First and foremost, thank you for visiting RIP Baseball. I’ve been visiting cemeteries for baseball-related gravesites for about four years, and been writing about them and recently deceased ballplayers on this blog for a year and a half now. In the beginning I had no idea if there was any kind of an audience for this, but based on the numbers, there definitely is. The growth of this website has been beyond my expectations, and I’ve connected with some wonderful people as a result.
I have added a page to the website about how to support RIP Baseball. If you are inclined, you can make either a small monthly donation or a one-time payment. All of it will be used to pay expenses, and if there’s any left over, it goes into a rainy day account. I promise you won’t see me tooling through a cemetery in a new car anytime soon.
There is a cost that comes with keeping the website up and running, as well as subscribing to some newspaper archive sites in order to get the information that goes into my posts. I’ve been loathe to ask for donations, to help defray some of those costs. The ads on the website help a little, but don’t come close to supporting the site. I’ve had a Ko-Fi link at the end of every post, with the hope that people will leave a small donation if the spirit moves them. That’s been a help as well.
WordPress, which hosts this site, has introduced additional payment features, so I’ve added a few new ways to contribute. You can give as little as a buck a month, if you’re able. Or, you can send a direct payment via PayPal. You can give whatever you feel comfortable giving, one time or on a regular basis.
I realize this is a lousy time to be asking for donations, as the Coronavirus has everyone nervous and scared. The unemployment rate is skyrocketing, and job insecurity is a way of life for everyone who hasn’t been laid off or furloughed. I work as a journalist in the magazine industry, so I haven’t had job security since 1999! I know how it feels. If you’re not in a place where you can give anything, that’s fine too. The site will always be free, and I’m not going to shut down if I don’t get enough money. I’m too much of a baseball geek to stop doing this. Please keep enjoying the site and, if you can, tell any baseball lovers or taphophiles that you know about this place.
Best regards,
Sam
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