This is a post I never wanted to write, but I knew that I would have to. Mac Thomason passed away on Saturday, September 1, following a three-and-a-half-year battle with testicular cancer.
Mac was an unusual Alabaman. He was a librarian at Stillman College, a historically black college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (He rarely liked to say where he worked, because he didn’t want his online blogging to be a distraction or cause any embarrassment to his employers.) He lived in Northport, across the Black Warrior River from the main part of Tuscaloosa, which protected him from the worst of the 2011 tornado.
He was a Bama grad and a Braves fan in a family of Mets fans and lawyers, and a political blogger who identified as a “war liberal” but forbade anyone from talking about religion or politics on Braves Journal. Politics was in bounds at his other blog, War Liberal, which was later renamed to “Thomason Tracts,” which took its name from a collection of 17th century documents from the English civil war. Mac was a librarian and a nerd, but I repeat myself.
Mac founded Braves Journal in 1998 because Compuserve offered free web hosting. The original address was http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MacThomason/, and this is what it looked like. He had parody sports articles — sort of like Onion Sports, half a decade before the Onion launched its sports sections — in a section called “Baseball Free Press.” He did fake chats, years before The Dugout. On the very first page he put up, The “Rafael Belliard Home (Run) Page,” he wrote, “At his current rate of one home run every ten years, Raffy is on pace to break fellow Brave Hank Aaron’s record for career home runs in the year 9537.”
Later, he started The Road from Bristol, an NCAA-style bracket to try to find the worst ESPN personality of all, and it was possibly the highest-profile thing he ever did; it got written up by everyone from the Associated Press to Deadspin. (The AP got his age wrong, of course; he was 34, not 24. And when John Schuerholz sent Mac a get-well card, following agitation by me and some other members of the site, he sent it to “Mark Thomason.”)
Going back to the beginning, Alex R. was a contributor to Braves Journal. As Alex wrote in a note on Facebook, he first met Mac in 1993, when he was a freshman at Bama; Alex transferred to UGA the next year, but they stayed in close touch online and by phone, and the blog was part of that. Alex was a constant presence on the blog back before he became a father — before his son Jake was born in 2007, Alex considered naming him “Willie Harris R.,” after the original Willie Harris made this catch to rob Carlos Delgado of a game-tying home run. Alex R. is the reason that I’ve always been AAR, or “Another Alex R.”; he’s also one of the reasons that the blog is what it is: funny, angry, passionate.
Alex may have known Mac better than anyone outside his own family. He described Mac as he was back at Bama:
His sarcastic demeanor was a defense mechanism for him and though he never said it, I know he was lonely and frankly, being around people (most of whom) were not as bright or quick witted as he was, was difficult for him.
Mac approached cancer, the way he approached everything, with humor as a defense mechanism. So when he wrote about the recurrence of his cancer in early 2010, he explained it this way:
My oncologist prescribed a new treatment this year; let’s call it “Yunel Escobar†because it is annoying and showy but effective. And Yunel led off the treatment with a triple. Yay! It would be easy enough to get the run in/cure the cancer.
Unfortunately, it turned out that the treatment acted just like the Braves’ offense in the first half of last season, where they couldn’t score nearly as much as they should have. And it turned out that the men on deck were Francoeur and Norton. So, now there are two outs, and Yunel is still standing on third base, and who knows what he’s going to do next.
Unlike the 2009 Braves, my oncologist has a really effective pinch-hitter he can use. However, he’s so annoying that he makes Yunel look like Stan Musial, and has to be called in from outside. But he’s so good that he shouldn’t have any problem driving in Yunel. The treatment should be late this month, if nothing gets in the way.
Mac was an internet pioneer, in many ways, as one of the first regular sports bloggers; for all I know, he may have been the longest-tenured daily baseball blogger, much as the Braves (as he liked to point out) are the oldest continually-operating franchise in Major League Baseball. He wasn’t a household name, but people in the industry knew who he was, as he found out when he announced his cancer diagnosis and numerous writers wrote well-wishes for him. And he had hundreds of people here who loved and cared for him, as he learned when we asked for donations for an iPod and he received over $2800 from more than 130 donors.
