Old School Baseball Caps and Stuff

I would say (or at least would like to think) that I am an avid baseball fan. For the sheer purity of the game that is. Maybe that is why I am drawn to teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Indians of this year. These three teams have gone about their year in very similar ways. Neither team has gone out in the offseason to bring in the superstar to help them get to the playoffs. Maybe the Brewers needed to down the stretch but their issue was pitching that led to their downfall in the NL Central. Teams like this attract me because they are just guys who go out there each day and play their hearts out. Guys who came up through the farm system and our now in the big leagues. Good stories and good for baseball. I mean, the Rockies were all but dead two weeks ago in the playoff race but peeling off an 11 game win streak to close the season is pretty impresive. They are rewarded with a 1 game playoff tonight against the Padres for the NL wild card. In a very twisted way, because my Dad is a Met fan, I was glad to see the Mets choke away their lead to the fightin' Phils (as people call them here in the Philly). The Mets were 7.5 games up in the NL East on September 12. September 30 rolls around and the Mets aren't even in the playoffs. Crazy. Just crazy. But the Mets are one of those teams who (like their city counterpart) go out and buy their superstars. Maybe that's what you need to do to win the World Series, I don't know, but it would sure be nice to see the Indians, Phillies, and Rockies (if they make it in) play well in October.

I enjoy learning and reading about the history of baseball. I also like representing old school baseball. I have three baseball caps that are of three old school baseball teams. One being a Brooklyn Dodgers hat, the other a New York Giants, and the other an old school Brewers logo. The 2 most famous players for the Dodgers and Giants (Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays) are great examples of how the game is supposed to be played day in and day out. It's a trip to me when people always jump to the conclusion that I'm a Red Sox fan or a Mets fan. Granted, the hats do look very similar to the Bo Sox and Mets but the color scheme is very different. I wore my NY Giants (baseball giants that is) hat around Philly this passed week. I must've been ridiculed and spoken to each day that I wore it. "Mets suck" I would hear as I walked the street of Center city..or "Phillies are going to take the East" would also ring out. Instead of firing back at their ignorance and lack of baseball knowledge I simply would smile and keep walking. It just made me laugh because people just don't know a true baseball fan when they see one !!!

This brings me to my awkward, yet encouraging encounter with my Missional Theology professor. The first day of class I wore my Giants cap. He walked in and during roll call he says "wow, NY Giants, I like that hat". I was shocked because this theology professor knew his stuff and his baseball history. Last week I came in about a half hour late to class due to an accident on the NE extenstion and was wearing my Brooklyn Dodgers cap. As I searched for an open seat he stopped his lecture and proceeds to tell me that he really likes my taste in ball caps. He then proceeds to ask me if I'm now a Dodgers fan or a Giants fan. I say neither, I just like baseball. He then proceeds to ask me if I've read a book called "the Echoing Green" and that if I haven't I should definitely read it because it's all about the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers in the 40's and 50's. I'm a little hesitant to approach him with questions about baseball because I can only imagine that he would talk my ear off for. But then again, I must overcome the fear of the beast because he may have a signed baseball of murderer's row to give me. (Sandlot for those of you who don't know) . The only downside to my MT prof is that he is an Ohio St. Buckeye fan. My next purchase needs to be a Bucky hat. Any ideas Christian?