I remember riding in the bed of a pickup truck through the streets of Juniata Park after winning the Devlin League travel championship in the summer of 1995. Music blared as a half dozen of my teammates bounced around, yelling about our win over Max Myers. I was 12-years-old and knew that would be the pinnacle of my playing career. A few years later, I turned my attention from my glove to a shiny new Dell laptop, realizing I could use my skills as a writer to stay close to the game.
Now, having covered baseball in Philadelphia for nearly two decades with bylines in dozens of publications, including MLB.com, Baseball America, and the Philadelphia Daily News, I want to grow the game in the Quaker City.
Our Vision: To make Philadelphia home to the best amateur baseball community in the United States, where children build lifelong connections to America's pastime that carry to future generations.
Our Mission: To create meaningful baseball journalism that promotes, educates, and highlights the sport in the Philadelphia region with an emphasis on the amateur level.
The Philadelphia Baseball Review relies on five unifying principles within its business model:
- Promote the amateur players and programs across the Philadelphia region.
- Create a community for amateur players from the Philadelphia region.
- Explore ways to grow and expand baseball throughout the Philadelphia region.
- Provide comprehensive baseball coverage beyond just the Major League level.
- Educate those interested about Philadelphia's rich and storied history as it relates to baseball.
With over two dozen college programs in our coverage area, nearly a hundred high schools in Philadelphia, and three high-caliber adult leagues (Delco, Perky, Pendel), there is plenty to cover. Founded in 2007, the Philadelphia Baseball Review is credentialed by Major League Baseball.
Philadelphia is where America's founding fathers gathered to lay the foundation of our nation, and it's also where the American ideals of freedom and independence came to life.
To honor that historical importance, you'll see we've sprinkled multiple colors and imagery throughout the website as a homage to those ideals and historic Philadelphia.
The circle of 13 stars originates from the Betsy Ross Flag, a flag created in Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War representing the 13 colonies. The rattlesnake image stems from Ben Franklin and his political cartoon "Join, or Die." The famous Philadelphian contended the rattlesnake was a symbol of unity and it eventually would appear on the Gadsden Flag.
Patrick Gordon is an award-winning journalist and has covered baseball for nearly 20 years. He has a Masters in journalism and has worked with various news outlets in the region. His work has appeared in dozens of publications across the country, including Baseball America, MLB.com, Sports Collectors Monthly, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Las Vegas Sun.
Gordon also is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and serves on the executive board of the Pennsylvania School Press Association (PSPA).
Gordon is a Temple University graduate and lives in Warrington. He currently teaches a sports journalism class as an adjunct professor at Temple. He also is a PIAA certified umpire and a member of the Board of Directors for Horsham Little League where he coaches his eight-year-old son.
Patrick Gordon, CEO & Executive Editor - Philadelphia Baseball Review
