irritated Category: Sports
After coming off of a 4 to 1 victory over the Kansas City Royals, which I was present and accounted for yesterday, I figured I had something to say about my team. That's right, MY team, the Boston Red Sox. I'm a boy from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, how does someone like me become a fan of a team that is over 1500 miles away? Well, I'm glad you asked because I'm always more than willing to share my story and I've gotten pretty damn good at telling it, because I've had to explain it to more Twins and Royals fans than I'd care to count.
The story goes that I did start off liking the Twins a bit because they won the World Series when I was seven. Everyone in South Dakota went bat shit crazy when this happened, so what's a seven year old boy to do? I also counter that comment with the fact that I have never owned a single stitch of Twins apparel. Ever. I had a Twins baseball, but that was a gift. They won the Series again, but then the difference was this time (at the age of 11) I cheered for the Braves because at the time of that win, "local yokels" had become the ire of my existence. Flash forward a few years about the only thing I cared about when it came to sports was Michael Jordon, the San Francisco 49ers, and of course my beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers. Picking a favorite baseball team was almost an afterthought and baseball itself was secondary to me except for the following: I really loved watching it (no matter who was playing), I collected a ton of baseball cards, and I was at the mercy of listening to one of my former best friends yammer on and on about the Twins constantly. He still does to this day, as a matter of fact.
Part two of this back story is my old man loving the New York Yankees. He owns some pretty sweet Yankees memorabilia, like famous Yankee rookie ballcards and a few signed baseballs. It's not a ton by a serious collector's standards, but it is for the casual one. My Dad tried desperately to get his only son to follow in his footsteps. He even went as far as to buy me a Yankees t-shirt which yes, I did regretfully wear a few times in 8th grade. However, I wore a White Sox shirt the same year because when my parents took me shopping, it was on sale along with the Yankees shirt. For some reason I didn't like the Yankees, I couldn't get into them and I didn't give a shit about the history. So what does any kid that lives to rebel against his parents do? Cheer for the rival team, of course. So my current love for the Red Sox was spawned from hate.
Spilling into the years of my parent's divorce, even though I lived with my Dad and got along with him, a rift between us grew every year from April to October. So I would say that I've been a fan since I was 15 and really got into it at about the age of 17. The season we landed Pedro, the same Pedro who I followed since '91, was when I got into it full swing. I fell in love with the team and players from Mo Vaughn to Nomar. It wasn't entirely because of the players, it's never been so much about that completely. I relish the role of the underdog. I've cheered for that person or group of people all my life. I've gotten my ass kicked for sticking up for the underdog. It's not just having to do with the Red Sox either. I turned in to a huge Huskers fan when they choked every year. I loved cheering for a team that wasn't supposed to beat the Miami Hurricane's or Florida State's of the world. It's always been my attitude. I'm not a conformist type person, I've always questioned authority and I never feel 100% comfortable under it. For anyone who is reading this thinking how can a team with the second largest payroll be an underdog? If you followed that logic the Yankees would win every year and teams like the Twins would never make the playoffs, but money doesn't buy championships and small market teams make the playoffs. That is an arguement that is reserved for people who don't really grasp what baseball is all about. I'm going to jump off this soapbox before I even get started.
In some ways I feel closer to this team than I do the Huskers because of the point I made above, even though the city and east coast are a good thousand or so miles away from me. I've been there and seen Fenway close up. There is nothing else like it and it is an experience that I think every big time fan or casual fan should experience. After years of the Metrodome and the past two years seeing the Royals play AAA (maybe) ball, it was almost sensory overload.
Rant
Speaking of all things from the Dome... After reading a friend's written, uh, "tribute" to Manny Ramirez I was a little disgusted by it, but I also understand why it was written. I can't blame a guy whos team was on the brink of contraction no more than six seasons ago or his reasons why he would hate a guy like Manny. He is sort of a slap in the face to fans of teams that primarily cultivate their own talent. I also agree with the point this person made about Manny being only a hitter. His fielding and baserunning leaves a lot to be desired, and he's been known to pull some over miscellaneous shit that I don't have the time or effort to type out. Look it up yourself. That being said here are my points of contention He doesn't show up for camp on time, but who the fuck cares? Does that affect his regular season productivity? The guy is guilty of a lot, but his desire to win? Come on. The Sox pay him to hit and produce on offense and that's what the guy does. Here are some of his accomplishments listed below.
- 10-time All-Star (1995, 1998-2006)
- World Series Champion (Boston, 2004)
- World Series MVP Award (2004)
- 2-time Hank Aaron Award (1999, 2004)
- 9-time Silver Slugger Award (1995, 1999-2006)
- Won American League batting crown (2002, .349)
- Led AL in home runs (43) (2004)
- Led AL in RBI (165) (1999)
- 3-time led AL in slugging percentage (1999-2000, 2004)
- 3-time led AL in OPS (1999-2000, 2004)
- Twice led AL in on base percentage (2002-03)
- Twice led AL in intentional walks (2001, 2003)
- 8-time Top 10 AL in total bases (1996-99, 2001,2003-05)
- 7-time Top 10 AL MVP (1998-2004)
- 8-time Top 10 AL in home runs (1998-2005)
- 7-time Top 10 AL in RBI (1995, 1998, 1999-2001, 2004, 2005)
- 4-time Top 10 AL hitters (1997, 1999-2000, 2003)
- 5-time Top 10 AL in times on base (1997, 1999, 2003-05)
- Member of Major League Baseball's Latino Legends Team
- 27-game
- 10-time All-Star (1995, 1998-2006)
- World Series Champion (Boston, 2004)
- World Series MVP Award (2004)
- 2-time Hank Aaron Award (1999, 2004)
- 9-time Silver Slugger Award (1995, 1999-2006)
- Won American League batting crown (2002, .349)
- Led AL in home runs (43) (2004)
- Led AL in RBI (165) (1999)
- 3-time led AL in slugging percentage (1999-2000, 2004)
- 3-time led AL in OPS (1999-2000, 2004)
- Twice led AL in on base percentage (2002-03)
- Twice led AL in intentional walks (2001, 2003)
- 8-time Top 10 AL in total bases (1996-99, 2001,2003-05)
- 7-time Top 10 AL MVP (1998-2004)
- 8-time Top 10 AL in home runs (1998-2005)
- 7-time Top 10 AL in RBI (1995, 1998, 1999-2001, 2004, 2005)
- 4-time Top 10 AL hitters (1997, 1999-2000, 2003)
- 5-time Top 10 AL in times on base (1997, 1999, 2003-05)
- Member of Major League Baseball's Latino Legends Team
- 27-game hitting streak in 2006 in 2006.
I hated the holier than thou attitude that most of the "earnest" Twins fans had in Sioux Falls (and something most Royals fans are guilty of, but since they suck now they aren't as vocal). I especially hated it given the fact you couldn't hardly find a real Twins fan in SF from about 1994 until 2001 when they were a complete embarassment and abomination. I should know, I watched a lot of Twins games with this friend of mine during that time. However, I do respect the guys who stuck with this team and didn't wear any Mariners t-shirts in 1996 because they liked Griffey Jr. Hell, most fans in the Twin Cities area avoided the Metrodome from April to September during this time like the plague. That's why I can't respect or stand to listen to too many "Twins fans" these days. Last year was sort of the pinnacle, because Kirby Puckett was a saint. Yeah, right.
Sorry to end this entry on a little rant, but that one has been building for a little while now.
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