Who Do You Root For?
Subtitled: Am I a bad person if I pull for the Braves?
While I have always been a Mets fan first, I have also always been a fan of Major League Baseball in general. I find myself always picking who I want to win any particular game.
There are some things that never change, others change depending on the day, or the standings, or who may be pitching.
For example, if Philadelphia is playing, I always root for the other team. But most games, it is not so cut and dried.
I only root for the Marlins if they are playing the Phillies. Yes, I root for the Braves when they play the fish. I don't have a lot of dislike for Atlanta and if the Mets cannot win, they are the team to do it.
The Nats, while I should appreciate them more than I do, are on my 'not so much' list this year. I have seen the Nats live at the ballpark more than any other team. I spend much more time in D.C. than NYC.
The Nats are my son's team since he moved to the Virginia suburbs ten years ago. But this year I have predicted them to really fall flat and am kind of rooting for them to do that. Besides, I am over Schertzer and Strasburg. I had a really tough time picking a team when the Nats were in LA playing the Dodgers last week.
Speaking of the Dodgers, as many games as they can lose will be just fine with me. If it is the Dodgers, I root for the other team. When it is the Phils, um, I go to bed early.
The NL Central is 'meh' for me. I can't get excited about anybody there. I see the Cubs playing the Brewers this week and really don't know who to root for. Probably the Cubs. Just something about the Crew that I can't put my finger on. The Reds-Cardinals games tend to get interesting. I'll pick the Reds in those games. The Pirates are the top of my list in that division; I typically root for them against most anyone else.
I also pick games in the American League. I used to be good with Houston, but not so this year. This year's teams are the Angels, White Sox, and Indians. I don't generally go for the AL East, but if the Yankees are playing, I typically pick the other team. I am rather hoping the Blue Jays take that division. I have nothing against the Orioles - they are usually on my 'root for' list.
Last night's Cleveland-Chicago game was a tough one. I loved the 0-0 through 9 innings game. I would like to see the Sox take that division, but will not be too disappointed if anyone else does either (except maybe the Royals).
Anybody else find a team to root for in each game played and have any idea why? Perhaps it is just me.
Sometime I'll throw some thoughts out there on non-Mets players I have rooted for over the years and some of those I have certainly not rooted for.
See... this is the kind of posts we need more of on this site.
ReplyDeleteJust good ole ⚾ stuff.
👍 69
I rarely watch non-Met baseball on TV (College World Series the exception), but I've attended many MLB & MiLB games in person in various locales. If it's a MLB game, I probably root for an outcome that would favor the Mets in some way.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a MiL game (much more frequent in my retirement life) I'll generally root for the home team and/or for a particular player I would like to see succeed. (I'm reminiscing about a game I saw in Tacoma a decade ago, where Seattle (& ex-Met) farmhand Mike Carp went 4/5 with a HR & a ton of RBI's. Happy for him.)
HOBIE!!!
DeleteHow the hell are you?
I have no favorites other than the Mets. I do want to see if San Diego can knock off LAD. I get a thrill of sorts when the Yankees struggle. I dislike the Nats, the Phils not so much. The Marlins annoy me, and Braves? I hope they fail.
ReplyDeleteIf I want other favorite teams, I will watch the Mets' minors.
I do find the LA Angels intriguing, with Ohtani and Trout.
Oakland with Lowrie - I hope they fail, too.
I watch:
Delete1. Mets baseball
2. Clemson football
3. Giants football
4. Clemson basketball
5. Netflix
Thanks for the feedback Mack. I have some other thoughts for pieces - I'll try to throw something together weekly. Probably more just general opinion pieces rather than spend a lot of time digging at stats.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how the Dodgers have turned themselves into the west coast Yankees, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteYeah, but then again, I have always thought of them in that way. Hoping the Padres can upend them this year. Bauer didn't help that for me.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I root for the Mets above all but the Rays are an interesting team to follow. They're constantly innovating and trying to find new ways to succeed with a low budget. The pitching hasn't been great so far but a lot of their guys are on the IL. When everyone's healthy, that staff has some of the best stuff in the game. Tyler Glasnow has been especially entertaining so far.
ReplyDeleteRooting hard for the Cubs today over the Braves.
ReplyDeleteAiden, I agree - the Rays are a tough team not to like. And besides, they have Brett Phillips!
ReplyDelete