Not many people get to hear their own eulogy before they die and truly learn how much they meant to the people whose lives they touched. I take comfort in the fact that Mac had that knowledge in the hospital room, even as he was dying.
Back in October, his doctors told him that they were unable to operate because his cancer had been spreading, and that, unless they could find another treatment, he had months rather than years to live. And so he made this pledge:
More than anything — well, other than getting to tell bill collectors to take it up with my estate — I want to make sure that this place stays open, because it’s my legacy and I’m damned proud of it. There will be some changes, but we go on. I’ll be with you in some form, I promise.
This site will always be The House that Mac built, and we will keep it open and running as always. The Braves will continue to disappoint us — right on schedule, John Sickels named Julio Teheran possibly the most disappointing non-injured prospect of the year — and so we have a job to do.
This is an awful day. But it is not the end.
A lovely, outstanding tribute, Alex. If Mac himself approved it, you know you got it right.
And speaking of tributes, I’m struck by the depth of my genuine sadness at the passing of a “virtual” friend. If you’d asked Mac in 1998 whether he thought himself a shepherd of such a large, disparate but close-knit community, I wonder what he would have said.
This is a post I never wanted to read, and I am sorry to see it now. I always loved the Braves but never bothered to analyze the team until I discovered Braves Journal and the community that Mac built. I stalked the site for awhile before becoming a regular commentator, and checking in quickly became one of my favorite daily activities. College and the time it demanded of me turned me back into a stalker, but I always managed to find time to check in and laugh at Mac’s humor. His write-ups on the different cities the Braves played in were some of my favorite posts, and I still quote from them when I can. I have followed Braves Journal for over a decade since I was a young teen, and it has made me into the Braves fan I am today.
Thanks AAR, for expressing what so many of us feel. I am going to miss Mac’s witticisms and direction, but I am glad to know this community will continue on.
And thank you Mac, for your dedication that made this place what it is. I do not think I will ever be able to think about the Braves without thinking about you. I hope the Braves win it all this year—for you.
What a sad day. That was a great write-up Alex. Hopefully the Braves can celebrate his life with a win today.
I hope that at the end of October, we will be able to look back at the season and wish you’d been there to see it, Mac. (As opposed to being thankful you didn’t see the ending.)
Thanks for your tribute, Alex, and I’m glad to have done my (very) little bit for the site.
Heaven’s a better place. God recruited one of the best.
Roll Tide.
It’s hard even to think about Mac in the past tense. But without knowing him very well, a lot of what Alex said above rings true. This site is a small, but real victory for the lone smartypants in the room, when it comes to baseball.
Mac had a tremendous talent for insightful analysis — and yet, this site couldn’t be more accessible, entertaining, or connected to the day-in, day-out grind of the game. Mac struck the perfect balance, showing early on that you could be smart and incisive and go low-brow and root your heart out for the team all at the same time.
You could come to this place as a relatively uninformed fan — as I did in 2005, just looking for people to validate my opinion that Andruw should’ve been the MVP that year — but if you wanted to really embrace the kind of understanding of the game that this place has to offer, you could go that route too and come out with entirely different thinking about much of the world, let alone one game.
For me, this site is to baseball what R.E.M. (or pick that first underground band that you loved) was for alternative culture, for a certain generation. Braves Journal is the acceptable edge of the unacceptable. I’m glad I got to tell Mac that in an email. I hope he appreciated it. I’ll really miss him.
Nice job, Alex. You’re not too shabby yourself! That must’ve been hard to do.
Hush’d be the camps today.
A real punch in the gut.
Rest peacefully, Mac.
Thank you for everything Mac, you are missed already.
Alex, a breathtakingly great write-up, one most worthy of Mac. I’m having a hard time today with his departure & it’s hard to fathom I can’t talk to him anymore.
