Help Wanted: Join the DRaysBay team

DRaysBay is approaching its 10-year anniversary as the premier site for Rays coverage. The site exists as the meeting place for Rays fans to find smart analysis of everything involving the team, with the best platform available to comment and discuss.

I'm proud of what DRaysBay is, has been, and will continue to be.

Our staff has been headed by Ian, Scott, and myself over the past year, and we were joined by some very strong voices, including some out of our own community (hello Hatfield!). As seasons of life change, writers come and writers go, and DRaysBay carries on. It's a great place to be.

The 2014 year was a very fun year for all of us involved, and now we are looking to grow DRaysBay into to what it can and should be, so we're putting the word out: DRaysBay is recruiting writers, and I'd like to hear from you.

What's in it for you?

Writing at DRaysBay is admittedly a hobby. These positions are not paid, but they could be in the future. We are supplied with funds from SB Nation, some of which provides subscription services, and some of which will go to giveaways for our readers in the near future. While it's true that some professional writers began as bloggers, we're not here to offer full-time employment.

We can, however, provide exposure. Writing at DRaysBay has lead to careers writing at other publications for some of our best, including opportunities with Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, ESPN, newspapers, and even television. If I may be frank, it all really depends on what you, the writer, are looking to achieve.

You could parlay the experience of writing for DRaysBay into a career, and use it as an opportunity to hone your craft. You could use it as a hub for great conversation with intelligent fans. You could use it as a reason to delve into deeper analysis of the game you love, or to recap games in an interactive way. Maybe even generate some jokes and laughter. Sarcasm is mostly appreciated.

If you're a journalism student looking to build your resume, give me a call. We provide an editing process and strive for professionalism, providing great experience. If you're someone who wants to become a better writer, the best way to do that is to write. If you want to direct the conversation rather than simply follow along, there's a place for you here.

Let your voice be heard.

Needs

There are several roles to be played at DRaysBay:

Analyst - The heartbeat of our site is analysis of the game. We use advanced metrics whenever and wherever we can, hoping to come to the best possible understanding and of past and future moves by the franchise, or the players, and of the game at large.

Feature Writers - If you have a voice for writing, and/or have something to share with Rays fans or the baseball world, this could be the place for you. Personal interest stories, longform articles, interviews with players or management -- there could be many possibilities if this interests you.

Game Previews - Daily coverage of pitcher and hitter match-ups (or maybe just for every series). Both have been a part of DRaysBay in the past, and they are something we plan to continue in the coming season.

Game Recaps - A fun way to interact with the details of the game and call out the best/worst and most entertaining moments. We have 162 games to cover, and then maybe a few more in the following month. That's a lot, especially since we believe recaps should be unique and, like the game itself, entertaining. There's always room for more voices.

Minor League Coverage - If you enjoy writing about or analyzing prospects, we certainly can provide a platform for that as well. DRaysBay has a long tradition of covering Rays Prospects, as currently led by editor Scott Grauer. We are looking to add to his team for minor league game recaps, stories, scouting, or whatever might interest you.

Recurring Features - Weekly series's can be a lot of fun to write and to read, whether that be a "week in review," or a prospect power rankings, or Classic Player Profiles (as Adam is currently spearheading). If you have an idea or an interest, let me know.

News coverage - Breaking news, big news, small news. Trade rumors, trade proposals, "he said she said." It all needs covered. If the Rays are simply an interest to you and you love covering the news, reach out.

Media coverage - Video editing, podcasting, daily GIF's, whatever your interest might be. If you consider yourself skilled in editing media, there's always a way to leverage your skills for the love of the game.

Create your own - Or maybe you have something unique to bring to the table. If you love advanced stats and want to write a weekly feature on some statistical observation, this is the perfect place to do so. If you want to spend your time making fun of the Sun Sports broadcast, we have a series for that as well. If you want to talk fantasy baseball, by all means. If you want to rank the beers at the Trop, or organize fan meetups, there's room for that as well.

Our priority is quality writing. Exactly what that looks like all depends on you.

Qualifications

We pride ourselves as being the hub for intelligent discussion about the Rays. We do that through two primary avenues: writing and analysis.

If you have a passion for either, or at least a strong interest, we'll have a place for you here. Experience is gained, so don't let that deter you. None of us would claim to have "arrived," we are all constantly learning more about the game. That's half the fun.

My simple ask is that you be interested in what you're writing about. Whatever it is that gets your gears churning leads to the best writing. If you pitch it and you care about it, I will most likely endorse it.

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If you would like to be part of the team, join the site and write a FanPost! Show us what you've got by writing a sample article and we'll keep an eye out.