BCC Shines a Light On: Andrew Careaga
Name of the piece published by BCC:
When/where was it originally published:
This piece was originally published in Fan: A Baseball Magazine, No. 28 (Spring 1998). Unfortunately, Fan ceased publication soon after.
Tell us more about your piece! What is the background of the piece? What led you to write it? What’s your process?
This story resulted from a writing prompt. I was part of an online writing group listserv in the mid to late 1990s (before the web had become ubiquitous), and one of the group’s writing prompts was to create a short story involving some kind of sport or competition. Being a fan of Major League Baseball since the 1960s, baseball was the first thing that came to mind. I thought about my first visit to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, in the early 1970s, and how disappointed I was with the outcome of the game, how much of a letdown the experience was. So I decided to cast that memory into a story about an estranged father taking his son to the ballpark. I shared the draft with the writing group, incorporated some of the feedback I received from the members, and sent it to the only literary magazine devoted to baseball that I could find: Fan: A Baseball Magazine. Fan was a labor of love for an artist named Mike Schacht, who specialized in depicting the heroes of the game. Mr. Schacht died in 2001.
How did you feel when it was first published and how have your thoughts or feelings on the piece changed from then to now?
I was thrilled when I received the letter from Fan letting me know they were going to publish the story. Included with the letter were handwritten edits from Mr. Schacht, which I readily accepted. His edits tightened the story, made it stronger, I think. Even though, as I re-read it today, I think of ways it could have been improved even further. But that’s how I feel about everything I write once it’s been published. There comes a time when you just have to let go of your creation, when you’ve done the best you can do at the time.
Is there a specific message you would like readers to take away from reading this piece?
Baseball has been the subject of so many wonderful short stories and novels by excellent writers. W.P. Kinsella and Bernard Malamud come to mind. I know this story doesn’t come close to measuring up to their great works. But baseball, our national pastime, seems to be a common thread that binds many Americans together. That may be less true than it was years ago, with professional football, basketball, soccer, and other team sports growing in popularity. Even so, the baseball thread also seems to weave its way through families to connect parents and children, whether through a game of catch in the back yard or a trip to the stadium of a favorite Major League team. I guess my hope is that readers of this story will think about the complicated relationships children have with their parents and with other heroes of their youth, like baseball players.
What else would you like to tell readers about your writing? (Doesn’t have to refer only to your BCC piece)
My interest in writing began in high school, when I wrote for the student newspaper. I decided to study journalism in college and went on to work in newspapers, non-profits, and higher education as a journalist, public relations and features writer, marketer, brand manager, and ultimately the chief marketing and communications officer of a university. When I retired last January after 40 years of writing stuff for others, I decided to focus on writing the things I wanted to write, for the sheer joy of writing. I now have more time to focus on writing, although I’m amazed at how busy I’ve become as a retiree.
Where can readers find more of your work? (Website/social media, etc)
I try to post regularly about the craft of writing on my website, andrewcareaga.com. I’m also on X/Twitter and Threads. My handle is @andrewcareaga on both platforms.
