the “reader” section!
[Jim: If anyone else wants to take part, let me know in the comments, and I’ll email them the questionnaire to the address on file!]
- SnakePit username: JustRonn
- Place of birth: Los Angeles, California
Other hobbies
I love live music and playing the guitar. Even as an old guy, I love to play video games when I have time. I am an avid runner and hiker. I love to cook. One thing I really love to do is Lego models. It’s a very fun but expensive hobby!
Favorite food
I am a simple man with simple tastes. Give me a medium rare ribeye with some starch and a good German wheat beer. You can usually find me at my smoker on weekends when it’s nice outside, whipping up just about anything that walks, flies, or swims. I am weak for ice cream; I don’t care what kind it is.
Favorite film/TV show
Hmm. I don’t watch a lot of regular tv. I like sports and cooking shows. I would have to say the Big British Baking Show is a favorite, that is something I started watching with my daughter and quickly got hooked on it. You also can’t go wrong with Guy Fieri and Triple D! Old cartoons, especially Warner Bros. If there are sports on, that’s what I usually have going on in the background.
Movie wise, in my humble opinion, the first two Godfather movies will never be topped. They are absolutely the best adaptation of a great novel that I’ve ever seen. We won’t discuss the third movie; I pretend like that one never happened. The first Rocky movie is special to me. I am somewhat of a Star Wars geek, particularly the pre-Disney and expanded universe material.
What else should we know about you?
My name is Ron with one “n,” the username JustRon was already taken. I live in Ahwatukee, Phoenix. I have been married to my wonderful wife for almost 19 years, and we have a daughter who is 17 and in her senior year of high school. Born in California, raised in Colorado, and moved to Arizona after I graduated high school. Let’s see, what else? My first go around as a college student was for broadcasting and journalism. Radio, writing and announcing were things I was very passionate about, and my biggest regret in my life is that I didn’t end up pursuing them in some form.
Why are you a Diamondbacks fan?
I’ve always loved baseball. I grew up in a tiny mountain town in Colorado so I never saw live games, and the Rockies didn’t exist yet. I started really getting into it right after I moved to Arizona, when I discovered spring training. My favorite team as a kid was the Angels, so getting to see them play here was a huge deal for me. But spring training is only a month, and I often bemoaned the fact we didn’t have a MLB team in Phoenix. Once the Diamondbacks were announced, I was on board from day one. I loved the idea of having a team in my own city and watching it from the very beginning.
Who’s your all-time favorite Diamondback?
Honestly, I try hard not to get too attached to individual players. The modern game makes that difficult. There are a few who left their mark with me. RJ, no elaboration needed. My wife has a thing for catchers and Chris Snyder was her favorite, so I guess maybe Chris Snyder by proxy? (you’re welcome, Amy). I’ll always think fondly of Ender Inciarte. I loved watching him play the outfield, and he was so kind to my daughter when she got to run onto the field with him. Gerardo Parra, great hustle guy and what a throwing arm. Gerry, who doesn’t love Gerry? Nick Ahmed, I loved the way he played the game, despite his hitting woes. Put an old school turn of the century baseball uniform on him and he’d totally look the part.
Outside of post-seasons, what’s your best D-backs memory?
There are so many, game related and non-game related. Game wise, I was there for Randy Johnson’s twenty strikeout game and that was electric. I saw RJ pitch many times while he was here, and he never looked more unhittable than he did on that night. The Tony Womack slam on Father’s Day. Everyone in that stadium just completely lost it. Then there was the time my daughter got to run onto the field with Ender Inciarte, and the time she got to be Mustard in the condiment race. Me getting interviewed by Fox Sports on a Star Wars night because they wanted to ask about my Darth Vader baseball jersey. Having a scout sitting behind me at a spring training game, detailing for me the sheer idiocy of the Yasmany Tomas contract, and how the Diamondbacks were going to regret it for years. That was fun, hearing such honesty from someone on the “inside.”
How did you end up on the SnakePit?
I was looking for a more nuanced, strictly Diamondbacks place where there were knowledgeable like-minded fans who loved the team as much as I do. I lurked here for years before I stared commenting and more recently, writing guest recaps. I learn so much from the writers and commenters here, especially about metrics, and I really love the atmosphere. The “no trolling other sites” rule is fantastic. When fans of opposing teams stop by to compliment us on how classy we are, that is saying something. It really is like watching a game with friends.
What other MLB teams do you care about – good or bad!
As my former username suggests, I’m not a big fan of Boston teams. The Angels were my team growing up and Vladimir Guerrero is my all-time favorite player, but the Albert Pujols contract pushed me out for good. Imagine a franchise that had both Shohei Ohtani and still prime Mike Trout on the same team and still never made the playoffs. I have always had a visceral hatred of that blue team in Los Angeles, even before the Diamondbacks were here. I have no use for that team or its fans, and its billion-dollar player who I suspect had a ban-able offense covered up by MLB. Can’t have the face of baseball embroiled in scandal now, can we? Oops, went off on a bit of a tangent there. Anyway…
Why do you love baseball?
This is a tough one. Baseball is the greatest game ever invented. The object of the game is simple, yet the actual mechanics and strategy are very complex. You can deep dive into every statistical metric known to humankind and discover the hows and the whys, or you can just scan box scores and be happy your team won. I never understood the “baseball is boring” trope from the detractors of the game. Yes, in the pre-pitch clock days there were times when the game slowed down. Anyone remember watching Armando Reynoso pitch? But even then, for the diehards, there was a method to his routine that accentuated the individual tendencies of the players. It could be agonizing at times, but it also built tension. Where there is tension, there is the opportunity for the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows, even for the casual fan.
Game 7 of the 2001 World Series comes to mind. Behind for most of the game, it looked like the Yankees were going to win in our own park with the greatest closer ever on the mound. We all know what happened next, starting with Mark Grace’s single. At the other end of the spectrum, the blown 8-0 lead just this year in Milwaukee, a game that would turn out to have huge playoff implications later. Remember the tension as the Brewers slowly chipped away and ultimately prevailed? My point is that despite its outward appearance of being a “slow” game, baseball can connect with us on an emotional level that no other sport can, simply because of how tension can be built and resolved during a game.
In the end, for me, it is impossible to be at a spring training game in the beautiful weather with a cold beverage and my scorecard thinking, “this sucks, I’m having an awful time.” Baseball has been responsible for some of my very best memories, and it will always be a huge part of my life.