The SnakePit welcomes: Jay Ego

Our call for interest in becoming a SnakePit writer from earlier this week, proved to be a surprising (to me, anyway!) success, with a number of really good applications. Having pored over these - and it was not an easy decision - I’m pleased to tell you that Jay Ego will be joining the SnakePit staff. You might remember him from such guest recaps as Diamondbacks 11, Brewers 1: Robbie Ray Continues to Shine. He’ll actually be making his first post tonight, recapping this evening’s game against the Rockies, but will start his regular duties as a Snake Byter next week. Here’s his bio:

I am a native Arizonan and have been a baseball fan my whole life. My father has two loves in life, hunting and baseball. Since my mother wouldn't let me go hunting, baseball it was. I have been a teacher most of my adult life. However, I have grown weary of the profession.

A perfect example is one day I was teaching my math class how to calculate BABIP and OPS when an administrator walked into my classroom. After looking at my whiteboard she asked, "What is BABIP and OPS and why are you teaching it to your fifth grade class?" My response was, "this is my advanced math class, I am teaching my regular class OBP and SLG." She failed to see my humor. Before I could explain that they were using multiple steps to calculate a mean and finishing by rounding to the thousandth place, she had already rolled her eyes on her way out the door. Perhaps, BABIP isn't on our Arizona standardized assessments, but it should be.

Personally, I enjoy traveling and sampling different cuisines around the world. While in Tokyo, I tried to get tickets to a baseball game, but I couldn't figure out how to use their ridiculous website in time. Google Translator failed me on that day, but now I have an excuse to go back. As for this year, I have been enjoying the resurgence of the Arizona Diamondbacks and I am trying to enjoy it, rather than worry that it may come to an abrupt end.

Welcome, Jay!