Just because I’m a player doesn’t mean I can’t take sides in this years hunt for the World Series. I’m a fan too, ya know, and as such I’m pulling for teams and players based on a very different scale than the average drunk guy screaming obscenities at bad plays in a sports bar. I’ve heard it said that the Rangers making it to the Series would be terrible for the MLB and I have to ask, why is that thought even being spoken (or written)? It’s almost offensive to hear it because it implies that the MLB is pulling for some teams to make it more than others, which opens the flood gates to other more nefarious speculation.
I realize that baseball, despite all the fantasy and circumstance we like to believe the game is saturated with, is a business in the end. A business dressed up like a sport actually. Heck, I realize that better than most since I’ve had the pleasure of being bumped off 40 man rosters and shuffled around the country like baseball’s own version of the queen of spades. Baseball needs impact makers. Advertisers need heros. Part of the marketing of the game is to make it look more magical that it really is, and make players look more heroic then they actually are when the uniform is off. Fact: teams that win make more than teams that don’t win, and teams that win in major markets practically rake it in. If you’re a GM with a team full of well advertised heroes that win in a major market, you’re going to have books written about your legacy. This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately industry that will build up a hero, milk him, break him, discard him when he slumps, and move onto the next big thing -it’s just the nature of the biz. But, is the point of the World Series to make sure the largest fan base get’s a chance to by more commemorative kitsch of the players currently filling up poster space, or is it a chance for the best players in the game recognized by the world.
The answer is both. Thank you capitalist America for creating and environment of competition, where heroes can come out of nowhere to make October history (even though in this particular example, heroes are, in fact, coming from the largest state in the lower 48). And thank you for making it easy to replace a commercially made legend with a new player who came up clutch in a key moment. This turn over is the backbone of our greatness. It’s merciless, but fair, and inspiring to those would be stars out there. However, as far as team markets and fan bases are concerned, the way I figure it is, the business side of baseball wants to there to be heroes with mass appeal so it can cash in on your wallet. But you don’t have to pick a player based on what major team he’s from or how many commercials he’s in during post season play. You don’t have to pick based on good numbers at all (I site myself here). You can pick one based on the value and connection they have to you and your personal set of meaningful perimeters that have nothing to do with what has been done lately. Or you can pick based on what jersey looks cool.
Regardless of what you pick, or how the Rangers/Yanks series turns out, I believe you can still pull for the Rangers and not give two squirts what some hot air bag thinks it will mean to to MLB. The Rangers may not have the fan base the Yankees and the Bo Sox have, but they’ve got there fair share of built in, die hard, Ranger crazies. That fan base will also bloat with turn coats who like to be associated with winners (you know who these people are…) if the best case scenario pans out. For the rest of us, this is what every October is: a chance to watch great players play great baseball and connect with people for more than what market they belong too.