For Molly Knight, reporting on baseball is more than a numbers game
Showing up, taking attendance, and Pilot G-2 1.0 pens help this sportswriter cover all the plays.
Journalist Molly Knight writes The Long Game, a newsletter about “baseball for people who want to know more,” providing insights that go beyond the analytics that have taken over the sport in the past couple of decades. Instead, it focuses on the human beings who play the game. She covered the Dodgers for a number of years and is also the author of the New York Times Bestseller “The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse.”
In addition, Knight has written hundreds of sports and pop culture articles, features, and profiles for outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, ESPN, Men’s Health, Marie Claire, The Athletic, and Variety.
Knight took a break from the season’s grind to talk with Parker Molloy about her career and to take a swing at Depth Perception’s Leading Questions.
Why did you become a journalist?
This is going to sound extremely cheesy but reading good writing has always helped me feel less alone. I thought that maybe I could write things that would do the same for others. My first dream job was to become a pediatrician because I wanted to help kids — but I failed out of organic chemistry in college.
I guess the reason why I fell into journalism is because I am — stupidly — obsessed with fairness. I say stupidly because we know the world is not fair. I am especially driven by holding those with power to account.
What story of yours are you proudest of?
Probably my book, because I never thought I could write a book. It's funny that I have peers who are thinking about best-seller lists and such before they even pitch a book idea. I was simply desperate to finish my book so I wouldn't have to give the advance back and/or have my career ruined for failing to complete a contractual obligation. Writing a book taught me a lot about showing up and doing a little at a time even when you don't feel like it. Especially because I did not feel like it 70 percent of the time.
I wrote 500 words a day, five days a week (which doesn't seem like much). But within 10 months I had a 100,000 word book — and that is very fast for writing a book that long! I am trying to apply this principle — showing up and doing a little bit consistently — to almost every area of my life right now. It's easier to do one push-up a day than to do 100, and will probably lead to better results in the long-term.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Sunken by grief, Alenka Artnik found herself alone on a bridge, contemplating suicide. A decade later, she became one of the world’s greatest freedivers, holding several world records.
Read “The Depths She’ll Reach,” and learn how Artnik emerged from mental health struggles to push the limits of the human body.
What story of yours do you most regret?
When I was at ESPN I used to write a lot of stories that were quite sensitive about love and loss and addiction and death because those topics interest me the most. I covered a horrific off-road racing crash that killed a number of people and spent months with families of the victims trying to get the story right. I was proud of the story. Unfortunately, some photos were published with the story (not my choice) that were extremely graphic and re-traumatized the people I spoke with. Even though I had no control over the photos, I felt awful. And these people were very upset with me because I was the reason they even participated in the story to begin with.
Another time I was writing about fanaticism and spent a weekend with Ravens fans during a playoff weekend. I actually find fanaticism endearing as long as no one is getting hurt. My then-editor called the working title of the story "super freaky whacky creepy" while we were working it up and I said "but that's not really going to be the actual title, RIGHT?" and was assured up and down that no, it would not be the actual title of the story. You can imagine my horror when that was the actual title that ran. I felt like I totally humiliated people who welcomed me into their homes and it sucked.
What’s the best journalistic career advice you ever received?
Two pieces of advice. The first: Take attendance in any scene. This applies to sports maybe more than other fields of study, but I do think it holds. If a person who should be in the room is not in the room, there's usually always a reason. That reason could be they've been fired, are sick, injured, got arrested, or have fallen out of favor. That's news. I remember one year when Yasiel Puig didn't show up for Dodgers opening day because he got the time of the game wrong. I knew probably an hour before every other reporter because I always took attendance of every player on the field during warm-ups. It wasn't like the Dodgers were going to announce he wasn't there until they had to change the actual line-up.
The second: Start on the outside and work your way in. The best way to gain the trust of the top dog in any situation is to gain the trust of the people around them.
What is the worst journalistic career advice you’ve ever received?
Pivot to video, from Mark Zuckerberg. That was the first big lie that nuked my industry and caused so many good people I know to lose their livelihoods, and Zuckerberg has never had to answer for that. Oh well, he's a billionaire. Joke's on us!
What is a widely accepted journalistic rule or norm that you hate?
I hate that it's the norm of some right wing outlets to never fact check anything at all, while if I try to write something for the New York Times Magazine, even someone saying something on tape isn't enough. A fact-checker has to call that person and confirm they said it. It's frustrating that there isn't a “THIS WAS RIGOROUSLY FACT-CHECKED” stamp at the top of the few pieces that actually are, and that readers don't seem to know the difference.
The general public not being able to quickly spot and discard disinformation may well wreck our society.
What was the most indulgent media event you've ever attended?
In 2007 when I worked for ESPN the Magazine we had a writer's retreat at a spa in Montauk and we each got our own suites plus hundreds of dollars to spend on massages. etc. It was almost impossible to spend all our gift card credits so I was just using them to buy fancy chocolate bars in the gift shop on the way out. When the economy crashed a year later we had our writer's retreat at an adult Chuck E. Cheese in midtown Manhattan.
I used to fly somewhere new every week chasing a story. Now, magazines and newspapers barely have any budget to send a writer anywhere.
The reason why I fell into journalism is because I am — stupidly — obsessed with fairness. I say stupidly because we know the world is not fair. I am especially driven by holding those with power to account.
What’s one app, tool, or service that you can’t do your work without?
My Pilot G-2 1.0 pens. It's not even me being precious. The thick ink tip means I can write without my hand cramping. I will not write with anything else unless something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
What makes you think journalism is doomed?
Google, Facebook, etc., made people think that they don't have to pay for it. Plus the GOP doesn't like things like climate change so they just say it's fake news, which is a reason why distrust of the media is probably at an all-time high.
Also, too many private equity firms bought up newspapers and are stripping them for parts to make a profit. It sucks.
What makes you feel hopeful for the future of journalism?
The fact that a lot of people are willing to pay for voices they want to hear from. I never thought I'd be able to make a living writing a newsletter and I am. But it makes sense. As magazines and newspapers crumble I take the money I used to spend on subscriptions and support writers who do good work. It feels good, too, because I know that money is going directly to the person doing the work and not some private equity guy getting rich off gutting my industry.
Further reading from Molly Knight
“Kim Ng Deserved Better than the Marlins” (The Long Game, Oct. 17, 2023)
“The Dodgers Lost, but Los Angeles Is Winning” (The New York Times, Nov. 3, 2017)
“The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse” (Simon & Schuster, 2016)
“In Pursuit of the Dream” (ESPN, Aug. 4, 2015)
“The Hollywood Fast Life of Stalker Sarah” (The New York Times Magazine, May 31, 2013)
Fantastic insight on one of my all-time favorite writers.