I grew up a Yankees fan and remained so in 1969 despite heavy pressure on the school bus to kindergarten to switch my allegiance to the Miracle Mets. I stuck with the Yanks despite their attempts to play guys like Celerino Sanchez and Rich McKinney at third and the shameful way new owner George something treated my first sports hero, Mel Stottlemyre, when the reliable righty injured his arm. I was rewarded with the three straight pennants earned by the colorful squad playing in the renovated Stadium of 1976-78 and the consecutive World Series titles of 1977-78. I turned 13 less than two weeks after the 1977 Series ended and those were heady times for a kid.
My National League team was the Giants due to the fact that my father remained a Giants fan even when the team moved to San Francisco when he was in his early 20s. And so I was a fan of McCovey, Marichal, Bonds, Gallagher, Speier, Fuentes, Mays and Perry, etc in addition to the early 70s Yankees of Murcer, White, Munson, Peterson, Clarke, Michael and Stotts. By the time the Yanks did win that 1977 title the Giants were in rebuilding mode, but there was hope with kids like Jack Clark and Bob Knepper. Following the Giants was another way to stay close to my father.
And so this season is one of the rare times that the Giants and Yankees have made the playoffs together. They are both in the semi finals, so to speak, and thus give me a reason to watch October baseball. Ahh, there lies the rub. I do not have time to watch October baseball due to the demands of following college football. On Saturday pitching match-ups featuring Cliff Lee of Texas against Andy Pettite of the Yanks and then Roy Halladay taking on Tim Lincecum of the Giants are pitted against the late afternoon and evening cfb games. I better check the batteries for the television clicker.
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