We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Vitali and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Early on during Covid, I found myself with a lot of downtime. So partially out of boredom and partially out of a necessity to keep the creative juices flowing, I decided to start BallNine. I’ve always been a huge baseball fan and and avid reader of sportswriting – whether it was books, newspapers, magazines, websites, you name it – so I wanted to create a place where old-school sportswriting meets technology.

My business partner and I had attended a dinner at the Angels Stadium Diamond Club a couple months before I started this company, and aside from us the room was filled with ex-MLB players. After hearing the stories they told, a light went off over my head. Why not bring baseball stories to fans that are straight from the players’ perspective? It’s a type of insight on the game that I thought was being neglected, so BallNine was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always been on the creative side of things. I left college to play bass with a band going on tour in Europe, and wound up in touring bands for the better part of the next six years. After that, I wound up in web development and when that started getting stale, I went to culinary school and spent the next fifteen years or so working my way up to being a Chef.

Nothing worthwhile comes easy, but I’m one of those weirdos that once I get my mind set on something, I’m not going to stop until the goal is reached. Now my goal is to make BallNine a one stop shop for baseball news, history, merchandise and entertainment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m actually not sure how to answer this, as I’m in California…. however if anyone was coming this way there’s no shortage of things to do.

Between the beach, desert and mountains there are countless places to explore.

When it comes to Colorado, I’m a sucker for Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. I could just spend a week there hiking and exploring, and then stuffing our faces with Green Chili and great local beers!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Well there’s no way I could have done this without the help of my old friend and business partner Rocco Constantino. He’s been a baseball writer and author for years, and he helped me from the start to set this whole thing up. Also, Kevin Kernan is a HOF sportswriter who believed in the concept and came aboard in the beginning. Having those two guys be a part of BallNine has made my job a lot easier, that’s for sure.

Website: https://ballnine.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballnineig/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/chris-vitaliB9

Twitter: www.twitter.com/BallNineTweet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BallNineFB

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BallNine

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