Watching the Giants and Phillies is making me think that the
National League has about the best location not just amount leagues in the
Majors, but among almost any American sport.
(Arguably the MLS western conference might be the second best such environment
and dynamic among team locations.)
The
fact is, though, that most of these teams are almost inarguably the important
teams in their area. Cincinnati has the
oldest professional baseball team in existence, Miami has a very large Cuban
population, despite a terrible ownership history. The Giants own the bay area, have the most
beautiful stadium in the game, and a couple recent ‘ships under their belt, and
the Phillies are still in their city!
But let’s take a look at a cross section of the most ideal locations for
the National Pastime.
Los Angeles: Despite the fact that
they’ve only been in this area since 1958, this team is probably the most
storied team of any kind on the west coast.
They’re the team of Sandy Koufax, Steve Garvey, and Kirk Gibson. In the nineties they won six Rookie of the
Year awards in a row. They’ve played in
the same place since moving from the Colliseum early in their residence. They have the best announcer in sports. And while they haven’t won a Series since
’88, the team has probably the brightest future.
Best
current pitcher in the game; one of the most exciting young players in the
game; a giant new TV contract and an owner who is most famous in the town for
his accomplishments in another sport.
And they’ve done it all while surviving a team that plays an hour away,
but insists on calling themselves “Los Angeles”, another team in San Diego and
one of the worst ownership fiascos in recent memory. What helps the Dodgers here is that their
uniforms are just classic, they have a rival in the Giants who are generally
competitive and pretty close (by American standards) and did I mention more
money than God? Yes, a lot of people
might argue that the basketball team still owns the town, but I have my own axe
to grind with them and that team hasn’t even been the best basketball team in their
town the past couple years.
St. Louis: I hate the Cardinals. They were named after the trim and socks’
colors on their uniform around the time of their founding, having first taken
the name Perfectos. For a time, they
weren’t even the only St. Louis Cardinals (the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL
having moved there around the middle of the century). They kicked another, lamer-color-named team
out of their city, and sent them to another place which liked birds. Then they stole the design of that team’s
park for their new park. Their fan
territory infringes further across their state then it should and into most
of the western Mason-Dixon states.
They’ve stymied the potentially great stories of the ’67 Red Sox, the
’82 Brewers (thank you!) and the ’11
Rangers. They have the second most
championships in baseball, but their fans still complain about a measly first-base
call in a (non-deciding) Game 6 against a team with only one championship in their
history.[i] But they are the best baseball city in
America.
Their
fans show up year after year. They do
benefit from a lot of exposure in TV commercials, given that they are owned by
a certain famous beer company. But year
after year they also have great pitching, role players who are pushed to new
heights, and an environment that loves baseball above all else.
Milwaukee: As a Packer fan and Twins fan, this pains
me. But I also kind of feel for the
place. Their current franchise is an expansion club, and they’ve only had one
World Series appearance, which wasn’t in the league they are currently in. But the first club they had was in too much
of a hurry to leave, despite a couple Series appearances (including one win
over the Yankees), and some of the greatest players of the generation, playing
in a city that loved them.
Sure
the city is largely Packer territory, but they take baseball fandom to new (if
drunken) heights. Their ballpark is
incredibly spacious and breezy. They
originated the costumed-fan races that have swept the league and for once
there’s something besides Bernie Brewer sliding down three levels to come to
the ballpark to watch. Who cares if
there’s probably way too much Miller Lite at the park? They’ve got anti-heroes, cast-offs and rebels
on a team which will show their true colors down the stretch, one way or
another. They used to have the greatest
hat logo in baseball and they often still pay tribute to it. And of course, despite being on the outskirts
of the city, fans troop out every game-day to get sloshed in the parking lot
while playing bags, and then mosey in for some more beer and delicious
brats. And maybe, for the time, some
winning baseball.
[i]
Yeah, it was their cross-state rival, but the Royals also had been down 3-1 in
the Series. So no sympathy, Redbirds.
