Why We’re Here

I play a baseball sim called Out of the Park Baseball.  I have been playing it since 2005.  On and off for a couple of years, I have been fooling around with databases.  I’m not a programmer or a DBA, but I love data.  Ever since I learned how to do my first SELECT statement, something just clicked inside me.  I dabbled in Access here and there with the Lahman Database but never went too deep because I had other commitments, other interests, and no goal in mind for any database knowledge.

Earlier this year, a project for work required me to get a quick  understanding of Access and SQL Server.  I loved learning it and I suddenly saw a potential goal to direct my efforts into learning more about database management:  I would roll my own MySQL server to enhance my OOTP gameplay!

I would learn about remote database management; I would learn about complex JOINS, I would learn how to build complex queries in order to calculate advanced statistics.

Well, I started.  Then I got overwhelmed and I stopped.  Then I started again.  Stopped again.  I started again about a week ago- getting further than I had before, but still nowhere near my goal.  Just as I started to get frustrated again, it occurred to me that I need to slow down.

That’s what this blog is for: It will allow me to slow down, consider what I am doing, how I want to do it, give me a chance to learn, and to rubber-duck my way to success.

Comments will be open in case any of my imaginary readers want to chime in with advice or encouragement.

Since this is almost entirely for my own benefit, I am not going to explain much of the OOTP minutia or any but the more advanced statistics.

OK, here we go!