Volume II • Issue 12• May 2005

I have officially converted.
 
I will remain a loyal Yankees fan -- no matter what. It was been a tough start to the season so far, but I’m not worried about being tied with Tampa Bay for the East cellar. I am worried about Jaret Wright’s pathetic pitching and the crapload of money we have invested in him. Same thing with Kevin Brown. But this article is not a rant about the Bombers. It is about me converting my loyalties to the other league: the National League.
 
As a kid, I grew up with the Yanks. Don Mattingly was my favorite player ever. I remember my dad waking me up late one night to tell me the Yankees got Jack Clark in a trade. I loved Dave Winfield, Sam Millitelo, Kevin Maas. So, for the most part, I grew up with the American League. Loved the DH. Loved the offense. I liked the Orioles a bit. Brady Anderson is the reason I grew my first set of sideburns. Sadly, I must admit that I loved the Bash Brothers; Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Looking back through my baseball cards, most of the players I collected were AL guys.
 
No longer.
 
Now, I’m older. Sure I still dig the long ball -- who doesn’t? But I find that the National League is far more appealing. I like the strategy, I like the double switches, and I like the competition. Looking up and down the divisions, the NL is far more competitive. In the AL, the Yanks and Twins win their divisions big; Red Sox pull away in the Wildcard. In the NL Central alone, you have the Cubs, Cards, and ‘stros duking it out for the division. Sure the Braves might roll, but the other races seem to go down to the wire. Most of my favorite players are in the NL (Pujols, Prior, Green). There are not too many non-Yankees that I pull for in the AL. Even the roster of my fantasy baseball team, which is played with both leagues, is a majority NL guys. I’m sure television has a lot to do with it to. With monster cable packages, I can see the all of the Reds, Cubs, Braves games I want -- all NL teams. Only the Indians thrive in central Ohio televisions, and I can’t stand them. Even ESPN can agree with NL superiority; of the next 13 games to be broadcasted (which is as far as the schedule allows) six games are NL games and four are interleague. Of the three remaining AL games, the Yankees are playing in two of them.
 
Finally, there is the Cubs factor. I grew up rooting for the Cubs in the National League. Ryne Sandeberg and Mark Grace are in my top five favorite players of all time. So now, despite not caring about most of the players still on the Cubs roster, I root for them to break the curse. Do I care if Nomar and Jeromy Burnitz are the ones doing it? No. It’s the lovable losers. Just win baby.

Cousy Kane is always willing to try new things, even when it comes to new baseball paradigms.

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