A few weeks back, I posted a cryptic message from TOPPSMIKE about the new team member that will be joining Bunt for the 2015 season, and I am VERY pleased to announce that Jon Hanford is that person!

For those of you who have been on the app over the last two seasons, Mr. Hanford was someone that made his mark delivering some top quality content that I always found very compelling in the News Feed. To see that he has taken on a role in this capacity is an awesome thing for Bunt, as he is obviously very familiar with how things work.

There will be a Q&A (in the app) coming shortly to introduce him more formally to the community, and both Chris Vaccaro, Editor in Chief and Jon himself have offered these words for everyone reading along.

Jon on taking the new role with BUNT: 

“After writing on a freelance basis over the last two years for Topps BUNT, it is hard to put into words exactly how excited I am to join the team as a full-time member of the app’s production team. Baseball has been my life since I was about six years old, when I went to my first baseball game. From the moment I set foot inside the Kingdome, I just knew that baseball would occupy a certain place in my heart — I’d say right now it occupies at least three of the four chambers. I have spent the last two seasons, in addition to BUNT, interning in baseball operations and player development, most recently for the New York Mets. Having that background is something of which I am very proud and plan on using while on board as an associate producer with Topps BUNT. It’s really the same idea; just like I pursued baseball operations to impact a team’s on-field showing, I plan to hit the ground running with BUNT and help make this an essential — and fun — part of every smartphone-using baseball fan’s life!”

Chris R Vaccaro on hiring Jon to join the team:

“We’re more than excited to bring Jon onto the Topps Digital team in a full-time capacity. The BUNT community is well aware of his work as a writer for us over the last two seasons and he is a welcome addition to our growing team here in New York. Between his knowledge of the game, intimacy of our product and journalistic ability, he’s a perfect fit to join ToppsMike in the trenches and help take Topps BUNT to even greater plateaus.”

For those of you wondering – you can follow Jon on twitter through his new handle @TOPPSHANFORD!

Welcome to the team Jon, the community is excited to have you!