Meet The Conclave: Austin Lamb

With the changes in the Conclave roster, it seemed a good time to let you, our readers, know a little bit more about the guys that you are reading, whether they are coming over from The Redbird Daily or have been a part of the Conclave for a while.  So I (Daniel Shoptaw, also known as Cardinal70) thought I’d ask a few questions of these writers.  Enjoy!

Blogger: Austin Lamb
Blog Name: (To be determined)
Twitter: Lambo_26

Daniel: For those that don’t know, who is Austin Lamb outside of his blogger life?

Austin: I attended Evangel University in Springfield, MO where I studied accounting and played baseball. I have been married to my wife Bree for four and a half years, and we have a two year old son, Kolten. He’s not named after Wong, but that is where we got the spelling. We wanted a name that would be easy for people to pronounce and understand, but that was also unique. I’m currently an accountant for Tricor, LLC, a construction company based in Miami and Phoenix, but I work remotely and live in Rogersville, MO.

Daniel: What position(s) did you play in college and how would you characterize your playing career?

Austin: I played second base. I was not very good honestly lol. I really enjoyed it though, and made a lot of great memories and lifelong friends.

Daniel: Who do you think is/was the better baseball player, you or Colin Garner?

Austin: I haven’t had a chance to see Colin play, but I would guess he is. He plays plays at a higher level than I did.

Daniel: You probably know that I’m an accountant as well. Do you think the numbers in baseball is part of your draw to the sport?

Austin: Yes sir absolutely. The numbers and the way in which people use that data and manipulate it to produce reports, comparisons, etc is one of my favorite things about baseball. Obviously that happens in other sports as well, but I feel like baseball truly shows the largest gap in number and stat differences between the elite players and the rest. I love the underlying numbers as well, and how many times they can predict a player’s resurgence or downfall before the typical numbers begin to show it.

Daniel: What made you get into blogging in the first place?

Austin: I have always followed the Cardinals, and began to follow the minors once the Cardinals AA team moved to Springfield. I have always had an interest in reading and writing as well. I was the Sports Editor at my high school paper, and for a while thought I might try to pursue journalism as a career. I eventually chose to go down the business path as a college major, and then eventually ended up in accounting. However, when I saw John post an opening for a couple of new writers at the Redbird Daily, I thought I would submit an article and see what he thought.

Daniel: What do you think has been the highlight of your blogging career so far?

Austin: Being part of Kolten Wong’s media session last year when he rehabbed in Springfield. That was the first time I had ever gotten to experience that setting, and it a great experience to be in the room for the interview. I’ve watched countless media sessions from my couch, but to be in the room and have him answer one of my questions directly was pretty special.

Daniel: How did you prepare for that media event and did it play out the way you thought? Did you get a chance to ask Wong any questions?

Austin: Before attending I read on a few different articles and website about proper etiquette, attire and how to conduct yourself during a media session. That actually helped quite a bit because I think sometimes if you look the part and feel prepared that’s half the battle. The session did go pretty much how I imagined it would. There were a few reporters from the local newspaper, TV stations, and also Derek Shore from The Cardinal Nation. Near the end of the session I got the chance to ask Wong a question, it’s listed below. Carpenter had recently started playing second base during Wong’s absence and I asked if seeing that had any impact on him. I transcribed the full media session (and here’s the link).

Q: Does seeing Carp play second base have any impact on you, or change your approach? Anything like that?

KW: Absolutely not, no. You know, it’s at the point where if that’s the route they go, then that’s the route they go. I’ll be ready when I come back to do whatever they need me to do. It’s time to win, and we’re this close to being a playoff team. If that’s the route that we’re going to go then let’s do it. You know I’ll be ready to go, and be the guy I need to be to help the team get some victories.

Daniel: What do you like most about being a Cardinal fan? What do you like most about the online Cardinal community, which would include Twitter, blogs, podcasts, and the like?

Austin: Being a Cardinal fan is something pretty special. Not many fan bases have the loyalty and dedication that the Cardinal fans do. Seeing the quality content that is continually published via social media, blogs, and podcasts is another one of the best things about the Cardinals community. You can click on a large number of sites and receive good information, that is well thought out and presented in a quality format.

Daniel: Why the Conclave and what are you looking forward to with the new platform?

Austin: Being under an umbrella with one of the longest (maybe the longest?) running blogs is a great opportunity. With so many different Cardinal blogs out there, and all producing great articles, joining forces with the Conclave made perfect sense. We produced a lot of great pieces over at the Redbird Daily, and this next step will allow us to reach a greater audience while still having the freedom and platform to write and engage.

It’s great having Austin joining us over here and I really look forward to seeing what he’s going to come up with as part of his blog!

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