masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgEvery morning, Orioles fans log onto MASNsports.com and check out Roch Kubatko’s School of Roch blog for the latest news and notes. As readers ask questions about the roster changes, talk about the previous night’s game or even compete to be the first comment on the post, more than just good baseball discussion is generated. The blog has also developed friendships and a sense of a camaraderie among commenters.
In 2014, Orioles fan Scott Fahs, known by username CardiacScott on MASNsports.com,…

Every morning, Orioles fans log onto MASNsports.com and check out Roch Kubatko’s School of Roch blog for the latest news and notes. As readers ask questions about the roster changes, talk about the previous night’s game or even compete to be the first comment on the post, more than just good baseball discussion is generated. The blog has also developed friendships and a sense of a camaraderie among commenters.

In 2014, Orioles fan Scott Fahs, known by username CardiacScott on MASNsports.com, saw the online community firsthand. Suffering with a rare blood disorder, Fahs was an everyday reader of the School of Roch, which was first just a place for him to talk Orioles, but a place that evolved into a place of encouragement for him. It wasn’t until right before he had a heart transplant that he shared his story with fellow commenters and then saw an outpouring of responses.

“My wife was like, ‘You have to see this. Everybody changed their avatars to a heart.’ And at the time, I was so sick,” Fahs told MASNsports.com in 2014. “I was just so sick, and seeing that put such a smile on my face. All the comments everybody on there was making, along with my friends and family at home, just gave me a little bit more to fight.”

Following a successful heart transplant, Fahs was able to attend the inaugural School of Roch Night at Oriole Park last season, and even threw out the first pitch.

school of roch 2.jpgFast-forward to 2015: Fahs and 84 other diehard commenters filled the Miller Lite Flite Deck at Camden Yards on Saturday night for the second annual School of Roch Night. Before watching their favorite team win on a walk-off, fans met with Kubatko, asking him questions about the Orioles, talking selfies and more.

“It’s a great group … from Roch’s blog,” said Marc Sassin, organizer of the event. “Some people are meeting for the first time and some people became friends last year and are still friends. And we go to games together – not just on School of Roch Night, we go all year long.”

Participants also received a raffle ticket, and could walk away with various pieces of O’s memorabilia, including a signed Adam Jones bat from MASN.

Sassin encourages all to get involved by logging on to MASNsports.com and commenting away.

“It’s more than just an online community,” he said, “it’s a community of friends.”

For more on the event, check out the video below.