When the Chicago Cubs announced the signing of outfielder Jon Jay this past Tuesday, I paused before Tweeting the news. I thought about how everyone else who received this press release will take it, and what they’ll do to disseminate the news via the micro-blogging platform.
I decided to be different, and put a creative spin on breaking the news. Unfortunately, the joke may have been a little too highbrow and the reference too obscure for most people as the Tweet was met with mostly crickets chirping.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/804743414248046594
Hey, one guy thought it was gangbusters!
Such are the perils of Twitter- celebrities can Tweet mindless platitudes and usually get rewarded with the currency of likes and re-tweets while ordinary people like you and me, when we do great Tweeting work, end up lost in the shuffle of congested timelines.
Jon Jay was top ten nationally trending at the time, so it made the fact that my observation went ignored all the more puzzling. I really don’t understand Twitter very much sometimes, and I have a verified account.
I do know this though- when I later Tweeted how the joke totally bombed, quite a few people came to my side and agreed that the material was good, it’s just that people don’t know history, don’t care to try to, or don’t think they should.
It also helped me realize that you should never sell out or dumb down your act in order to be more popular. Instead keep it 100, one-hundred percent real to who you are. The 140 characters or less episode also inspired me to write the Jon Jay versus John Jay face-off piece which follows below.
Who wins?
The Cubs second most recent addition (relief pitcher Brian Duensing was signed after Jay) or one of our very important, but extremely overlooked Founding Father?
One third of this important triad:
John- authors of The Federalist Papers, a series of essays defending the meaning and legitimacy of the U.S. Constitution. The other two members of the troika were first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (and $10 bill guy) Alexander Hamilton and Fourth U.S. President (the guy the famed Chicago thoroughfare is named after) James Madison.
Jon- Cubs outfield with Jason Heyward in right field and Ben Zobrist/Jorge Soler in left field complete the trio. Jay is friends with Cubs youngster and 2012 overall #1 pick Albert Almora, and the two will split time in centerfield.
Dexter Fowler has not officially left the club yet, but it seems almost inevitable that he will.
Edge- John
Biggest claim to fame:
John- First Chief Justice of the United States , 2nd Governor of the state of New York, U.S. Secretary of State September 15th, 1789 to March 22, 1790
Jon- Batted .297 with 24 doubles and a career-best 10 home runs as a member of the 2011 World Champions St. Louis Cardinals. The 31-year-old Miami native boasts a .352 on-base percentage and a .384 slugging percentage, equaling a .737 OPS. Also, he’s hit above .290 in five of his seven seasons.
Edge- John
Ringing endorsement from:
John- George Washington, who nominated him to be the first leader of one of our three branches of government; also selected him for an important position in the first Presidential cabinet.
Jon- Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer, who was previously GM of the San Diego Padres. Jay joins Anthony Rizzo and Hoyer as members of the Padres organization who would soon move on to 1060 W. Addison. Consider this payback for the 1984 National League Championship Series.
Last season in San Diego, Jay hit .291 (101-for-347) with 26 doubles, two home runs and 26 RBI despite being limited to 90 games due to a broken right forearm.
Edge: John
Signatory of:
John- the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War against Great Britain and made America’s Declaration of Independence from England on July 4th, 1776 certifiably legit.
Jon- a one-year contract worth $8 million. He’s a career .287 hitter with 374 runs scored, 15 triples, 31 homers, 253 RBI and 45 stolen bases in 847 major league games.
Edge: John
Primary Unique Accomplishment:
John- Ended slavery in the state of New York in 1799
Jon- Owns a career .996 fielding percentage in center field, the highest mark for any active player (minimum 500 games) at the position.
Edge- John
Ok, time to stop the fight now, while Jon Jay is elite at what he does in his own right, John Jay has a legacy lasting for centuries.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.