Hal McCoy
Hal McCoy is a former beat writer for the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), covering the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, which is awarded annually "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing." He has won 43 Ohio and national writing awards and was the first non-Cincinnati newsperson elected to the Cincinnati Journalists Hall of Fame. McCoy has been the Cincinnati BBWAA Chapter Chair 22 times and was the BBWAA national president in 1997. He is the third writer from the Dayton Daily News to win the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, joining Si Burick (1982) and Ritter Collett (1991). Residing in Clayton, Ohio, McCoy is an honors graduate in journalism from Kent State University.
CONTACTShort of asking “Karnak”, who isn’t around anymore, you can’t have a better resource on all things Reds or issues of journalism than our own Hal McCoy, life-long Browns fan (hence the orange sub-header color) and member of the baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown. His two great loves (second to wife Nadine and his dogs, Cooper and Paige) are “good” questions and good cigars. If you’d like to send either, send the cigars by UPS here to the corporate office…and send your emails to our “contact” email address. Here’s Hal’s response to some recently received notes sent to Press Pros.
Question: Mr. McCoy…I really like reading your stories about the Cincinnati Reds and would like to be a sportswriter myself some day. Can you give me some advice on how I can get started?
Zach Milhoan
Reply: I don’t know how old you are, but my suggestions are: work for your school newspaper, read, read, read and read some more. And do a lot of writing and have it critiqued by a professional. And look for a good Journalism school – Kent State, Ohio University and Ohio State all have great journalism schools. And, Zach, wait until I fully retire before trying to get my job.
Question: Hi Hal…I read you every week on Press Pros and wondered if you could tell me why the Reds no longer take infield practice before the games. I thought it was the best part of the game and I loved watching it, but now they either don’t do it or do it before they open the gates to the ballpark. And am I wrong, or do they open the park later than they used to?
Dave…Springfield
A member of the baseball Hall of Fame since 2002, Hal McCoy's columns on Reds baseball can be read weekly throughout the season here on Press Pros.
Reply: Dave…Unfortunately, infield practice is long gone by all teams. It began in the early 1990s when Toronto quit doing it and they won a couple of championships. Now none of the teams have infield practice. They do open the park later these days, too. It is a financial and security thing (paying the help). Again unfortunately, the Reds don’t open the park until after the Reds take batting practice and that’s a real shame.
Question: Hal…With the trades the Reds made I think they’re still weak or unproven at three vital positions…center field, third base and shortstop. I’d like to hear your opinion, and did you see enough of Mesoraco last year to believe he’s ready to be the #1 catcher? Love reading your columns.
Joe D…Sidney
Reply: Joe, thanks for the kind words. Apprreciate it. The Reds have made several good moves, but I fear they have given up too much for a one-year run that MIGHT win them the division. I don’t believe they are good enough to make the World Series, though. And I believe Mesoraco is going to be a star. He’ll get first crack this year to be the regular and we’ll see how it works out.
Question: Dear Mr. McCoy…I’m in the 8th grade and I love my English and language classes. I would like to ask you if you could explain the difference in a “simile” and a “metaphor”? My dad reads you all the time.
Erin
Reply: Erin, I hope you read me, too. And thank your dad for me. I’m glad you love English. I do, too, although I never excelled in diagramming sentences or defining the difference between adverbs, adjectives. subjects, predicates and gerunds. I do know not to end sentences with a preposition, though. I just write what sounds good to me. I do use a lot of similes and metaphors but the real difference is a mystery to me. I know, I know. My old English teachers would kill me.
Question: Hal…When the Houston Astros go to the American League I understabd that inter-league play will be an everyday thing. I can’t stand it, or the designated hitter, and wondered if you share my opinion on both, or either? I write to you all the time on Fox Sports during the games.
Jack…St. Marys
Reply: Jack: If you are with me on the Fox chats, then you know my opinion. I hate the DH and abhor interleague play. When Houston moves to the AL in 2013, yes, there will be at least one interleague series going at every day because there will be 15 teams in each league, so one from the AL and one from the NL will have to play each other at all times. Terrible. Awful. Yech.
Question: Hal…Thanks for doing the UD basketball columns. It’s like reading about the Reds, except they win more often. Good stuff!
Tim…Troy
Reply: Thanks, Tim. I thank Sonny Fulks for letting me do the home UD games. It is a lot of fun and something different for me. I did cover the Flyers as their beat writer for the Dayton Daily News in the late 1960s and early 1970s – when they were REALLY good.
Note: If you have a question for Hal, or any of the Press Pros writers, send them via email to sonny@pressprosmagazine.com. We’ll be happy to collect and forward them for a future response here on Press Pros.
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