Although it might not seem like I spend much time selecting words, but I do. As my own editor, I choose what to include or omit. Even the folks that went to journalism school, pick and choose what to include in their writing/stories. They might have strong editors and specific guidelines, but I’d argue that doesn’t seem to dictate what gets printed.

For a change, this winter’s baseball news hasn’t been filled with injury news. It seems like the past few years there have been too many stories of pitchers being sidelined by arm injuries and surgeries before anyone reported to spring training.

Thankfully, the drama surrounding the free agents and some intriguing trades have kept fans like me interested. There are few fans like Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, that enjoy reading about the various players signing minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.

Teams release lists of players-some known and others unknown, and the media chooses when to release it and with what data. I’m not sure if the sports editor or the writer gets to choose what’s included. However, I know the most recent list of White Sox NRI (Non-roster invitees) was handled differently by the three papers in town; The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Herald, and The Sun Times.

None of the three accounts was written by a columnist, so I expect they weren’t allowed to editorialize, but I’d argue that they did especially when it came to Billy Hamilton.

In the cases of the Herald and Tribune, other free agents were mentioned, but not featured as prominently. I didn’t anyone to suggest that none of these guys has much to offer-based on their recent endeavors, but let’s not pretend either.

The Daily Herald’s account: “Hamilton is a 32-year-old veteran who played for the White Sox in 2021 and quickly became a fan favorite. Last season, Hamilton combined to hit .050/.136/.050 with 10 stolen bases in 37 games with the Marlins and Twins.”

The Tribune’s account: “Fan favorite Billy Hamilton is among 9 free agents signed to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. The 32-year-old Hamilton stole 10 bases in 37 combined games in 2022.”

The Sun Times’s account appeared in their Sports Wire section and Hamilton’s name appeared without “fan favorite” or recitation of any stats or background.

I object to the term fan favorite as it’s purely opinion and one suggested by the White Sox in their press release. Objective adjectives are “all-star” MVP, and gold glove winner and not fan favorite. In fairness to Sox fans, would a guy who hit .050/.136/.050, be a fan favorite? This is a fanbase that repeatedly pleaded for the ousting of a HOF manager (Tony LaRussa). Even by today’s goofy standards, those 2022 numbers stink on toast.

And why did one paper use the horrible stats and the other focused on the 10 stolen bases? Incidentally, he didn’t contribute much to either lousy team.

Coincidentally, both writers wrote blurbs about the passing of Sox pitching great, Gary Peters. What bugged me about their accounts was the impersonal nature of the account. I expect Steve Zalusky of the Herald to pen a feature about Peters in coming weeks because that is his forte. If they can dig up fan favorite for Hamilton, they could have gotten a quote from someone who saw Peters pitch. I get that the guy in the Tribune is only 12 years old and can’t speak to someone he never saw pitch, but the Herald guy is older and better than that. I think the Sox failed us all on this one.

Heck, I’m an almost 58-year-old Cubs fan and I could have done better with the material out there.

This isn’t a Sox thing. The coverage of the Cubs recent signees, is equally ridiculous, and I’m not referring to the big deals handed out to Barnhart, Swanson, and Belinger. I’m also not suggesting that some NRI’s won’t make big league rosters out of camp, rather that the stats posted are garbage.