This community, the Bravesjournal community, was Mac’s greatest achievement & lasting legacy – and could not be in better hands than with Alex Remington.
Great work Alex. Rest in peace, Mac.
Alex, Thank you for a wonderful tribute.
This is a very sad day.
Thank you, Mac.
I don’t post much, but I definitely lurk everyday; RIP Mac
Rest in peace, Mac.
By the way, it completely shocked me that Mac had been battling Cancer for 3 1/2 years. On Facebook, I thought it was 1-2 years & got that wrong. 3 1/2 years is simply too long for anyone to have to fight a beast as evil as Cancer.
Hard to fathom.
Pouring one out.
The best braves blogger we’ll likely ever have.
He was one of my favorite writers and I always facilitated between annoyance that he wasn’t more famous and joy that he was our little secret and belonged to us.
RIP Mac.
Yet Melky Cabrera still lives…
Since Mac didn’t drink, pour out some sarcasm in his honor.
Rest in peace, my friend Mac.
Mac was indeed a pioneer in so many ways. I miss his sarcasm.
As a Braves fan growing up in Mets country, it was a godsend to find a place where other knowledgeable Braves fans gathered to talk shop. Even though I’m not a frequent poster, I am most definitely a frequent visitor. Braves Journal taught me: 1) what blogging was; 2) what comments were and how they can represent the best/worst of the internet; 3) what trolling was; 4) most importantly, acted as a gradual introduction to sabermetrics for me.
My initial view of baseball was much like that of a 70 year old scout. I believed in gritty players, clutch players, guys that “knew how to win.” My thoughts on sabermetricians was very much along the lines of the “mother’s basement” stereotype. It was Mac’s willingness to accept new ways of looking at the game that encouraged me to do the same. Growing up I always thought I was a knowledgeable Braves fan and baseball fan, mostly because I didn’t have any Braves fans around me and Mets fans are idiots. It was Mac and this blog that taught me I didn’t know shit. I learned a lot about the game and about the internet from him.
AAR, thanks not only for this post, but for caring enough to accept the responsibility of keeping Braves Journal going. Alex R, I have always appreciated your take on the the team and hope you’ll continue to drop in with the occasional epic rant. Stu, ububba, and several other long timers I’m forgetting, you guys help make this place an internet home too. To all the rest, whether long timer or occasional poster, lurker, whatever…we’re all a family today.
RIP Mac Thomason. You left a mark. Go Braves.
This is a very sad, sad day.This site and foremost Mac’s witty writings helped me through some very tough times and I too will miss him. My family has to deal with cancer too and it’s a horrible thing. It says a lot about Mac that he still kept his humour and fought till the end. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. R.I.P. Mac.
AAR, that was perfect.
As a long time poster on here, I want to say that we are very lucky to have some great people here like Alex, AAR, Stu and several others who have done a great job filing in when Mac was sick. This place is in good hands.
Mac’s crativity brought us all here and kept us coming back. Over time this place has become a home and we have all come to know one another through a common bond, Braves baseball. This is Mac’s legacy.
In one way or another we all came here to read about the Braves. Over time we read about Rob’s adventures, Bethany’s Ephis league, ububba’s travels, my barber’s trade ideas, billyjay living overseas, Stu and I picking at one another about UT and Vandy, and of course, the Mets troll.
A few years ago I lost my job. I didn’t know what I was doing. TD contacted me and helped me with my job search. Now, I am working somewhere that I love and it I am not sure I would be there without his help. I am sure there are quite a few of us that have similar stories.
I am proud and thankful for the chance to get to know some of you and discuss lots of different topics (except politics and religion) with you. I am thankful to Mac for creating this place for us. I look forward to the future as this place will continue to be the first place I come to discuss the Braves and anything else that is going on (How ’bout them Vols?)
I wish the Braves would wear the letters M-A-C on their uniforms. For me, he has been as big of a part of the club as many of the players or people that work for the team. They may not know it, but the name “Mac” will always be associated with the Braves. At least to some of us.
