Relive Our Week Of Remembering The Guys Of The 21st Century | Defector

"In the intervening decade since Vick Ballard sprung to mind, a great deal has happened. Much, but by no means all, of that stuff is just shockingly bad. On the positive side of that ledger, though, Defector came into existence and stayed there; we have continued to put up blogs, and will celebrate our fifth birthday next week. There's probably some other good stuff that happened between then and now but none of it springs immediately to mind."

"Immaculate Grid arrived online in the summer of 2023 and was purchased by Sports-Reference shortly thereafter, and earlier this week we introduced a partnership with them on Some Guys I Remember From The 21st Century, an open-ended, multi-sport version of Immaculate Grid that makes it easier to celebrate whatever 21st century players you feel like celebrating, for whatever reason you feel like celebrating them."

In May 2015 Vick Ballard became the first Remembered Guy and numerous hours have been devoted to remembering Guys through video, blogs, and informal moments. Over the intervening decade many events occurred, including the founding and persistence of Defector and continued blog publishing, with a fifth anniversary approaching. Immaculate Grid launched online in summer 2023 and was purchased by Sports-Reference. A partnership was introduced to create Some Guys I Remember From The 21st Century, an open-ended, multi-sport extension of Immaculate Grid. The tool enables highly specific, playful grids celebrating niche player traits, seasons, or local connections.

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