Last season I created a list of the who’s-who to follow in the Twittersphere. The article won many awards (none) for being the article of the year, millions (tens…maybe) hailed it as a modern day classic (or just a fairly helpful time saver). On the back of all that success a sequel was only fitting. I framed this mostly as a Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) column at the time, but @Twitter is for more than just DFS players, Twitter is for any fantasy player that is looking for an edge. Heck, if you’re a fan of baseball and have a smartphone, there’s no reason to not follow most of this list below. That goes for DFS players and non DFS players alike. There is no faster news source for lineups, weather, late scratches or other breaking stories out there (like closer changes for RCL leagues for example). I love what Twitter has done for the game, it’s an ideal pairing I think. I almost always have my laptop open with Twitter up while I’m watching games.
The thing with Twitter though, is you have to be following the right people to make it worth your while. Enter the @MattTruss guide to MLB Twitter 2017. I’ve broken this up into different categories, so pick and chose, or follow them all, it’s your choice. For 2017 I’ve gone through and cleared out and deadbeats that are no longer covering the team, covering different teams, retired, etc. I hope this helps, I know it’s been an invaluable tool for me. If nothing else, maybe it’ll save you an hour or so of Googling. If it helps you out, say thanks by throwing a follow and a retweet my way. Also, if there is someone I missed that you enjoy following, please add them in the comments. Sharing is caring after all, and is what makes @Razzball awesome!
The Beat Writers: The bread and butter of MLB Twitter. These guys break news, break lineups, break call-ups, and break scratches. If you’re not following them, you’re doing Twitter wrong. I spent a day typing in *Insert Team Name Here* beat writer and following every one I could get a hold of. These are the best of the group broken down by division.
For those of you that just want it all, and right now, I offer you my Twitter list, “MLB Beat Reporters”:
https://twitter.com/MattTruss/lists/mlb-beat-reporters
To those that have followed this list in the past, there’s no need to do anything, all the changes are automatically updated. Isn’t technology awesome?
AL East:
Red Sox – Tim Britton – @TimBritton, Peter Abraham – @PeteAbe, Brian MacPherson – @Brianmacp, Jason Mastrodonato – @JMastrodonato
Yankees – Mark Feinsand – @Feinsand, Sweeny Murti – @YankeesWFAN
Blue Jays – Gregor Chisholm – @GregorMLB, Laura Armstrong – @LauraArmy, Shi Davidi – @ShiDavidi
Rays – Marc Topkin – @TBTimes_Rays
Orioles – Brittany Ghiroli – @Britt_Ghiroli, Edurado A. Encina – @EddieInTheYard, Dan Connolly – @danconnolly2016
AL Central:
Tigers – Matthew B. Mowery – @matthewbmowery, Jason Beck – @beckjason
Twins – Mike Berardino – @MikeBerardino, LaVelle E. Neal III – @LaVelleNeal
Royals – Andy McCullough – @McCulloughTimes, Jeffrey Flanagan – @FlannyMLB
Indians – Jordan Bastian – @MLBastian, Paul Hoynes – @hoynsie
White Sox – Scott Merkin – @scottmerkin, Daryl Van Schouwen – @CST_soxvan
AL West:
Angels – Mike DiGiovanna – @MikeDiGiovanna, Bill Shaikin – @BillShaikin, Jeff Fletcher – @JeffFletcherOCR
Astros – Brian McTaggart – @brianmctaggart, Evan Drellich – @EvanDrellich
Mariners – Bob Dutton – @TNT_Mariners, Ryan Divish – @RyanDivish
Athletics – Susan Slusser – @susanslusser, Jane Lee – @JaneMLB
