Bless You Boys turns 10 years old

As short as it may seem to some, 10 years is a long period of time. A lot can happen in a decade. The Tigers were still an American League also-ran in 2005. The 2006 season and all of the joy and wonder it contained for Detroit fans was still just a pipedream. The last 10 years have been a whirlwind of excitement for the Tigers and their fans, as it has been arguably the most successful run of dominance in franchise history.

Three thousand, six hundred and fifty two days ago, Bless You Boys was born to the worldwide web. Its beginnings were humble –- the third post in our archive is simply titled "Homestand" and has three comments –- but the site quickly grew into a small community of devout Tigers fans looking for coverage beyond what you find in your daily newspaper (or would have found; the internet has undoubtedly killed a few News and Free Press subscriptions in our lifespan).

Even at the site’s outset, our founding father, Jeff Gray, was prophetic in establishing the type of community his website would eventually become.

We're going build this bandwagon with a lot of fan passion, a little bit of fan intelligence, and SB Nation's proven ability to build healthy communities on the net

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I believe that productive outs are better than non-productive outs, but that they aren't something to shoot for. I believe that saves are silly. I believe in Baseball Prospectus and Peter Gammons. I believe that small-market teams can win, but that they have almost no room for error. I believe that Detroit is not a small market. I believe that people who think they can ID a steroid user by looking at one are fooling themselves. I believe that the slow jog from an outfield bullpen to an infield brawl is one of the most absurd sights in sports.

Ten years later, the passion remains while the intelligence has grown substantially. We boast one of the largest readerships on the entire network, and our comment section is second-to-none when it comes to the quality and depth of conversation that takes place. SB Nation, and, by extension, Vox Media, has grown from a fledgling start-up into an empire of over 300 websites. Bless You Boys has expanded from a sole writer/editor into a team of 21 contributors spread all around the country. We have media access at both the major and minor league levels, a practice that would have been seen as blasphemous 10 years ago.

Bless You Boys would not be where it is today without the hard work and devotion of the editors, writers, and contributors that have worked here for the past decade. Previous managing editors Jeff Gray, Mark Masson, and Ian Casselberry helped lay the foundation of insightful commentary, and Kurt Mensching has been instrumental in building the site into what it is today. I am proud to continue the lineage of these talented individuals, and I believe that the site is currently producing its best work to date.

A big thank you also goes out to all of the other individuals who have contributed to Bless You Boys in the past. There are too many to name, and I will undoubtedly leave someone out if I try, but this site would not be what it is today without your contributions.

Finally, and most importantly, thank you, dear readers. You are why we do what we do. We enjoy the conversation and debate that our writing invites, and we appreciate all of the compliments, critiques, and comments that come our way. Without you, we would have burned out long ago. With you, we are going strong into year number 11, and hopefully far beyond.