National League? Not This Year!

When I was a kid, it was the Tigers.  I spent my grade school years in southern Michigan and in the 1950's that meant you were a Tiger fan.  It mattered little that Detroit was all but out of the American League pennant race by Memorial Day because: (A)  There was a team called the Yankees, and (B) The Tigers were pretty awful.  New York had guys named Berra, Mantle and Ford while Motown sported a line-up featuring guys like Neil Chrisley, Walt Dropo and Charlie "Paw Paw" Maxwell who was famous for being from Paw Paw, Michigan and hitting home runs, but only on Sundays.  Sure, the Tigers had a young future Hall of Famer named Kaline but Al was generally a rose among thorns.  "Wait 'til next year" was the Tiger fan's mantra until 1967 when they faced the Cardinals in the World Series,  but by then I was long gone to South Dakota and a short lived romance with the Minnesota Twins.

The Boston Red Sox were my team for much of the 1970's when I worked for a radio station that served as the club's broadcast home in Florida.  I had the chance to interview and, in a few cases, get to know some of the guys who were members of the Red Sox 1975 World Series team.  (In my opinion, that series between the Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds was the best ever.)

In 1976 a move to San Diego and a job with the Padres' radio station converted me to a National League guy forever.  It didn't hurt that KOGO had plenty of primo seats for employees at all home games.  Also, since the team was so godawful, parking was a breeze for radio stablemate Bill Moffitt and me.  We went to a lot of games thirsty and usually by the seventh inning were well fortified.  Like the song says, WE REALLY DIDN'T CARE IF WE EVER CAME BACK, as long as someone else was driving.  Former Yankee great, Jerry Coleman, handled Padre play-by-play and handled sports updates on my afternoon program.  He gave me my first Padre cap and regaled me daily with stories from his long career.  How could I NOT be a fan?

After leaving San Diego for jobs in San Francisco and Seattle, I was briefly unfaithful to the Padres as I flirted shamelessly with the Giants, A's and Mariners.  Like the jobs, none of these relationships felt right.  I was still a Padres guy.  Of course,  now when the post season rolls around--with only two exceptions in 44 years--a Padres fan is faced with choosing a "second favorite" team in which to invest some fan loyalty and it's often difficult.  Who wants to root for the Cardinals or Dodgers?  St. Louis has a fine ballclub, but the city?  No thanks!  It's a river town that long ago lost its race to relevance with Chicago and continues to be a burg that never misses a chance to miss a chance.   Los Angeles is a cesspool of carpooling morons who, for the most part, don't even speak English.  It doesn't help that Dodger fans are the Yankee fans of the National League.  They give front runners and bandwagon jumpers a bad name.  Flies swarm wherever and whenever they gather.   Simply the worst people on the planet.

So, here in the fall of 2013, I sit conflicted before my big screen HDTV.  What team do I like in the Series?  Tigers?  Nah, Detroit is the team of my yesterdays; something in me died when Kaline retired.  Boston?  Nope, today's Sox look like refugees from Duck Dynasty.  Cardinals?  No "there" there.  Dodgers?  No how, no way!

 So, my fidelity to the Padres remains intact.  I'll watch the series this year but with little enthusiasm.  I predict lots of trips to the kitchen for snacks and beverages, not to mention considerable channel flipping. The off season trade for a big bat and one more starting pitcher will, this year for sure, put the Pads in contention in 2014 and whet my appetite for the World Series once again.  We Friars fans will continue to warm ourselves on that happy thought this winter as we contemplate pitchers and catchers reporting to Peoria, Arizona come February.  Well, that and the fact that, at least, we're not Cub fans.

 "NEXT YEAR, just WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR!" That's the battle cry of the true Padre fan.
It worked in '98 didn't it?  Okay, kinda.

Next year!