I Remember Eddie, Cal, Mookie, and Doc

Since we're getting back into baseball season, and we're at the point where every team has the same opportunity to win the World Series as the next, I'm preparing myself for the utter disappointment that is sure to follow when the teams I root for begin losing at alarming rates and then, suddenly, don't have as good a chance to win as the next team.

I am an avid Baltimore Oriole and New York Met fan. I haven't written too much about them in the past because, well, they're the Orioles and the Mets. But this year, with no hockey, I'll probably be following spring training more closely, and ergo, write about it more frequently. To wit, this post.

A quick outine: I grew up in Buffalo where there is no MLB baseball. At a ridiculously young age, I became a Baltimore fan because I thought they were the "Oreos" -- like the cookie. To a 5-year-old, there isn't a better reason to cheer for a team. I had the old-style cartoon bird logo batting helmet and everything. It wasn't until a few years later I learned how great Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray were. And then they went 0-23 to start the season once and I knew I was in love.

As for the Mets: I have always always hated Roger Clemens for some reason, and so I was all for them beating the Red Sox in '86. Then, when I lived in NYC during the Subway Series time, my aversion for Yankee fans was so strong that my alignment with the boys from Shea stuck. It's a lovely coincidence that Roger Clemens was on the Yankees then, so now I have concrete examples of why I hope his arm falls off Dave Drabecki-style with the whole throw-at-Mike-Piazza incident.

So, my baseball allegiences break down to: pro-cookies and anti-Clemens feelings. And conveniently, I have my AL team and my NL team. Or, rather, "teams."