Thank you Mac.
Certainly a sad time. Thanks, Alex. That was a great tribute.
I’m thankful Alex R. was able to spend some time with Mac before he passed away. I’m also thankful Mac was able to know how much people appreciated him and cared for him. Hopefully Mac took solace in the reality that an entire online community had prayed for him and encouraged him throughout the entire process.
I’m certainly hopeful that Braves Journal will continue to be what it has been, as Stu and Alex have done a great job keeping the site up to its usual high standards. Thanks guys.
Very sad day. This site has taught me a lot about baseball and helped shape my own opinions of the team. RIP Mac.
Thank you, AAR, for leavening our sorrow with a little humor.
Rest in peace, Mac.
Thanks Mac. I hope your end was not in pain. Thank you for everything you did to make the Internet an enjoyable place. Respects to your family in their time of need.
Rest easy Mac. As a transplanted Braves fan, this site has kept me passionate about the team where without it, I could’ve very easily drifted away. That alone is enough to make me eternally grateful, but the skill you showed here on a daily basis has made it a joy to come to.
You will be missed forever and never forgotten.
Ethan A. Arturian
Thanks for that, Alex. I can’t imagine a more fitting eulogy for Mac.
Like a lot of others, I never had the chance to meet Mac, but after nearly a decade of daily visits to Braves Journal, I felt like I knew him (and several of you) better than many folks whom I see every day. I’ll miss him greatly, but I’ll look forward to seeing his legacy carried on here.
Thanks for this, Alex.
I don’t have any real words, so I’ll keep it short: I hope you’re in a better place now, Mac. We’ll miss you.
Never felt like this about a death of someone I never met. Thanks for everything, Mac.
I’ve been visiting here (posting very rarely) since 2004. I’ve used this site to keep me in the loop from both Iraq and Afghanistan. Sure I could read the box score and the AP game summary, but there was something about Mac’s recap and the accompanying comments that I needed to see after each game. I think my affinity for this site is best demonstrated by the fact that when on training without Internet in Texas back in 2005 (and again in Oklahoma in 2006), I called my girlfriend and had her read me Mac’s game recap over the phone, word for word.
This is truly the saddest moment since I first stumbled upon Braves Journal years ago. RIP Mac. And a big thank you for creating a great blog about the only team I truly care for. Alex, your tribute was very touching.
I went through some of the archives. I started laughing out loud. I am very sad but grateful for the time I’ve been able to enjoy one of the of funniest men I’ve never met.
Alex Remington thanks. I hope you aren’t insulted if I make an offer to help in any way I can to keep Braves Journal going.
Rest in peace Mac. You will be missed.
So sad…
This has been my favorite site on the internet for many years, but the reason it’s a favorite has little to do with the Braves or me being a huge fan of the team.
It has everything to do with Mac. His personality, sense of humor, and writing ability struck a chord with me. I was ecstatic to find Braves Journal, and all of great people that only someone like Mac and this site could attract.
RIP Mac, and thanks for everything.
I’ll always be grateful to Mac and the rag-tag community he put together. Though I’m going to miss his humor and insights, I know the site is in good hands and will maintain the level of quality and integrity I’ve come to expect after ten years of reading.
RIP Mac. I never met him but I’ll never forget him.
Not at all an insult, Johnny. The offer is greatly, and gratefully, appreciated. Thank you.
Somehow I knew the Dark Lord Ace Chutley would be involved.
Oh hell. I didn’t know Mac from this site but from his War Liberal one. We regularly agreed and disagreed about the folly of our country’s politicians over there. I’ve been missing those discussions for quite a while, but this finality is still hard to take.
R.I.P. Mac.
The collapse is on.
And Maholm turns into a pumpkin.
It probably sounds silly but words can’t express how much this site helped me get through my darkest days. For that, I’ll forever be grateful. Rest in peace Mac.
Well Mac may not have drunk, but I am about to. Descante en paz, Hombre.
