For some time I’ve been contemplating my attachments and allegiances to all 30 major league baseball teams. The list is fluid as the years go by, although the Tribe is always No. 1. The list is influenced mainly by where I’ve lived and the franchises I’ve been able to follow regularly. Other factors — such as who beat whom, uniform styles, favorite players, radio announcers — enter the equation. (Compiled summer 2009)
LOVE
1. Cleveland Indians — A fan from the point of conception
2. San Francisco Giants — With Barry gone, they’re tops in N.L.
3. Oakland Athletics — Even in a down year, I still care
4. Milwaukee Brewers — September collapse notwithstanding, I’m on the Brew Crew
LIKE
5. Chicago Cubs — They’ll drop like a stone if they win it all
6. New York Yankees — Better them than most others
7. Philadelphia Phillies — Yo, Philly!
8. Seattle Mariners — I lived there, but the attachment’s fading
9. Chicago White Sox — The “small market team” in Chitown
10. New York Mets — Every few years, they make me believe
11. Baltimore Orioles — Fond memories of the great years
12. Kansas City Royals — Midwestern hope springs eternal
WHEN I’M IN THE MOOD
13. Boston Red Sox — They were cuter when they lost
14. Minnesota Twins — Annoy me most years but have occasional charms
15. Toronto Blue Jays — Oh, Canada!
16. Detroit Tigers — Residual allegiance to the old AL East
NEUTRAL
17. Washington Nationals — The town could use a break
18. San Diego Padres — Tops in SoCal for me, which ain’t sayin’ much
19. Los Angeles Angels — California, Anaheim, LA — make up your mind, dudes!
20. Pittsburgh Pirates — I can’t loathe my dad’s childhood team
ON THE DOWNSLOPE
21. Colorado Rockies — Up a few notches because of ex-Modesto Nuts
22. Texas Rangers — Bore me
23. Houston Astros — Yawn
24. Arizona Diamondbacks — Can’t forgive fluke Series victory over Yanks
25. Tampa Bay Rays — They’ve moved up a notch or two since dropping “Devil” from the name
26. Cincinnati Reds — A second-rate city deserves a second-division team
27. Florida Marlins — Unworthy teams beat Giants in playoffs, Tribe in Series
LOATHE
28. Los Angeles Dodgers — aka the Stinking Dodgers
29. St. Louis Cardinals –Scraping bottom
30. Atlanta Braves — Ted’s team turns my stomach
The Ball Caps Blog 
I am mad that the negro league ballplayers were thought of as less than “white” in a segragast society. I am a white boy from north of Chicago (Fox Lake, Il.) that grew up loving to watch Mays, Banks, Minoso, Aparicio, Robinson (Frank), Oliva, Gibson, Marichal, among others, and especially my all time favorite Roberto Clemente play. They played with an ease that made me love the game and its history. Sure I had white hero’s: like Yaz, Tony C., Kaline, Mantle on the downslope of his career, B Robinson, Gary Peters, Tommy John, Joel Horlen, Hoyt Whilhelm, Ken Berry ( to name a few lesser known the heros of the ’67 White Sox) but they weren’t the caliber of the great black players of the time. That was to me the begining of the greatest baseball ever played. It was pure and exciting in its own form. Money killed the game. It is now way to sensational for my taste. I quit watching in ’92 (except when the White Sox won the big show).
You have listed some teams that you loathe. Why? Do you know the history of those franchises? If you knew what Branch Rickey did for the game I would be willing to bet it would lift two of your bottom three out of the loathing state. The fifties/sixties Braves had some of the best teams ever to play the game. Although I share your dislike of Teddy. The sixties was a time when the black player had nothing to feel insecure about on the field because his talent would keep him there. A different story for the time but no one could deny his greatness on the field. This is the time the black man came of age, and baseball was right in the middle of that great revolution. I just wish in 1890 when Cap Anson had the chance to turn it around for the black man he would have had the balls to do it. You would have had a landscape filled with different hero’s and certainly a differnt US.
Thanks a bunch for the comments. It sounds as if we’re from the same era, although you may be just a tad older than I am. My parents always told me that my first favorite ballplayer was Minnie Minoso, whose last name I apparently couldn’t quite pronounce. It must have come out “Mimosa.”
