Posted by Brian Joseph on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 1:39 pm

Our 20 Questions series marches on with BDD’s Andrea Betts in the hot seat. Since most of the questions are really softballs and Betts plays softball in the summer, this should be right up her alley. Like snowflakes, no two BDD writers are alike and Andrea proves that once again. Take a look at her answers to our 20 questions…

How did you begin writing for Baseball Daily Digest?

I began writing my own general sports Tumble blog awhile back.  After expressing interest in expanding my writing my colleague, Joe Hamrahi introduced me to BDD.

What is your favorite team?

The Chicago Cubs.  I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and both my parents were Cubs fans, so I grew up rooting for the Cubbies.

What other teams do you follow/root for?

I am also an avid Yankees fan.  This may seem to be a bit of a conflict of interest, but it has not been an issue as of yet.  The cynic in me tells me that I won’t have to worry about a Yankees/Cubs World Series for some time.

Who was your favorite player growing up and who is your current favorite player?

My favorite player growing up was Mark Grace.  He was the first individual baseball player to grab my attention and expanded my appreciation for the sport beyond just the teams.  My favorite current player is Robinson Canó.  He is just a fun player to watch.  He had a fairly solid year at bat, aside for a bit of small stretch of trouble with runners in scoring position and I excited to see how he does this year.  The thing that I appreciate about his style of play the most is that he is one of those players who always looks like he’s having a good time which sometimes gets lost in professional sports.

What baseball writer do you consider “can’t miss” material?

I don’t really have a specific writer that I go to for everything.  I’m typically all over the place with my search for material.

Do you own any baseball memorabilia? Tell us about it.

I have a ball that was actually in play at a Yankees game their last year in the old stadium.

What’s your favorite baseball memory (from an event you attended)?

My favorite memory is actually a fairly recent one.  I attended the second ALCS game at Yankees Stadium against the Angels.  The Yankees won in a 13 inning heart-stopper in the rain and I don’t know if anything will ever top that feeling of exuberance.

What is your favorite ballpark?

Wrigley Field, hands down.

What is your favorite baseball movie?

A League of Their Own.  A little cheesy I realize, but I have got to represent for the ladies.

Do you play fantasy/roto/Strat-O-Matic/Scoresheet/video game baseball?

I haven’t as of yet, but plan on playing in a fantasy league this season.

Did you play baseball as a kid/for how long?

I didn’t play as a kid aside from in gym, but I do play intramural softball during the summers now.

What is your “dream job”?

I would love to be an on-field broadcast reporter for any sport, but especially baseball or football.

If you were allowed to run ESPN for a day, what would you change?

I think that ESPN has become a little bit sensational at times.  There are some moments when it almost seems like entertainment sports.  I would like to see a return to some more hard-hitting delivery of sports news.

I would also give more women more serious reporting roles.  They have done a bit of this so far, but I would like to see more.

How do you feel about the Baseball Hall of Fame?

I think that in theory, the Baseball Hall of Fame is a terrific thing.  As I think many people will agree the execution is a bit off.  Recent voting seems to demonstrate that many are not looking past traditional statistics.  I feel that if we have additional data available with which to evaluate players, it should be incorporated more.

Tell me one player who should and one player who shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame?

There are hundreds of arguments for various players who should or shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.  Strictly speaking from looking at all the walks he gave up, I think there could be an argument made that Nolan Ryan wasn’t quite the ace that everyone said he was.  One player that I would like to see in the Hall of Fame is Bert Blyleven.  He was certainly snubbed this year, hopefully next year will be different.

Who is the best GM in baseball and why?

My pick of the moment would be Jack Zduriencik.  He’s just coming out of his first year in Seattle, not to mention his rookie year as a general manager and the Mariners look good!  Building the team defensively has proven to be successful to date and if the Mariners do as projected for the season, it will certainly demonstrate Zduriencik’s ingenuity and foresight.  He was great in Milwaukee and has proven great so far in his new role.

How long would it take you to get the Kansas City Royals to the playoffs and what would your first three moves be?

I think they need a solid three years or more.  They have already amassed some good future talent, now they need to develop that further.  I can’t say what my first three moves would be , but I think that for now they need to find or develop a more well-rounded pitching rotation.  Grienke needs to have another stellar year and Gil Meche needs to stay healthy, but they need to find more consistently solid people to round-out the rotation.

Do you consider yourself a Sabermetrician and how can Sabermetricians and “traditional” baseball followers better communicate?

I consider myself a student in the school of Sabermetrics.  I enjoy studying Sabermetrics to better understand the sport and the abilities of various players, but I am not solely devoted to it. I have always been from the school of thought that the more ways there are to look at the situation the better and believe that Sabermetrics provides this.

The two schools of thought can better communicate through understanding.  Rather that looking at which is better or worse overall, perhaps it would be better to accept that both has its place in baseball and let the situation dictate which makes more sense.

What aspects of baseball analysis do you find interesting and want to study further?

I’m particularly interested in Pitch f/x. I’m also excited to see what Bloomberg Sports does with its foray into analytics.

What can BDD readers expect from you this year?

I think that BDD readers can expect writing that provides the analytics that they look for, but also demonstrates a love for the game.  I hope to deliver detailed information in a fresh and exciting way.