Lennie Tristano – Requiem (1955)
What a sad day. RIP Mac…
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
MED
Must we play the rest of this game? We already know how it’s going to end. Just call it a delayed day off in Mac’s honor, guys.
Baseball doesn’t seem too important today.
Nope.
Cant really post today !! RIP Mac !!
The Braves are playing like they think it’s already the Division Series.
Just to second the offer please let us know if we can do anything to help the site or memorialize Mac in someway.
Suggestion # 1: If anyone sees Mike Hampton gently pat him on the back—shattering his vertebrae –in Mac’s honor.
It’s a sad day and the Braves seem to know it.
A sad day. The old Fanhome crowd wishes all the best to Mac’s family and friends.
RIP, Mac. You will be missed.
Damn it, I can watch the Braves win by myself. But it’s not fair to have to watch them lose without him.
Mac, thanks for everything. Selfishly I’m sad to see you go, but thankful that you will finally know peace.
I stumbled across braves journal in ’04 or maybe ’05. Your recaps always spot on and to point, led me to follow the game threads where i met so many amazing braves folks just through reading their posts.
While never a huge student of the game, i came to depend on posts here to provide me “real” no BS look at the state of all things braves and am glad to see your work will continue.
Mac your name will always be synonymous with the braves, mike hampton and was the one thing i found tolerable with all things Bama.
Safe sailing my friend.
Now if these damn braves would please finally play some ball!
Peace, Mac.
Cant believe FG moved Hayward behind Ross in Batting order … how did this guy get to be a Major League Mgr ????
How did you get to own a computer?
I’ll echo a common sentiment about being moved at Mac’s passing, despite never having met him. Thanks for a great place to visit and learn, Mac.
Thanks for the tribute, Alex.
Kolb ate his radio
wow…i guess Fredi finally got the pictures back from Uggla
Lyle Overbay? Another randomly generated acquisition of bench detritus.
What an awful day, screw baseball. Rest in peace Mac, you made the lives of all of us much much better.
Knew it was coming, but just tremendously sad. RIP Mac.
…please quit teasing me
c’mon Chipper time to take this to the house
BULLSHIT
THAT WAS FOR YOU MAC!!
Chipper!
Mac!
CHIPPER. FUCKING. JONES.
WHOOOOOO!!!!!
CHIPPER!!!
You couldn’t write it up any better!
That was yours Mac!!
Yes, absolutely. For you, Mac!
CHIPAAAHHHHH MOTHER F’ING JONES! Wow, dude is unbelievable.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
I wasn’t watching at all. That didn’t happen, did it?
Oh my God.
Thank you Jesus! CHIPPER!!!
That was pretty cool.
KARMA!
Too much. Too much. Too much.
Moylan’s first win since September 13, 2012. We missed ya, Payte!
I’ve been checking this site daily for 7 years, but rarely post. Thanks for everything Mac.
Somewhere, Mac Thomason has a smile on his face.
I’m not a particularly spiritual person, but sometimes you have to wonder.
I just saw the score. That’s really something special.
RIP Mac. You’ve made my years away from Atlanta much easier.
Holy crap.
A bitterly sad day, but thanks for the send-off, Mr. Jones. It means more than you’ll ever know. (And a terrific tribute, AAR.)
I tip my glass to you, Mac. Thanks for everything. Into the cosmos. Will see you when we get there.
RIP Mac…and thanks to you and Chipper for making us believe again
wow …… thanks for the help MAC !!!! and you too Chipper !!!
Mac, you will be truly missed. In the great words of Walter Sopchak, “Good night, my sweet prince.”
You’ve left a wonderful legacy. I don’t post often, but am glad to know there’s such a community as this one.
P.S. And Chipper Jones is the shit!
Couldn’t have written it better… RIP Mac, excellent post AAR, he will be sorely missed.
Nice job, AAR and Alex. I’ll miss Mac.
Very nice write-up, Alex. Very moving, and captured the spirit of Mac, his writing, and the Bravesjournal site & community.
