major sports as well. Chass was one of the early authors of a Sunday baseball notebook and was unique in writing the notebook throughout the year, not just during the baseball season. From August 1984, through March 2008 he wrote 1,155 Sunday notebooks, developing more than 4,000 items ranging in length from one paragraph to more than 1,000 words. In January 2004 he switched from reporting baseball news to writing baseball columns, writing from two to five columns a week. Chass is a noted baseball traditionalist who laments the shift in baseball news coverage from daily beat-report biographies to more statistics-driven analysis like sabermetrics. In 2007, Chass asserted that, among "certain topics that should be off-limits," are "statistics mongers promoting VORP and other new-age baseball statistics." Chass particularly believes that in "their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game," these "statistics mongers" threaten "to undermine most fans' enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein." Baseball Prospectus editor Nate Silver published an open letter responding to Chass' comments. In 2008, Chass started a blog, "Murray Chass on Baseball" where he has written nearly 1,000 columns similar to what he has written for The New York Times. Chass is a voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and turned in a blank ballot for the 2017 HOF class and 2022 HOF class. References Further reading This chapter in Ruttman's history, based on a November 17, 2009 interview with Chass conducted for the book, discusses Chass's American, Jewish, baseball, and life experiences from youth to the present. External links Murray Chass on Baseball 2003 J.G. Taylor Spink Award Winner Murray Chass, Baseball Hall of Fame Sportswriters from New York (state) Baseball culture 1938 births Living people The New York Times writers University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Pittsburgh BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients Journalists from Pennsylvania Taylor Allderdice High School alumni Sportswriters from Pennsylvania