Alumni cross paths at the World Series

This summer, three Daily Orange alumni crossed paths while covering the World Series. Below, they each reflect on some of the highs and lows of covering baseball’s biggest event.

Andy McCullough, Kansas City Royals beat writer for The Kansas City Star

In McCullough’s second year on the Royals beat, he covered the team’s second consecutive run to the World Series. It was a different experience than covering the World Series for other outlets in 2009 and 2011, he said, because this time he was the No. 1 beat writer at the hometown paper. It was different for the Royals, too, since the team won.

It was the reward after a long season for McCullough, who got two days off per month for the eight months between spring training and the World Series.

However, McCullough said, he doesn’t particularly like covering baseball.

“I’ve given up a lot to do the job I do and live the life I’ve lived,” he said. “This is not a business for people who like 9-5 jobs. This is not a business for people who like vacations. This is not a business for people who really like social lives.”

Looking back:

“You need to make sacrifices in your life if you want to be really great at (writing). Those sacrifices start in college (at The D.O.).”

Jared Diamond, New York Mets beat writer for The Wall Street Journal

A surprise playoff run by the Mets meant Diamond had an “incredibly grueling” October, he said, because the postseason meant traveling from New York to Los Angeles, Chicago and Kansas City, with many return flights in between.  

Like the players, writers also felt more pressure to perform. Readership grew as baseball fans turned to content about the only teams left, Diamond said. But the grind of an almost daily April-to-October season didn’t diminish the game for Diamond, who said he still loves it, even though he knows many of his colleagues don’t.  

“I never really recovered from the (first-round series travel),” Diamond said of flying back and forth from New York to Los Angeles. “But you’re happy to be covering the World Series and … you’re locked in.”

Looking back:

“I don’t need to sell anyone on The D.O. It was my college experience. Whatever I’ve achieved since college – whatever that is – is pretty much entirely because of The Daily Orange.”

Matt Ehalt, New York Mets beat writer for The Record in Bergen County, N.J.

Sometimes Ehalt gets caught up in the negatives associated with journalism, but he couldn’t help smiling while in a press box at the World Series. It’s the sporting event he’s watched since he was 5 years old, and the Mets’ run gave Ehalt a chance to cover his first World Series.

The beat was a season-long battle for Ehalt, who competed with writers from nine other papers.

That forced him to draw upon the skill of seeking out special details, something Ehalt says he learned at The D.O. After seeing the Mets clinch three wins, he focused on stories other than, “Yay, the Mets won,” he said.

A year behind McCullough, Ehalt remembers reading stories with him at 744 Ostrom. Years later, when the Royals beat writer was in New York for the championship, the two got dinner.

“It’s cool to cross paths with those guys,” Ehalt said. “… and after Game 5, I said, ‘I’ll see you at the winter meetings.’”

Looking back:

“The basics that you learn with The Daily Orange — finding stories, sourcing — always helps no matter where (you write).”