Thanks, Larry Wayne, for the awesome ending. What a day!!
a very sad day indeed. one of the consistently best writers i have ever read. funny, concise, and inventive. mac’s musical tastes were excellent as well; keeping me hangin’ at the journal for things other than what i came for. he was so good (and such a good guy) that he attracted other like-minded “sportists” (pronounced spor-teests’) to continue the magic. we’re all fortunate to have had him…save us all a spot on the bench, mac!
I rarely post, but have been coming to this site every day for the past 7 or 8 years. Thanks for everything, Mac. You will be missed but not forgotten.
@83: “Moylan’s first win since September 13, 2012.”
Amazing.
Er, sorry — September 13, 2011.
You can’t tell me that Mac wasn’t at this game. I’ll never forget what Chipper and everyone else was able to do today. No matter how the season turns out, what a memory.
RIP Mac. Melky will always be fat.
RIP Mac. All of us here went through so much together. I know you will always be with us.
RIP Mac. Spending a few minutes in the glossary should be mandatory reading reading for all Braves fans. This site was clearly a labor of love and I’m glad to see it continued moving forward.
Here’s Jim Powell’s call on the home run.
http://audioboo.fm/boos/943929-chipper-jones-hr-9-2-12-vs-phi
It’s hard to believe. RIP Mac.
Thank you for everything, Mac, be in peace.
You will be missed.
I can only reiterate what others have already said. I can’t remember how I came across Braves Journal, but I have checked on this site every day for years.
When I bought my iPad, it was my first site to bookmark. I am merely a stalker to the site, but I want Mac’s family to know how much he will be missed. I have had two co-workers pass away in the last 8 months, but I felt much more grief and sorrow in hearing of the passing of a man that I never met.
RIP Mac and I hope that this site lives on in his honor.
i read this site everyday and never post. RIP Mac and thanks for everything.
I’ve been a regular reader/lurker here for years. This site kept me a Braves fan when TBS and life circumstances threatened to take the Braves away from me. Thank you, Mac, for everything.
Thanks also to AAR and others for continuing this place. It means more than I can put into words.
Finally, thanks Chipper, thanks. It would have been wrong to lose to Philadelphia today.
There’s no question in my mind that Mac helped with that finish.
RIP and thank you.
Man, was out and about all day so I missed everything. Wonderful eulogy (eugraphy? eublogging?) AAR. Thanks to the posters for the best way to catch up on a missed game, a braves journal thread. Thanks Chipper.
And of course, thanks Mac.
Just got in and read the sad news. Thanks for this blog, Mac. A lot of people will remember you for a long time.
Chipper for the win and for Mac. Unbelievable.
We’ve all been spoiled. We’ve all had it too good for too long. And sometimes you lose sight of how good you have it because you just come to expect that it will always be there.
As Braves fans we may never see another 3B as good for as long as Chipper has been. We may never see a run of excellence as long as the Braves had during The Streak. We may never see a manager as steady and as successful as Bobby Cox was. We may never hear a broadcast team as enjoyable to listen to as Skip and The Professor were. We may never see a rotation as dominant as those that featured The Big Three.
We sure as hell will never find another voice able to put it all in perspective with the eloquence, insight and humor that Mac Thomason did day after day and season after season. I tremble a little as I type this. Thanks for everything, Mac.
Mac, goodbye my man! See ya on the other side. I’m sure we can make fun of Francoeur there as well! You’ve been a major factor in all our lives.
Incredible tribute AAR. A time like this definitely puts sports into perspective, but this win and Alabama’s crushing of Michigan seemed to come at the perfect time. Mac will be greatly missed, but as has been stated, his spirit lives on.
Thanks, Mac.
Mac. Chipper. Mac.
Thank you Mac for the site and your love of Braves baseball. Thanks to AAR for the tribute and radio call.
The Braves’ official Twitter page tweeted about Mac.
Chipper must’ve known. RPI Mac.
Chipper must’ve known. RIP Mac.
