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: Allen Medlock
Blog Name: Red Dirt Redbird
Twitter: amedlock1
Daniel: For those that don’t know, who is Allen Medlock outside of his blogger life?
Allen: I’m a father of three residing in Tulsa, OK. I’ve been a orthopedic sales rep for 15 years.
Daniel: You and I’ve talked about Tulsa’s minor league heritage before. Are you able to get out to some games?
Allen: We had season tickets to the Drillers for over ten years, but as the kids got older and activities became more of a focus we had to let them go. I try to make it out when Springfield is in town but that usually only a couple of times per year. Another thing that keeps me home is the Cardinals every night. I’m fortunate that it’s basically appointment viewing at our house.
Daniel: How does your experience in your profession help you when it comes to talking about some of the injuries the Cardinals have?
Allen: My medical background has definitely helped with some of the injury diagnosis. The majority of my info comes from surgeons in my territory. Many of the close friends I have in this field really enjoy being a resource to help me in that area.
Daniel: What made you get into blogging in the first place?
Allen: Regular correspondence with many of the bloggers on Twitter led me into this medium. I had spoken with a couple of websites previously about doing a little writing but didn’t actually try until I was pointed in the Redbird Daily direction. It was exciting to be on the ground floor of a new project.
Daniel: Do you think you are a different blogger and podcaster now than you were when you got started?
Allen: I feel like I’ve grown in certain areas. In the beginning, I was really concerned about completely avoiding negativity. I feel like that is a little too prevalent in the blogging community but now feel like sometimes that helps tell the whole story.
Daniel: The Redbird Daily crew did that huge Top 100 Cardinals project, which we’ll be rerunning here at the Conclave next month. What was that like for you and were there things you learned in the process of contributing to that?
Allen: I really enjoyed the offseason list. I tried to take as many of the early 80’s era players as possible which is right in my earliest days as a fan. I was impressed with many of the life stories outside of baseball you can find on a lot of your favorite players from the past.
Daniel: What do you think has been the highlight of your blogging career so far?
Allen: It’s tough to beat Blogger Day. The accessibility the ball club allows us is pretty impressive. I came into blogging with the mindset that I was just talking baseball with my buddies. That approach seems to be what most of the other guys have in mind and in turn has allowed me to build some very solid friendships within the blogging community.
Daniel: You’ve been to two Blogger Days/UCB Weekends now. Is there a moment or a highlight that stands out?
Allen: Going into my first blogger day, I expected to hear the company line and kinda be placated with information presented to us. I was completely wrong. The front office really gives us an impressive amount of information. The candidness from everyone is quite surprising.
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?
Allen: As frustrating as it can be at times, all Cardinal fans are pulling on the same rope. Most of the fans and writers you form a bond with are all second and third generation Cardinal fans. I can tell stories of watching and attending games with my father or grandfather and anyone that reads it can almost echo the story with one of their own.
Daniel: You are passing down the Cardinal tradition to your own son. What does he think of your blogging and podcasting (assuming, unlike my son, he gives it much thought)?
Allen: The family really enjoys heading to St. Louis for the blogger weekend. Being that we watch every night, they know that the trip is special. I always enjoy listening to my son explain blogger day to his friends and to other adults. He will ask me almost weekly how the guys he’s met are doing and that I need to let them know he said hello. Wyatt (my son) and Kyle Reis became quick friends while we were in town. I would never mention that they both have the same teenage mentality.
Daniel: Why the Conclave and what are you looking forward to with the new platform?
Allen: The Conclave just seems like a natural fit. Since we had a joint venture already with Meet Me at Musial, this seemed like a logical move. I’m really glad the remaining writers from the Redbird Daily were welcomed to stay together and help grow this site. The certainty the Conclave offers will allow all the writers exciting new opportunities.
It definitely is good to have Meet Me at Musial be fully a project of the Conclave. Looking forward to having Allen contributing here!