The Giants won the World Series on Monday night. We will win more.
That's about all I'm going to say about my first championship team (I wasn't even four won the 49ers when the Super Bowl in 1994). We took care of business, and I now have bragging rights for another nine months.
This one is for you Seattle, Kansas City, Baltimore, Washington and Pittsburgh*.
If you claim any of the above cities as your hometown, your baseball team finished last in its division and you probably didn't even notice because you all have pretty good football teams.
But if I told you that in three years your team could go from the cellar of its division to the pinnacle of the free baseball world, would you believe me?
The Giants finished in dead last three seasons ago with 71 wins in the NL West. We finished second-to-last in 2008, and third in 2009. Basically, we went from being awful, to less awful, to okay, to champions.
You are still probably leaning towards no because the Pirates have put together 18 consecutive losing seasons; Stephen Strasburg won't pitch for the Nationals for at least 2011 due to Tommy John surgery; the Orioles play in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox; the Royals have a cheap owner and the Mariners play in the same city as Pete Carroll, who may actually take down a city this time.
I say the answer is yes for a couple reasons.
First, there is parity in baseball. Over the last 10 years, only the Red Sox have won more than one World Series. More than any sport, a general manager with an eye for talent and an owner with any kind of money can give your club the resources to rebound.
Second, the baseball draft is a legitimate retooling device. There's no two-day ESPN special, but it gets the job done better than any other sport's draft, except that of the NHL. The Giants rode two rookies in Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner all the way to the series, and the Rays did the same in 2008.
Third, none of your squads have valid curses that come to mind. And even if you do have a small hex, if the Red Sox can get rid of the Curse of the Bambino, any club can throw the curse they've got too.**
So keep showing up to the ballpark like I did (which shouldn't be too hard, as each of your venues is arguably one of the top 10 in baseball) and keep checking the standings. One of these days, you may stand on that pinnacle too.
*Phoenix not included because the Giants have a stranglehold on the NL West for the foreseeable future.
**Except Cubs or Indians fans. The Bambino has nothing on Bartman or LeBron.
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Contact Christopher Masoud at cmasoud@nd.edu