Been reading this blog for almost a decade, haven’t posted much in recent years, but just wanted to say thank you and RIP.
Too bad that today’s game couldn’t turn out to be Mac’s last Braves memory.
@101, Great call by Powell on the HR. He sure knows when to let it breathe. Reminded me of a quote I ran across earlier “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent” – Wittgenstein
Geez.
I thought it might be nice to pick up on some euphoria following Chipper’s shot; I was totally unprepared for this.
I sure will miss Mac, his writing, fantastic sense of humor, and the respect he commanded from this community which has allowed this blog to “hit the bullseye” for so many years.
Thanks so much, AAR, for investing the time for such a fitting tribute.
I pledge to do my part to ensure Mac’s legacy endures.
Goddamn.
Longtime lurker chiming in to say what this site means to me. Braves Journal has been as much a part of my daily routine as showering the last seven years. When I think about the Braves growing up, I think about Skip and Pete and listening to games on the way to get ice cream. When I think about the Braves the last 10 years, I think about Braves Journal. The 18-inning Astros disaster, the Conrad game, Heyward’s debut, and now tonight. Each time I watched them end, I thought, like everyone else here, “I can’t wait to see what Mac does with that.”
Thanks Mac. And roll tide.
I’ve been mostly a lurker on here since ’08. No one has ever been able to reduce to writing the way I felt about a sports team more accurately than Mac. He was always at his best when the Braves were at their worst. My favorite Mac recap (and there are many to choose from) will always be the last game of the 2011 season. Poetic and humorous, it was classic Mac…
“And so it ends. Somehow, you knew Scott Linebrink would be involved. He would have to be. The season in microcosm: The Braves got an early lead, held it to the very end, but lost it.”
My condolences to Mac’s family. Much like a lot of people on this thread, I’ve been trolling around this site for several years, but am not a regular poster.
Mac’s recaps, straight down to the crossout text always made the losses more bearable. Much like seeing the Braves without Chipper next year, it’s gonna be hard to imagine this site without its captain at the helm. It’s been a pleasure, and a privilege to be able to get a glimpse into his insights of the game, and the team that we all simultaneously love, and love to hate.
RIP Mac, you will not be forgotten. His video of Mike Hampton’s chronic injury history was one of my all-time favorite baseball-related internet videos.
I’ve lurked and occasionally posted for five years. I lost my brother to cancer at 45 in 2010 and my dad to the same this spring at 70. It is a horrible thing and it seems to take a lot of the good ahead of the bad. Hearing about Mac today left me in tears again, for reasons I really can’t explain. Like many here I never met the man, but his humor and writing style never ceased to amaze me. Goodbye Mac and Godspeed. I hope to see you on the other side.
I’ll just echo the sentiments of this thread. I haven’t been here as long as some folks, and I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but I was reading Mac on Braves Journal before the Braves traded for Mark Teixeira. I’ve never had many friends that were into baseball (usually one or two here and there), and they were never Braves fans. This blog let me be in a community of Braves fans. And intelligent, funny, and insightful ones at that.
Like most of you, I never met Mac but I’m beyond saddened by his passing. Like Parish, I came here right after seeing Chipper’s HR (AMAZING!!), and the news makes it so bitter sweet. I really appreciated the write-up by AAR. I wasn’t familiar at all with Mac’s other projects, and the trip through the wayback machine was good to see.
I’m glad this community is going to continue. As I move further and further north, it’s good to have a place where people can talk Braves baseball as well as SEC football. So thanks to the posters here, especially the “regulars” who help shape this into the place it is.
Been a long time since I’ve posted myself. I will miss Mac terribly, as Braves Journal has been once of my favorite sites since I started visiting long long ago. Happy it will continue in his honor.
Since today’s thread is all about memory, I think it’s worth resurrecting one of Stu’s favorites. To me, Chipper’s walkoff homer was about eating chicken wings, listening to metallica, drinking Keystone Light, and wanting to get into the stadium to scream as loud as you can.
