A whole new ball game: Getting past first base
It’s a strange feeling when trying to decide which team to follow in Major League Baseball. It feels wrong really as our teams can be decided before we are even born.
It could be where your family live or a parent, or parents, immerse you in that team to point that there is no other way. Then there’s me. I need a team to follow but I don’t really have a reason for any so I’ll have to construct one. Major League Baseball split between the American League, which has 14 teams, and the National League bizarrely has 16. So I have 30 to choose from
The first team to consider is the Cleveland Indians purely because of the film ‘Major League’. ‘The Tribe’ as they are known haven’t really excelled over the last few years of which the irony isn’t lost on their ballpark’s name, Progressive Field.
Next, to be considered is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Being a fan of the city’s ice hockey team, I have to look at being loyal to the ‘Burgh. ‘The Bucs’ finished with a .444 win percentage last year so not inspiring stuff.
The Miami Marlins could well fit the bill as they are a new team to the league in as far as the franchise is now renamed and rehomed in Marlins Park. My reluctance is the fact that they reside in Miami and I could never watch a game there as I have a rule of never visiting anywhere I have a less that 50% chance of getting out of. I’ve seen ‘Dexter’ and ‘Miami Vice’, I know the score.
The San Francisco Giants are appealing from their setting. The city is a great place to visit and the views from their ballpark, AT&T Park, are spectacular. Unfortunately, San Francisco is in California and therefore 8 hours behind GMT. This would render any night games as impossible to watch. So, in once fell swoop I’ve discounted any teams in Pacific, Mountain or Central Times.
So, my team for 2012 will be….the Tampa Bay Rays. A relatively new team to baseball (founded in 1998), the Rays reside in St Petersburg in Florida. For me, it was their ballpark that clinched it for several reasons. Firstly, it’s the only I’ve seen in person as I’ve driven past it. Secondly, it has a 10,000 gallon tank for home fans to pet rays. Wouldn’t The Den in Millwall be less imposing with one of those? The clincher was having a ballpark named after a Wham song, a disused swimming pool in Weston-Super-Mare and a fruit drink. My chagrin is that the makers of ‘Um Bongo’ have never took up this inspired advertising opportunity.
I’ve got my team, I’ve got a copy of the 2012 Baseball Prospectus and now I need to apply myself to studying the game. With Spring Training in full swing, there are plenty of games to watch each day. If only I knew what some of the terminology meant….
