Good question. He’s arguably the most level-headed sports writer we’ve got these days, and it seems like with just about any subject matter, Pos can pen a column that’s pitch-perfect. Just last night, I was reading his excellent homage to Jose Lima, thinking to myself, “Jeez, SB Nation should probably just link every single thing he does.” I mean, how often can you remember him being wrong?
Is Joe Posnanski Ever Wrong?
So, Slate e-mailed him to ask, and he responded:
“Finally,” he wrote, “something I know something about.”
As Posnanski admits, of course, he’s wrong all the time. He sports a self-described “awe-inspiring track record of being wrong.” Of course he responded with candor. Would you expect anything less? This is why we love him.
His “aw-shucks” ethos is irresistible, but then, like always, he offers some pretty wise insight:
In this profession, you're constantly trying to predict what's going to happen. Every day I make predictions that don't come anywhere close to the mark.
Slate: All sports fans make predictions. Does the fact that you do it professionally mean that you're supposed to be right at least slightly more often than the rest of us?
Maybe [sportswriters] have a little more insight from talking to the players, the coaches—people who are on the inside. But in reality, I don't know that we're wrong any less often.
I do think, though, that a big part of the job is how you handle being wrong. Are you up front about it? Do you play it off? Do you try to defend yourself? Every time you write anything, at least half your readers are going to disagree with you. A big part of sports writing is how you respond to that tension.
Check out the entire interview at Slate. Whether it’s opinions on sportswriting, Tiger Woods, Cleveland sports and more—per usual, Posnanski’s thoughts are worth our full attention.
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