Oh my God how did I forget that. That is an unbelievably fantastic comment.
#108 put it into better words than I ever could. I second every word of that post. RIP Mac Thomason, and thank you so much.
Thanks for everything Mac, including the game tonight – couldnt have asked for anything more.
Woke up at 1.30 Central European Time and it was 3-7 in the 8th. Fell right asleep again.
As I checked when the alarm went off, you can imagine my surprise. As many of you wrote… This one was for Mac.
And a game like this shows what Braves Journal is all about. Especially when you cannot watch the game, just to recap the next day by reading all your comments. I have got used to this for the past ten or so years. Every morning. Thank you, Braves Journal.
I’m not eloquent enough to express what others have already done, but the world is worse off today with Mac’s passing, but we should make as many analogies to Chipper’s send off as possible
Well we all knew this post was coming, and while it does suck, at least Chipper knew how to celebrate a life well lived.
RIP Mac and condolences to the Thomason family.
Let’s see if we can get a repeat of the final game Mac recapped, where Medlen and Kimbrel dominated the opposition.
Recapped.
I live in France, where most games are played during the night. The first thing I do every morning after waking up is to check the results of the game and the recap here. It has been like this for 7 years now. Mac’s articles have helped me (and many of us, I’m sure) go through collapses and full seasons of mediocrity without going insane.
RIP Mac, you will be missed.
An all-time great. RIP Mac.
Would it be possible for you to run a picture of Mac? I’d like to put a face to the man whose words gave me so much pleasure. I’d also appreciate knowing more about his family. This is the first time I heard of his son. Thanks.
Note: this thread is no longer current.
R.I.P.
Alex, I can’t see the recap.
Mac and this crew have made me a better Braves fan. Thank you all, but especially Mac.
I was at the game yesterday and the couple my wife and I were with wanted to leave after the 8th. I knew something good might happen so I wasted all the time I could walking toward the car. They have young kids so I walked them to the clubhouse store and began to watch the bottom of the ninth. When Bourn got on we went out to the chop house as Prado doubled. Chipper came up and my wife and I had a feeling something good would happen and sure enough IT HAPPENED and I never saw the ball land as my wife, wearing chipper jersey leaped into my arms.
Best moment at a braves game I ever had and I did have a moment where I thought of Mac. I hope he enjoyed it.
Alex,
Thank you for post and its excellant tribute to Mac. But special thanks for letting us know last week that it was Mac’s last days. Your post gave all of us a chance to tell Mac how much he and his site meant to us. I really appreciate the opportunity.
Rest in Peace, Mac.
Go Braves!
Joe Posnanski has just posted a blog entry about Mac.
http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2012/09/mac-and-braves-journal.html
Um, I too cannot see any recap.
I also can’t see the recap. I hope Medlen is our #
The Jeff Baker thread is the active one. This one’s just been pinned to the top for a while.
I’ll really miss Mac.
These times are never easy. Mac put up a good fight and touched many people with his wit and passion for the Braves. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Hmmm, not finding the current thread.
The current thread is just below this one.
The Jeff Baker thread is the current one.
I’ll genuinely miss Mac. He was my favorite internet writer to read. I could read anything he wrote, about any topic. And having him belong to us – Braves fans – made me really proud. It still makes me proud that we had him for as long as we did. In my mind, he’s part of the legacy of this team now. I really like what you said, AAR, about this blog perhaps being the longest-running continually-operated baseball blog. It’s one more thing for Braves fans to be proud of. Let’s keep it going.
I have been dreading this day and I have discovered it late.
Anyway, RIP, Mac–through your intellect, persistence and wit you brightened the days for so many of us. Yes, you will be missed and long remembered….
I’m very late, but I wanted to say thanks to Mac for nine years of the best baseball reading on the Internet. You’ll be dearly missed by more people than you could have imagined.
All the best Mac. I read your website a lot.
You WON your battle against cancer.
Roll Tide.
RIP Mac. Thank you for a decade plus of outstanding analysis and thousands of LOL moments.