Meet Renee Dechert from Purple Row

We have dozens of women covering pro and college sports for our team brands here at SB Nation. Meet one of those talented writers, Renee Dechert, who writes for our Colorado Rockies blog, Purple Row.

I grew up on a farm in rural Wyoming, and when I was a kid, we had limited television access and no regional MLB team. But we always watched baseball, following the players that interested us. When I went to graduate school at Texas A&M, I finally experienced baseball in person and fell in love. I became an Olson Field season ticket holder and learned how to fill out a scorecard. Baseball kept me sane. My first season, the Aggies had three very talented left-handed pitchers and made the trip to Omaha.

When Denver got a franchise in 1993, the timing was perfect. I finally had an MLB team of my own to follow. I still farm in the summers, and the Rockies on KOA Radio are part of our lives. I love baseball for many reasons, but it is a way in which I am connected to my family and the farm that has defined us for generations.

There’s so much I like about writing for SB Nation, but I’m going to take a different approach my answer. I teach English at a community college in rural Wyoming. I am an avid reader, but it’s been clear to me for a while that the ways in which I learned about writing and literature are no longer attractive to students — even though the skills are more important than ever. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make these skills relevant to students, and for this, my SB Nation writing has been a revelation. I wasn’t on Purple Row’s Slack for very long before I understood that I was participating in a new way to write: collaborating remotely with people I’d never met; exploring the possibilities of social media; and realizing that what I had written was being read by an audience I couldn’t fully envision. Writing for Purple Row has allowed me to rethink myself as a writer and teacher.

I’ve also learned so much from my Purple Row colleagues, and I’m grateful to have an editor who isn’t stressed about editing an English teacher.

When Eric asked me to take a share of Purple Row’s Twitter feed, I was nervous, but I have really enjoyed tweeting. One night, I watched on Twitter as Connor Farrell created the “I’m a Kyle Freeland Guy” meme, which has taken on a life of its own. We’re living in a culture where that’s powerful.

My Purple Row colleagues are much more fluent in sabermetrics than I am — which I intend to address this winter, though I will never be as knowledgeable as they are. On the other hand, I’d like to think my approach as a humanist brings something different to our coverage.

I’ve followed Purple Row on Twitter for a long time. Around Thanksgiving 2017, I was waiting for my mom in an optometrist’s office and reading on my phone when I saw that Purple Row was looking for writers, I filled out the Google doc and linked to my blog where I’d been writing about Peaky Blinders. I believe the universe sends opportunities when the time is right. For me, this was one of those opportunities.

My Purple Row colleague Samantha Bradfield teaches music to students in the Phoenix school system, and she brings such insight and compassion to her baseball writing. I’m a serious fan of Jenny Cavnar — I hope she’s allowed to take her baseball knowledge and journalism skills as far as she possibly can. Jena Garcia reports on Denver sports for La Onda Radio, and her commentary provides cultural insights that often get lost in traditional reporting. I admire Lindsey Adler a lot — her writing for The Athletic is always a treat, and I like to watch how she handles covering two very different teams. Molly Knight’s baseball writing provides such insight — even though she’s a Dodgers fan. Jemele Hill is someone I’m in awe of, and I’m eager to watch the evolution of her career after she leaves ESPN. Finally, Kelly Wallace is starting Expanded Roster to publish voices largely marginalized by traditional baseball writing, and the possibilities are exciting.