Phil Hughes' Blog

Blogs are great. I love them. They're an excellent source for timely updates on things, although they aren't always necessarily credible sources for important issues.

But they're also a fantastic way for individuals to write out their thoughts and opinions for others to read and then provide opinions and feedback. Lately, it seems that professional athletes have been getting caught up in the hype of blogging as well. Some athletes are better at it than others. Some athletes try to be actual journalists, which they certainly aren't (like Curt Schilling) but some athletes just get it. They understand that a blog should be fun and entertaining.

Yankees 21-year old uber-prospect Phil Hughes picked up a blog a few months ago. He understands what a blog is truly about for a pro athlete. He provides a great picture of what the Major Leagues are like for me, the casual fan. He tells his readers about what he does on his off days, posts pictures of his life and interviews his teammates (including non-baseball stuff).

But the one thing he does that's awesome is he holds contests. He picks stuff that's normal to him, but awesome to fans and gives it away. A game-used ball from his first playoff win, a ball signed by the Yankees and his extra warm-up pullovers have been featured in contests so far. It's not hard to enter them, it's sometimes as simple and just posting a comment and or guessing his favorite quote from The Office. He pays to ship it to you and everything.

This is a kid who gets it. He knows he's New York's poster boy and he doesn't go around thinking he's the big man on campus. He knows his place and he's simply a kid a year older than I am doing a man's job. It's awesome and I respect him for that.