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Open Thread: Where were you a year ago?

The world was supposed to end ten days ago, fortunately it did not. 2012 brought a lot of new things, for baseball the names Mike Trout and Bryce Harper burst onto the scene, a thousand no-htters were thrown and a Panda took over the World Series.

By Glenn DuPaul
Rob Carr

A new year can be viewed as a sign of hope, change or re-birth. A great deal can happen over just 365 calendar days, and Beyond the Box Score would like to know what everyone was doing a year ago, as 2011 was coming to a close.

Where was I a year ago?

At the end of 2011, I was writing for a website called "Baseball's Economist" which many of you probably have never heard of. I called myself that name, because I thought I was going to change the baseball world someday, strangely enough I still think that, because that's what dreams are all about.

About a year ago, I wrote a piece for that website claiming that Brandon Beachy could be one of the more dominant pitchers in 2012. Beachy would finish 2012 with a 2.00 ERA (an incredible 51 ERA-), so I was right!!

Not so much. Beachy would throw just 81 innings before being sidelined for the season for Tommy John Surgery.

Fortunately for me, I've come a long way since that point. In March of 2012, Justin Bopp gave me the opportunity to begin writing weekly columns at this website. Writing for Beyond the Box Score has been a humbling and invaluable experience. I've learned so much from the many writers and commenters who call this great website home.

In July, I caught another break and got the opportunity to write even more about sabermetrics over at the Hardball TImes. In August, I spoke about WAR in front of a crowd of baseball people more accomplished than any audience that I could never have imagined talking in front of at the end of 2011. Some people found that presentation so interesting it was mentioned on the ESPN Baseball Today Podcast!.

I even became a "published author" through the Hardball Times Annual.

And starting next week, I'll continue on my endeavor to "change the baseball world" when I begin as a Research and Development Intern for Baseball Info Solutions.

I've come a long way in a year, and I could not have done it without the people at this website or the sabermetric community as a whole. So many people have believed in me and been extremely helpful and for that I can't thank them enough.

But enough about me, I want to hear from all of you...

Where were you a year ago?

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