I absolutely know the history of those teams on my “loathe” list, which is really more a tongue-in-cheek thing. The Braves, example. I lived in Milwaukee for a while, and retroactively I love the franchise of Spahn and Sain and pray for rain, of “Bushville wins” and so forth. The Cardinals? I used to listen to Harry Caray broadcast their games on KMOX, which must have been in the late 60s or early 70s. I was crazy for Stan Musial, although he was out of the game before I really began to understand it.
And the Dodgers? I know all about the Brooklyn days – ‘dem Bums – and the team’s heart-rending move West. Branch Rickey – God bless him.
I hope you don’t literally mean that you quit watching baseball in ’92. The game certainly has its flaws, but its humanness to me just makes it all the more fascinating and endearing.
Again, thanks for the reply.
I was suprised not to see Larry Doby, Richie Ashburn,Jimmy Wynn, Joe Morgan, Vida Blue, Satchel Paige,Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, J.R. Richard, Elston Howard or Lou Brock being mentioned by name but, you did say amongst others so, I gather those would be some of the other’s your referring to. However, you being from Chitown and not mentioning Ron Leflore is a bit shocking. I realize he only played his final year in the MLB with the Whitesox, but that guy probably has the most unlikely, yet most incredible story that any one ball player could have on making his journey to the big leagues. From serving prison time and playing on a inmate baseball team to being signed in 1973 straight out of the big house by the Detroit Tigers only after being discovered by Billy Martin is simply astonishing to me. He was a All-Star in 1976 and was the 1st player ever to lead the league in stolen bases in both the A.L. (’78) & N.L. (’80). I’m guessing Leflore seen what Rickey could do in ’79 and asked for an immediate trade to the N.L..Maybe he had’nt heard of Tim Raines yet…lol. Atleast they were teammates on the Expos. I’m a 55 yr old white male from San Jose, Ca. and my fav. player was Thurman Munson until his tragic demise in ’78 and this is when I found a new fav. player the following year. The “man of steal,” Rickey Henderson. I missed Munson and although I’m a Yankee, it was nice to have a favorite player I could watch all the time and go to the ball field to watch play in person. Man, how I loved going to the Coliseum with my dad and watching Henderson (LF) Dwayne Murphy (C) and Tony Armas (RF) in the outfield. “Billy Ball” was fun to watch and you felt a part of it in the early ’80’s. As Henderson started bouncing around the league and hanging his cap and jersey in every locker room as his career was winding down, a new kid from Kalamazoo, Mi. was introduced as my beloved Yankees new SS. 1995 would be the year that I chose my 3rd and final favorite player. When Jeter retired in 2014, I some what lost the same interest I once had. The lack of loyalty from todays players to stick with one team and the all about me first attitude($$$ chasing) just ruined it for me. The players today don’t show the respect, passion & love that players of the past once exemplified. I do have to exclude Freddy Freeman when I say this bcuz he’s one of very few that is loyal and does love the game and not the $$$. He wanted to spend his career with the Braves, but they did him real dirty. He’s actually the type of player I would choose as a favorite player. In closing, I never thought of skin color when I watched or participated in baseball or any other sports. I support all with that certain “je ne sais quoi.”I honestly believe without black athletes, some leagues would go belly up at some point. Maybe even baseball. Could you even imagine baseball without the players you and I have mentioned? Below are my 3 all time favorite players. (All players listed played in my lifetime.)
#15 (C) Thurman Munson – Captain
#39/#35/#24/#22/#25 (LF,CF,RF,DH) Rickey Henderson
#2 (SS) Derek Jeter – Captain
(Honorable Mentions in no particular order)
Stargell-Palmer-Yastrzemski-Rose-Ryan-Jackson-Bench-Schmidt-Brett-Yount-Fisk-Ripken-Gwynn-Sandberg-Mattingly-O.Smith-Dale Murphy-Carlton-Seaver-Carter
Hey,
Were you on Sienfeld?????????
Gotta love the A’s for thier winning history and tenacity in the current market. I’ve never even given a thought to the other teams in the league, let alone the N.L…..I think this is one reason you might be a better man than me, cuz I only make room for the green and gold in my house and only tolerate the Giants because my son is misguided and foolish. lol…..pretty sure I must have adopted him…..WD
The A’s are a fun team to follow, and I agree they deserve lots of admiration for how they’ve managed to stay competitive.
If my career hadn’t taken me so many places, I’d likely still be an Indians-only fan, oblivious to the National League. 🙂
Let’s go Oakland!!! 🙂