Return Of The Old Timers Game

As a kid growing up, I would read books about baseball players.  From Hank Aaron to Willie Mays to Mickey Mantle to Sandy Koufax, I would read about their lives and how hard they worked to get to the major leagues.  By the time I started watching baseball, most of these players were retired or at the end of their careers.  There was still a ray of hope of seeing some of these great players on the diamond, and that was the yearly Old Timers Game.  The Padres would get retired players to come out and play 3-5 innings of baseball.  It was my chance to see the players who I only knew via books and newspaper clippings. I had the opportunity to see Sandy Koufax pitch, see Willie Mays hit a home run over the left field wall in San Diego Stadium and many other players show flashes of their greatness.  It’s been years since the Padres have hosted an Old Timers Game and I would love to see them bring it back.  

“We Are The Brooklyn Brawler”

Back in the 1980’s, professional wrestling came back into the mainstream of America.  Wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Andre The Giant and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair would strut into the ring, theme music playing as they entered the square circle, to face their opponents in a one on one match.  On the other side of the ring was the guy whose sole purpose for being there was to lose and make the star look good.  Many nameless faces would come and go over the years, but one would rise to the top of this lowly heap and his name was The Brooklyn Brawler.  He would occasionally wrestle a faceless guy and get the win, but his job was to make the main event wrestlers look good, all the while losing big matches to the stars.

I was reminded of all of the above today as I listened to Padres GM Josh Byrnes on the Mighty 1090 talking about the Padres.  The Padres off-season has been a major disappointment.  While the Dodgers, Angels and Giants have spent money to acquire talent, the Padres have sat on the sidelines and have done nothing to improve the team.  After listening to Josh Byrnes, I had to draw the conclusion that the Padres ownership knows it can’t compete with the above teams and has decided to spend little and hope for the best.  As a Padres fan, I felt sick to my stomach and at the same time, felt bad for Josh Byrnes.  I know he’s doing his best, but the reality is the Padres will have to overachieve this season to be in the hunt to win the west.  Sadly, the reality is we’ll win maybe 65-75 games, see some young players develop, watch Chase Headley and see if he’s a rising star or a mediocre player who had a fluke year in 2012, and Petco Park will be filled with fans of other teams.

I will continue to be a Padres fan.  I will cheer for my team, realize what the situation is with the team and accept the sad fact that we are the Brooklyn Brawler, with all the perks and props that goes with that.

The Casual Fan