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It
was once said that every boy builds a shrine to some baseball hero, and
before that shrine, a candle always burns. |
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Thank you for taking the time to learn more about NetShrine.
First conceived in the summer of 1998, the foundation of this Web Site was built on the Labor Day which followed - the same day that Mark McGwire became the first player to tie Roger Maris’ single season homerun record of sixty-one. (Not that Big Mac’s achievement had anything to do with the NetShrine’s groundbreaking. More so, the mention is made to provide a significant point of perspective. Besides, would you have known where you were then if I said "the same day that Gregg Olson got his 200th career save" - which also occurred on September 7, 1998?)
When the Site went "live" four months later in January 1999, NetShrine’s original mission was to categorize those great and/or noteworthy RETIRED Major League Baseball players by the level of their accomplishments (as recognized by the general public) and the era in which they played. The primary goal of NetShrine was to serve as an "easy to use," low tech, and fast loading virtual mechanism for baseball fans to peruse, enjoy, and learn more about the those Major League Baseball players who stand out. Basically, the Gallery was NetShrine.
However, an evolution of NetShrine subsequently took place.
In April 1999, our Mailbag feature first appeared - followed by Ruminations from the Curator debuting that May and our Interviews commencing in July. The Site also underwent a slight redesign nine months following going "live." In 2000, the first NetShrine Discussion Forum was launched which was upgraded 14 months later into a state of the art forum. Also in Y2K, news content was added to the Site and our Honor Roll Challenge was implemented. In 2001, the Site went under a more radical redesign along with some further enhancements such as the birth of a platform for Guest Contributions, our Player of the Year Award, and a Stat Glossary. In 2002, the NetShrine On-line Store opened for business.
In essence, NetShrine became more of a celebration of baseball (in several different ways) than just the Site's original intent. Never complacent, we're not done yet. There are projects always under consideration - of which, some make it, and some do not. Regardless, NetShrine's mission is clear - to be "A Celebration of Baseball." And, we hope you join us.