In recent posts I have described myself as “exhausted.” That is not the case today. This morning I am in a celebratory mood, still enjoying the Monday night victory of the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. Yes, I am still savoring the pitching of Tim Lincecum in the fifth and final game against the Texas Rangers, along with Aubrey Huff’s sacrifice bunt, Brian Wilson’s ninth inning finish, and the wonderful home run hit by Edgar Renteria that won the Series for the Giants.
Unfortunately, I had no choice but to watch the fifth and final game on Fox Sports, burdened with the painful commentary of Buck and McCarver, but even that did not spoil my enjoyment of the action on the field, and I remain amused, too, by the Fox graphic, shown during one of the later innings, which was about the year 1954, when the Giants last won the World Series. According to this Fox Sports graphic, a gallon of gas was 21 cents that year. The U.S. President was Eisenhower. I Love Lucy was the #1 TV show, and there were “NO MLB TEAMS WEST OF MISSISSIPPI.”
Talk about Eastern Bias or maybe myopia. When I saw this graphic, I almost fell out of my chair. My geography may not be very good, but I grew up in St. Louis as a Cardinals fan and I always thought the city was west of the ”Big Muddy.” Of course, that was a long time ago, and I may be confused, although I remember a big river on the east side of the city that is the home of the baseball team that has won more World Series Championships than any other NL team. Yes, difficult as it might be to believe, the midwestern city of St. Louis is the home of the team that first won the World Series in 1926, defeating the East Coast's New York Yankees. I wonder, too, where the lowly St. Louis Browns of the American League played before they went to Baltimore after the 1953 season. Maybe Sportsman’s Park was really in East St. Louis. That would explain everything. But what do I know, anyway? After all, I was just a kid growing up in the suburbs.