Rangers – TR Sullivan – @Sullivan_Ranger, Jeff Wilson – @JeffWilson_FWST, Evan Grant – @Evan_P_Grant
NL East:
Braves – David O’Brien – @DOBrienAJC, Mark Bowman – @mlbbowman, Kevin McAlpin – @KevinMcAlpin
Nationals – William Ladson – @washingnats, Cheksea Janes – @Chelsea_Janes, Mark Zuckerman – @MarkZuckerman
Mets – James Wagner – @ByJamesWagner, Anthony DiComo – @AnthonyDiComo, Marc Carig – @MarcCarig
Phillies – Todd Zolecki – @ToddZolecki, Meghan Montemurro – @M_Montemurro, Kevin Cooney – @KevinCooney
Marlins – Joe Capozzi – @joecapMARLINS, Joe Frisaro – @JoeFrisaro, Clark Spencer – @clarkspencer, Craig Davis – @CraigDavisRuns
NL Central:
Cardinals – Bernie Miklasz – @miklasz, Derrick Goold – @dgoold, Jenifer Langosch – @LangoschMLB
Pirates – Rob Biertempfel – @BiertempfelTrib, Bill Brink – @BrinkPG, Stephen J. Nesbitt – @StephenJNesbitt
Cubs – Bruce Miles – @BruceMiles2112, Carrie Muskat – @CarrieMuskat, Patrick Mooney – @CSNMooney
Reds – Mark Sheldon – @m_sheldon, C. Trent Rosecrans – @ctrent, Zach Buchanan – @ZachENQ
Brewers – Tom Haudricourt – @Haudricourt, Adam McCalvy – @AdamMcCalvy, Todd Rosiak – @Todd_Rosiak
NL West:
Dodgers – Dylan Hernandez – @dylanohernandez, Ken Gurnick – @kengurnick
Giants – Andrew Baggarly – @extrabaggs, Alex Pavlovic – @AlexPavlovic, Henry Schulman – @hankschulman
Diamondbacks – Nick Piecoro – @nickpiecoro, Steve Gilbert – @SteveGilbertMLB
Padres – AJ Cassavell – @AJCassavell, Dennis Lin – @sdutdennislin
Rockies – Patrick Saunders – @psaundersdp, Thomas Harding – @harding_at_mlb
The Teams: I won’t spell all these out for you, but you should follow every MLB team as well. Believe it or not, occasionally they are the first account to release a lineup or breaking news. It happens. In addition, some of the social media people that run these accounts are down right funny. @Rockies is very interactive, especially with the DFS crowd.
Because I love you guys, here is a one stop shop for all 30 MLB teams, just follow my handy list and wa-lah!
https://twitter.com/MattTruss/lists/mlb-teams/members
I just saved you 29 clicks, you’re welcome!
The Bow Tie:
Ken Rosenthal – @Ken_Rosenthal – If you like baseball and you aren’t following Ken Rosenthal on Twitter, I don’t know what else to tell you. Follow the man and so yourself a favor and turn on his notifications the week of the MLB trade deadline.
Weather Watchers: Playing ameteur weatherman is no fun, so why not follow some professional weatherfolk
This is especially handy in RCL-style leagues where you can make up to the minute swaps if a game looks like it has a high chance for a rainout.
Kevin Roth – @KevinRothWx – No one does it better, the industry’s only DFS Weatherman to my knowledge.
Colorado Weather – @9NEWSWeather – If all you care about is if the Rockies will play tonight, here’s your local source for Denver weather. The Rox are such a huge DFS & RCL play, it’s good to keep tabs on them.
If you follow anybody I missed, please post to the comments. I’m sure there are many more gems out there. Twitter is a large place, it’s easy for great accounts to get lost in the shuffle. People also change handles and change jobs, so if something doesn’t jive, let me know that too.
For my DFS junkies out there, I may throw together a quick Twitter supplement article when the season gets closer. In that I will have all your Razzball writers for the year, our sponsor’s Twitter handle as well as some DFS-only type follows. Stay tuned.
Want to be Matt’s Twitter pal? That’s kinda creepy, but we won’t judge. You can follow Matt here: @MattTruss
